My issues are more like this...

"You're taking your tool kit with you to a meet and greet?"

"Yep. I take it everywhere."

I hand waved "kitchen drawer" tools; everybody gets them, 0 Enc, fit easily in a pant pocket, they facilitate tasks requiring tools but provide no bonus other than performance of the task itself, and in some cases the character may be unable to perform tasks without them.

So back OT.

I ruled you cannot "add" Enc capacity in excess of your Enc capacity (ie: if you can carry 8, then gear can add no more than eight). I also use despair to shoot/slice holes in backpacks...

Mostly I don't personally bother with the math if what the PCs propose carrying is a quantity of items you could hang on a belt and fit in a pack. I don't bother because the rules say in general don't bother.

Mostly I don't personally bother with the math if what the PCs propose carrying is a quantity of items you could hang on a belt and fit in a pack. I don't bother because the rules say in general don't bother.

This is pretty much my approach as well. As long as the players are within their Encumbrance limit, I'm not awfully particular about what gets carried where. The only exception is for things they wish to use the Quick Draw talent with, since it specified the item must be "readily available".

As for what sort of Encumbrance-improving gear you could carry at one time I limit it to a single backpack, a single surveyor's bag and either a set of load-bearing gear or a utility belt (my reasoning being that a load-bearing gear is basically a utility belt with some shoulder straps for additional carrying capacity).

If players are bitching about RAW not specifically disallowing multiple backpack or whatnot one solution might be to just add the Cumbersome quality for a second/third pack equal to the pack's Encumbrance increase. Two military backpacks? That's Cumbersome 6. Oh, what's that? You only have 3 Brawn? Well, get ready to increase all difficulties three times because you're carrying ridiculous amounts of stuff.

I allow a single pack and a belt. Anything else falls into narrative territory. Yes, you can put on a pack, toss a canoe on your shoulders and somehow still carry paddles and life jackets, but you aren't fighting or hacking servers. That part of the story is about endurance and how much progress you can make, and what the impact of that progress is.

I kind of feel like the act of putting on a pack in the first place should impose the same Encumbrance penalty. A utility belt serves a great purpose, but a pack by its nature is going to mess with your balance and coordination. Luckily I don't have players that push those boundaries so I haven't felt the need to make a ruling.

I kind of feel like the act of putting on a pack in the first place should impose the same Encumbrance penalty. A utility belt serves a great purpose, but a pack by its nature is going to mess with your balance and coordination. Luckily I don't have players that push those boundaries so I haven't felt the need to make a ruling.

The packs themselves are rather "small" with even the good ones just storing large-size data-pads or better just negating that much encumbrance you can imho obviously store more in those packs than they reduce encumbrance, etc and they are rather expansive, so you can assume high-quality-grade straps, adjustments and positioning. A good backpack makes a lot of stuff nearly weightless and keeps your balance intact. A bad one feels already heavy from just a few books, but are are paying solid amounts of credits for those backpacks.

I think I should emphasis this again: A backpack should be able to store more than those 3 points encumbrance reduction, but lightly packed it allows for basically ignoring the extra weight.

Odd, how deep and really well working those abstraction layers in the rules are. I really, really like those rules even when I was initially irritated about the low encumbrance rating for characters in general. "A datapad with encumbrance 2, really?", think about it, something which is basically a smartphone are ipad mini gives you one encumbrance. Ever had a problem with moving when your phone is in your pocket or when you store your ipad mini in the inside pocket of your jacket or coat?

I've carried my body weight or more in gear before. Yeah, you can do it. Yeah, you can wear multiple packs on your back, plus one on the front, plus armor, plus load-bearing gear, plus belt, plus a carried duffel bag, plus rocket launcher and comm wire strapped to a pack, plus primary weapon in hand. Yeah, it can be done. And the person can still hike from point A to point B.

But if they want to do ANYTHING other than walk, all that crap is getting dropped.

The way I tend to handle this is a mixture of what the rules say and common sense mixed with firsthand knowledge and experience. If a player wants to carry more than a rifle/shotgun and pistol, it's going to hamper movements and actions. If they just want to walk with eight rifles slung on their shoulders, fine.

When it comes to encumbrance in games, a little common sense goes a long way. As long as you're not dealing with rules lawyers.

Encumbrance is imo something they probably just shouldn't have even bothered with in their item stats. The game is narrative and they should've left the arithmetic out. Just a general guideline, holdouts are small pistols, heavy are full size pistols and bulky ie Han's pistol, regular are in between, or comlinks are like a cell phone, etc.

They list a physical description for every item anyway so just leaving it at common sense as to what can be carried, a gray side bar on setbacks for what a GM considered too much and been done with it. The Cumbersome mechanic and Encumbrance are needlessly duplicative I think and Cumbersome could've just been used for the crunch.

Mostly I don't personally bother with the math if what the PCs propose carrying is a quantity of items you could hang on a belt and fit in a pack. I don't bother because the rules say in general don't bother.

Ah, who am I fooling. I just added more gear.

I wonder if a tech could add small droid repulsors to a backpack to allow it to carry more stuff? Minmaxing minds want to know!

