Hello everyone!

I recently made my first test character in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. So far so good! But I have a question for you all. What do you think about the encumbrance system in this edition? Last edition was a bit.. iffy I must say.

My test character, a Dwarf Watchman with Strength 4 could carry a chainmail, an axe, a shield and a few other things like like bedroll, backpack, an iron bowl, waterskin and two set of clothes. After that he just about hit the maximum encumbrance before taking penalties.

This -is- pretty much to carry though, a chainmail is heavy as is a shield and an axe. And imagine having a backpack and bedroll on top of that. Still, anyone wanting to wear heavier armour/shield/weapons are in for a surprise!

So, again, what's your take on the encumbrance system?

Personally I ingore it. I told my players, this game is not about loot like some other fantasy games, so just don't go crazy and we won't have a problem, so far they haven't tried to carry more than weapons and armor and money.

Well, to carry weapons, shield and armor and all you need to travel is very heavy. Ever done it in a LARP (live action role playing)? You get encumbered, not by weight alone but also by the size of things.

So if you travel through BEASTMAN PLAZE with everything you own on you, well thats not a good idea. Thats why trade caravans, and travellers always have been good to raid.

The first PC need to do is throw down things not essential for combat if come under attack, takes maybe a round, but survivability goes up. Or if they are only going to investigate something or take out something - then they should only have what they need.

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Though Plate Armor only weighed 20kg at most, and thats about 15 kg less then a modern days soldier going around with and fighting with. Travelling long distances with it is heavy for the body.

On a LARP, I went around all day with Iron chainmail - sleaved and went down to my thighs - I was so exhausted and sore on my shoulders by the end of the day, and thats just the chainmail, shield and a spear....

I agree with KjetilKverndokken, the system is fine as it is. Besides, chainmail costs 1 g and breastplate & chain costs 5 g - the equivalent of 12,500 coppers! While there are no prices listed I am pretty sure that a healthy mule costs quite a bit less.

I'd also like to add that actual planning and forethought, especially against the weather and lack of food, is something often overlooked by the average adventurer. Even though I dare say that those adversaries are just as dangerous as your average Beastmen pack (although I do realise that not all gamers are interested in these more mundane aspects of adventuring).

Just a thought, but if you feel that the encumberance rules are a bit heavy (no pun intended) you could try doing something similar to the Riddle of Steel system.

I think (its been a while) that with Riddle, the encumbrance values for armour that you are actually wearing is half what is listed. There is apparently a big difference between wearing a chain shirt (that has been made to fit you) and carrying one rolled up in a backpack. Its supposedly all about weight distribution.

I have never actually wandered around in armour and tested this theory (as some previous posters may have) but at face value it makes sense to me.

I know Riddle tries to be more of a simulation type of game than WFRP (dont have the rules yet so Im only going off general consensus here) but they are both similar in the respect that they work on dice pools and your encumbrance has a direct effect on your dice pools when in combat.

Thoughts???

I totally agree, 40 to 50% of the felt weight goes away at least when you wear it.

KjetilKverndokken said:

Looking at the values for armour compared with weapons, encumbrance doesn't have much to do with weight anyway.

Overall, it looks ok to me. A character with STR 4 can carry metal armour, a melee weapon, a shield, a bow and ammunition without penalty as long as they their pack as soon as they get into a fight. Characters with STR 3 will have to economise somewhere.

Ideally you'd just stick the entire party's non-combat gear and spare ammo on a mule, but mule/cart/horse data is strangely missing. We called it 2g for a basic riding horse, maybe 50-70 silver for a mule.

30 silver for a mule at max aint going higher

Characters will most likely be staying in Inns while in town and at Coaching Inns when traveling. Unless they have a specific reason to be out in the Beastmen infested forests for a prolonged period of time, they don't need to hump a pack full of the rope, bedroll, camping gear, and trail rations commonly toted by adventurers in other fantasy RPGs. Other than weapons, armor, and a few incidentals, they generally don't need to carry much else.