I've got quite a few sessions of GM’ing now under my belt.

The hardest thing for me is tracking encumbrance. It seems to slow down the game.

For instance, the acquire like 4 different weapons off a cache and I’ve gotta quickly figure out if they can carry them, which involves flipping thru books to find those weapon’s encumbrance value, then compare it to their PC value…

I don’t know, when I say it, it doesn’t sound that time consuming but it always ends up being that. Maybe I need to have my players keep better track and attention to that.

Anyone else experience this? Or have some suggestions as to how to handle it?

Quite frequently with my group (who hasn't played this yet, but has plenty of experience with other systems) we just ignore encumbrance rules. Before the characters go into harms way, I'll ask them what they are carrying, and if it sounds like they are getting bogged down with stuff, I'll raise an eyebrow and say, "If you are carrying that much, maybe we need to determine your encumbrance level."

Quite frequently with my group (who hasn't played this yet, but has plenty of experience with other systems) we just ignore encumbrance rules. Before the characters go into harms way, I'll ask them what they are carrying, and if it sounds like they are getting bogged down with stuff, I'll raise an eyebrow and say, "If you are carrying that much, maybe we need to determine your encumbrance level."

That can lead to dangerous levels of "video game pockets" syndrome, which can lead to problems.

Don't do the work for the players. If they want to add items, have them prove to you they are not encumbered. Otherwise assume they are overloaded. If you keep a current copy of their character sheet (and yes, you should, IMHO) you can see where they were and how adding anything else in would affect it. Let the onus be on them, and let them describe how they are carrying four weapons in a reasonable manner that either doesn't draw odd attention or make their aiming ability offset. In fact, even if they can technically carry them but cannot describe how they are doing it well, add a setback die in the next combat. Also, throw a destiny point and say that his load of guns is shifting and he needs to roll cool / coordination / discipline (whatever might be worst... and you know this by having his sheet... and describe it so that your targeted skill comes up) to maintain control of all of it and make his attack.

I get that they want to make a little money, but never in a movie do you see Han Solo take out some Stormtroopers and start stripping their gear so he can pay for fuel for the Falcon or to pay off Jabba the Hutt. There are better ways... you can help them into these better ways by providing obstacles until they get the idea. Be judicious about using it, but let it be a factor.

I would let the players decide if they are encumbered. Is there a reason not to?

Just talk to your players, and get everyone on the same page. Do they want to track it? Do they want to hand wave it? Do they want to do something else? Come to a consensus and do that. I think that results in the least amount of work and unhappiness. I don't think you should track it for them or do any work for them, really.

If the players agreed to keep track of it, but you suspect they're "cheating", then encumbered or not, that's not the problem

I would let the players decide if they are encumbered. Is there a reason not to?

If the players agreed to keep track of it, but you suspect they're "cheating", then encumbered or not, that's not the problem

To the first point;

The GM's job is to enforce the rules. At the point you let the Players decide, they will do the "video game pockets" that I referenced already. Players don't always mean to "break" rules, but if they are not told that 50 blaster rifles are more than 1 player can hold... they will all try to do it.

To the second point; anyone that cheats at any tabletop game confuses me when the whole point of games is to have fun. If you have to cheat to have fun, either the Players are horrible at their role, or the GM is horrible at theirs. Either way that game needs to be handled quickly or ended.

Keep in mind, getting a rule wrong is not cheating. Cheating would be deliberately not calling attention to something that is known in the rules to gain an unfair/unreasonable advantage.

Quite frequently with my group (who hasn't played this yet, but has plenty of experience with other systems) we just ignore encumbrance rules. Before the characters go into harms way, I'll ask them what they are carrying, and if it sounds like they are getting bogged down with stuff, I'll raise an eyebrow and say, "If you are carrying that much, maybe we need to determine your encumbrance level."

That can lead to dangerous levels of "video game pockets" syndrome, which can lead to problems.

I've never had that problem, at least, not since the 1970s when we were kids. An important rule of thumb is, of course, know thy group. If you have people who want to abuse things, then as a GM there are times when you will need to have a more strict interpretation of the rules.

I ask them. They need to know it like everyting else, wounds,etc. That and it's pretty ez to ballpark it and know if someone is fudging.