They say crates have their own grav units. I'm sure they could attach a leash to one of those....

http://cmsimg.marinecorpstimes.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=M6&Date=20080122&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=801220310&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Downside-full-combat-load-examined

Been there. Done that.

Need to find a picture of privates going to basic training. Those are fun times there.

You could harrass the player with black dices for unstable underground or something like that. It is indeed no problem for a trained individual to walk for hours with load bearing gear, a big military backbag and perhaps even a utility vest, So 10 more points of encumberance would be no restriction in most circumstances. But if you have to balance on a narrow catwalk, climb a wall or absail down a rope or any other check involving athletics or coordination would be a perfect situation to add tons of setback dices. And there is always the social (roleplay) component. If you are packed like a mule, especially using military gear like harnesses or a bergan would rise lots of attention. There is no need to carry military grade weapons and armor for a security officer to ask questions and become noticed by the officials.

That's expected and should be encouraged.

http://cmsimg.marinecorpstimes.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=M6&Date=20080122&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=801220310&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Downside-full-combat-load-examined

Been there. Done that.

Respect, then, as I'm 100 lbs and feel exhausted toting the core book around.

BUT, would you want to go into battle with all that stuff? Especially the cinematic kind of battles we see in Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc where everyone is jumping and leaping around?

The issue isn't that this stuff can't be carried... but that the game treats you as wearing the same as an Olympic gymnast while carrying it.

A combat load is lighter, a bit. Unless you are the corpsman or the poor schlub hauling the radio. My combat load was about 80lbs I think.

Let's see:

Body armor, helmet, LBE (Load Bearing Equipment), plus assault pack. M4 with a magazine. Plus 6-8 extra magazines for the M4, first aid pack, signaling gearing, MRE, spare uniform with extra socks and underwear, poncho liner, poncho, inner sleeping bag, water pack, canteens, and extra gear depending on role (extra ammo for the SAW and 240, radio, or carry the stretcher and such for Doc).

http://cmsimg.marinecorpstimes.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=M6&Date=20080122&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=801220310&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Downside-full-combat-load-examined

Been there. Done that.

I see everything but the Wizard's pouch. Perhaps I'm not thinking about this correctly.

My issues are more like this...

"You're taking your tool kit with you to a meet and greet?"

"Yep. I take it everywhere."

I hand waved "kitchen drawer" tools; everybody gets them, 0 Enc, fit easily in a pant pocket, they facilitate tasks requiring tools but provide no bonus other than performance of the task itself, and in some cases the character may be unable to perform tasks without them.

So back OT.

I ruled you cannot "add" Enc capacity in excess of your Enc capacity (ie: if you can carry 8, then gear can add no more than eight). I also use despair to shoot/slice holes in backpacks...

Probably the biggest reason why entertainment companies (not Just FFG) needs to hire military personnel. We know all about what a person can and cannot carry.

I wonder if a tech could add small droid repulsors to a backpack to allow it to carry more stuff? Minmaxing minds want to know!

Better yet, why not build the repulsors into the bag?

Personally, a utility belt, LBG, and a back are more than good enough, unless there's some new gear being introduced. Then it will be case by case.

They say crates have their own grav units. I'm sure they could attach a leash to one of those....

If this little AZ Droid can hover, what's to keep that from going on a backpack? For crate-sized object I'd reckon they're too big and require too much power, but for this droid....

Let's see:

Body armor, helmet, LBE (Load Bearing Equipment), plus assault pack. M4 with a magazine. Plus 6-8 extra magazines for the M4, first aid pack, signaling gearing, MRE, spare uniform with extra socks and underwear, poncho liner, poncho, inner sleeping bag, water pack, canteens, and extra gear depending on role (extra ammo for the SAW and 240, radio, or carry the stretcher and such for Doc).

I was keeping it simple for the civvies.

They say crates have their own grav units. I'm sure they could attach a leash to one of those....

To hell with a leash! Lets AI up that sucker and have it follow you around. "Meet K7-B2. He's my blaster caddie."

They say crates have their own grav units. I'm sure they could attach a leash to one of those....

To hell with a leash! Lets AI up that sucker and have it follow you around. "Meet K7-B2. He's my blaster caddie."

Umboboo, bring me my Krayte Dragon rifle!

Let's see:

Body armor, helmet, LBE (Load Bearing Equipment), plus assault pack. M4 with a magazine. Plus 6-8 extra magazines for the M4, first aid pack, signaling gearing, MRE, spare uniform with extra socks and underwear, poncho liner, poncho, inner sleeping bag, water pack, canteens, and extra gear depending on role (extra ammo for the SAW and 240, radio, or carry the stretcher and such for Doc).

I was keeping it simple for the civvies.

Why keep it simple for them. Lets blow their freaking minds!

Let's see:

Body armor, helmet, LBE (Load Bearing Equipment), plus assault pack. M4 with a magazine. Plus 6-8 extra magazines for the M4, first aid pack, signaling gearing, MRE, spare uniform with extra socks and underwear, poncho liner, poncho, inner sleeping bag, water pack, canteens, and extra gear depending on role (extra ammo for the SAW and 240, radio, or carry the stretcher and such for Doc).

I was keeping it simple for the civvies.

Why keep it simple for them. Lets blow their freaking minds!

Part of the issue, I think is thematic: what's the "feel" of the game? I have a military background, my games often incorporate elements of my own experiences in things like weapons, armor, fighting vehicles, etc. For an AoR campaign, I think that's totally appropriate, and may even add to the suspension of disbelief. A good example would be the "new" Battlestar Galactica reboot from 2004.

On the other hand, for a more adventurous or space opera sort of theme I'd be much more inclined to ignore all but the most egregious violations unless it was germane to the story. Character concept and careers can play into this as well: a Sharpshooter or Gadgeteer probably knows what - and how much - they're carrying, but the Scoundrel or Seer may not be so concerned. PCs in this type of game probably have what they need when they need it, unless the plot says otherwise. Most of the Star Trek iterations fall into this category.

It seems like encumbrance is most often an issue immediately before/during/after combat or after raids/thefts. Games themed around politics, romance, physical and mental skill, and any of dozens of other possibilities may never even touch on it. This could range from the lighthearted to the dark-and-gloomy. The works of Shakespeare provide a huge number of examples (and more than a few plot ideas ), and so do the Star Wars films themselves.

TL;DR - I can't believe that computing and worrying about encumbrance is fun for anyone . If one of your players is abusing it, call them on it as part of the narrative. Komrk and Krieger22 have some excellent examples.

If a player character is donkeying around, just put him on ice. I mean really, on real ice. Be sure to hand out damage to some of the donkey's equipment during the inevitable fall. Who knows, maybe some of the luggage can even slide down a mountain or onto a frozen road, where it can impact a moving hoverbus and burst into a million pieces.

Also, if there is some kind of social encounter, the person who brought five pieces of luggage to the meeting shouldn't be taken as seriously as the other players.

If a player character is donkeying around, just put him on ice. I mean really, on real ice. Be sure to hand out damage to some of the donkey's equipment during the inevitable fall. Who knows, maybe some of the luggage can even slide down a mountain or onto a frozen road, where it can impact a moving hoverbus and burst into a million pieces.

Also, if there is some kind of social encounter, the person who brought five pieces of luggage to the meeting shouldn't be taken as seriously as the other players.

And then, 5 hours later everyone else is freezing to death, because in one of those luggage was the tent, heater, emergency rations they all needed. ;-)

Besides that, screw ice, I have a repulsor board for all that luggage, I am not carrying all that stuff on my own

They say crates have their own grav units. I'm sure they could attach a leash to one of those....

Heeere boxy, come here Boxy! Stay boxy. Gooooood Boxy! Who's a good little crate? Yes who? Who is carrying my favorite stuff for me? Yes you are! Yes you are!

They say crates have their own grav units. I'm sure they could attach a leash to one of those....

Heeere boxy, come here Boxy! Stay boxy. Gooooood Boxy! Who's a good little crate? Yes who? Who is carrying my favorite stuff for me? Yes you are! Yes you are!

Just anti-gravity, no elaborated repulsor engines. You still need to pull or push a little for them to move, they are just not pulled down by gravity.

TL;DR - I can't believe that computing and worrying about encumbrance is fun for anyone . If one of your players is abusing it, call them on it as part of the narrative.

Some people want to play Edge of the Spreadsheet. Not me though.

A couple points occur to me:

1. If you're really wearing 2 backpacks and all that, could your silhouette be increased? I'd allow it depending on the circumstances

2. An enemy that misses but gains a couple Advantage might have just blown a hole one piece of gear that's carrying other gear.

Seems like this can police itself if we're creative about it.

What about: If you increase your encumbrance threshold through gear and end up more than doubling your encumbrance threshold, let's say you have 7 enc threshold, and you add a military pack, load bearing gear and a surveyor's satchel, this results in a total modified enc threshold of 18. What if you can then carry up to your double unmodified encumbrance threshold, 14 in this case, with no effect, but above this you still get a game mechanical effect. So, then what if you carry more than double your unmodified enc threshold, like 16 encumbrance worth of stuff using the threshold above?

You could either be considered encumbered as per the CRB like normal, or you could modify it slightly. For instance, per 2 points above double umodified enc threshold you add 1 setback die. Additionally, you don't lose your free maneuver until you go above the modified enc threshold... So if I carry 16 worth of encumbrance with the threshold above I add 1 setback die, 2 at 18, and at 19 I lose my free maneuver. This still give some benefit, but not the full on nullifying force of this type of gear.

So if my GM then allowed me to add a wizard pouch, a utility belt and a utility vest, which would add another 5 increases, so a 23 modified encumbrance threshold, I wouldn't lose my free maneuver before I carried 24 or more worth of encumbrance, but I'd be adding 5 setback dice to all agility and brawn related tasks...

This portrays that you can carry all that stuff on your body, but you're still going to notice it. And sometimes you need to be able to carry more stuff, and stuff to carry stuff in properly, is good stuff. But it still adds weight and bulk.