@GM Knowledge Rhino: I think your "To the second point" response answers your "To the first point" response, at least partially

The GM should know the rules - as should the rest of the players. If they try to hold 50 blasters, they don't know the rules. In that case, just tell them to read the relevant section and that should be the end of it. If it isn't, then we're back to cheating, and the problem not being carrying capacity at all.

I just tell my players, "check your encumbrance before you leave the ship" and then let them calculate what they're carrying. Fortunately everyone at my table is an adult, so I never worry about them trying to pack 16 extra points of encumbrance.

I work with my players to track encumbrance, and when I play I keep a good eye on it. I would caution against tedious math unless that's your thing, seems like it could slow down a story.

Rather than flipping through books, you might find http://swrpg.viluppo.net/ useful for checking encumbrance stats quickly.

Rather than flipping through books, you might find http://swrpg.viluppo.net/ useful for checking encumbrance stats quickly.

That will come in handy. Thanks!

Encumbrance is actually a kinda important balancing mechanic in the game. A lot of people ignore it but when you do you are giving a measurable advantage to combat oriented PCs especially those who use heavy weapons, armor, and or like to carry lots of grenades.

Having to choose your load out as opposed to being able to carry all the things is a part of the challenge, taking it away can lessen the experience. It's best to keep it on the Player's minds right from the beginning. It's really as easy as saying "We are using Encumbrance rules so keep track of what you are carrying", people are generally honest so let them do the work. If they fudge a point here or there it's not a big deal unless they've gone Munchkin on you. Then get them to dial it back a bit.

I always consider Encumbrance for characters, but I only rarely consider it for vehicles. Really, a ship like the Citadel runs out of EC realm fast just counting the personal possessions of the 1.5 dozen people on board.

I don't always make players track encumbrance, but when I do, I "liberate" excess gear using grabby street urchins, thorny bushes, or other situations where having lots of stuff on you would be a lot of trouble.

Stay clever, my friends.

Here is my easy solution for a group of very experienced players. A simple house rule.

Ignore the rules for Encumbrance on page 152. Any characters deemed by the GM to be carrying an excessive amount of equipment will have to add one or more Setback dice ( b ) to all relevant rolls until he stops being such a pack rat.

I'm not opposed to not keeping up with it, but I find that if we do play with encumbrance values and the players are tracking what they have on them, they only take what they need or want or find interesting. That's why they have a ship. To carry the interesting things that they may find useful but not always necessary. I'll admit, I don't track encumbrance on the ship as close as I probably should. I will use it for cargo they are hauling, but I allow leeway for items in their cabins and whatnot as long as they aren't being ridiculous... like trying to collect rusted droid parts for cheap in every single village, town, station, planet they visit... that gets added to ship encumbrance.

What about note card for each item with it's encumbrance value on it. Those facing up are "carried". Those facing down are on the ship or back at base or whatever.

Total up the encumbrance of the face up cards and compare against your threshold.

I do find it interesting that even though it is a system mechanic it is not listed on the character sheet for any of the equipment slots. If we ever get a Hero Lab version, this would be something that is easy to see and handle (as you place things that you do not carry into different bags and it shows how the encumbrance is reduced or even back on the ship) plus it lists those kinds of values on the sheets in other systems.

Conversely, it is nice that everything is not gear-centric in this system. If you have a copy of the character sheets, you can always add in pencil marks for the encumbrance and know easily enough without interrupting the flow of the game.

Ogg's character builder does a good job of tracking encumbrance. It also allows one to "leave things" on the ship by marking what is carried vs what is owned.

If he had a better search system in the equipment section, it would be an excellent tool for rapid assessment of looting capacity and potential encumbrance impact. It would also be a good source for merchant inventory lists.

It would also be a good source for merchant inventory lists.

Meanwhile, there is http://swrpg.viluppo.net/equipment/

Ogg's character builder does a good job of tracking encumbrance. It also allows one to "leave things" on the ship by marking what is carried vs what is owned.

If he had a better search system in the equipment section, it would be an excellent tool for rapid assessment of looting capacity and potential encumbrance impact. It would also be a good source for merchant inventory lists.

Yeah... sorry, I forget about this... because I am not running Windows on my laptop...

Personally, I like solutions like this : http://rottenpulp.blogspot.com/2012/06/matt-rundles-anti-hammerspace-item.html

You might need to tweak it a bit, but i think it's a good point from which to start.