Has anyone given much thought to bonuses/penalties for size? I noted a mention of attack bonuses on 212; however, I did not see anything related to encumbrance or stealth. Is that absence an explicit design decision? In the case of encumbrance, the rules are specific enough to question.

Um...I suppose you could add a Boost or Setback die for larger or smaller creatures as needed and warranted for the situation.

I don't really see the purpose behind this question though. This is intended to be a cinematic game, and not one to get bogged down in too many details. While it would make sense that a smaller human character couldn't carry as much as say a wookiee, it isnt something that the rules wish to deal with. I presume that is why they set most races at Size 2. Jawas are Size 1 creatures have one less base Brawn which will reduce the average carrying capacity.

Has anyone given much thought to bonuses/penalties for size? I noted a mention of attack bonuses on 212; however, I did not see anything related to encumbrance or stealth. Is that absence an explicit design decision? In the case of encumbrance, the rules are specific enough to question.

Since there's no rules text to cover, I'd call it an intentional design omission in regards to Encumbrance and Stealth.

That said, don't think there's much of a need to really get into that kind of detail. I suppose if you want creatures with a bigger Silhouette to be able to carry more, then you could just add twice the beastie's Silhouette value (again, just for those that are Silhouette 2 or bigger) to their Brawn+5 to determine how much gear they can carry, with a dedicated beast of burden such as a Bantha getting an additional +5 bonus.

As for Stealth, I'm not really sure this would come up often enough to be a factor in game play. Most things that a PC will encounter are Silhouette 2 or bigger are going to be vehicles, and in Star Wars those are anything but stealthy.

As for Stealth, I'm not really sure this would come up often enough to be a factor in game play. Most things that a PC will encounter are Silhouette 2 or bigger are going to be vehicles, and in Star Wars those are anything but stealthy.

Let's imagine a Rancor popping out from behind a small rock formation. Not very likely. If the PCs fail to notice a Rancor, it's going to be because of environmental conditions and bad rolls.

...but sometimes the party has earned the ninja Rancor.

I think encumbrance beyond the player characters is left to the discretion of GMs. As to silhouette affecting other things like stealth, again a GM can apply boost/setback dice as approriate. Not everything needs to quantified.

As for Stealth, I'm not really sure this would come up often enough to be a factor in game play. Most things that a PC will encounter are Silhouette 2 or bigger are going to be vehicles, and in Star Wars those are anything but stealthy.

Let's imagine a Rancor popping out from behind a small rock formation. Not very likely. If the PCs fail to notice a Rancor, it's going to be because of environmental conditions and bad rolls.

...but sometimes the party has earned the ninja Rancor.

...and that's why I named my Rancor Chuck Norris. Reference from earlier post.

Ninja Rancor... I LOVE it.

I've considered playing a heavy labor droid PC as a bodyguard. I figure a Silhouette of 2 is Wampa/Tonton size. Not unreasonable to assume a heavy-lifting worker 'bot being that size. The only mechanical downside I can find is when interacting aggressively with Size 0 targets. I guess, now that you mention it, it does make sense to be able to lift/carry more as a big droid designed to do as such.

And yeah, I can totally see the GM tossing me SB dice like you say, for stealth and such.

That said, don't think there's much of a need to really get into that kind of detail.

That was why I asked. Given the general adherence to cinematic mechanics, I found the encumbrance rules heavy on accounting. Encumbrance is about as crucial to fun as tracking food reserves.

That said, don't think there's much of a need to really get into that kind of detail.

That was why I asked. Given the general adherence to cinematic mechanics, I found the encumbrance rules heavy on accounting. Encumbrance is about as crucial to fun as tracking food reserves.

It pretty much only exists to make it so that players don't take absurd amounts of gear (especially weapons) with them. When you have no encumbrance rules you get PCs running around with a half dozen blaster rifles.

It pretty much only exists to make it so that players don't take absurd amounts of gear (especially weapons) with them. When you have no encumbrance rules you get PCs running around with a half dozen blaster rifles.

Pretty much. I've seen firsthand what can happen in games where the GM doesn't track Encumbrance. There are some points where I think EotE is a bit too restrictive with regards to Encumbrance (grenades being a major one for me), but that's neither here nor there.

Still, kinda impressive to see the dainty halfling rogue suddenly reveal she's got a dozen sets of "slightly used" armor she's looking to sell for to the local blacksmith as 'raw materials' (even willing to accept a substantially lower payment than usual for used goods). We didn't touch the fact that parts of the salvaged armor were brown...

That said, don't think there's much of a need to really get into that kind of detail.

That was why I asked. Given the general adherence to cinematic mechanics, I found the encumbrance rules heavy on accounting. Encumbrance is about as crucial to fun as tracking food reserves.

Huh? There are only a handful of rules dealing with Encumbrance. I can rattle off a bunch of games that make you micro-manage that down to the ounce.

This one is simple. If I am carrying under my Brawn in Encumbrance I am unencumbered and receive my free maneuver. If I am carrying more, up to 5 + Brawn I do not get a free maneuver. Worn armor requires 3 less encumbrance. Some packs and utility belts increase carrying capacity.

I think that is all of them.

Huh? There are only a handful of rules dealing with Encumbrance. I can rattle off a bunch of games that make you micro-manage that down to the ounce.

This one is simple. If I am carrying under my Brawn in Encumbrance I am unencumbered and receive my free maneuver. If I am carrying more, up to 5 + Brawn I do not get a free maneuver. Worn armor requires 3 less encumbrance. Some packs and utility belts increase carrying capacity.

I think that is all of them.

I agree that the rules pertaining to how much you can carry and what happens if you go over that amount are simple. But there is a bit of bean-counting in "how much can I safely carry before I'm over my Encumbrance Threshold?" Compared to some third-party games that have a heavy focus on narrative, any degree of "bean-counting," simple or not, can be construed as "heavy on accounting." It's all a matter of perception.

Huh? There are only a handful of rules dealing with Encumbrance. I can rattle off a bunch of games that make you micro-manage that down to the ounce.

This one is simple. If I am carrying under my Brawn in Encumbrance I am unencumbered and receive my free maneuver. If I am carrying more, up to 5 + Brawn I do not get a free maneuver. Worn armor requires 3 less encumbrance. Some packs and utility belts increase carrying capacity.

I think that is all of them.

I agree that the rules pertaining to how much you can carry and what happens if you go over that amount are simple. But there is a bit of bean-counting in "how much can I safely carry before I'm over my Encumbrance Threshold?" Compared to some third-party games that have a heavy focus on narrative, any degree of "bean-counting," simple or not, can be construed as "heavy on accounting." It's all a matter of perception.

True, but I think that EotE was trying to find a good balance between Cinematic and Realistic. I think they did an admirable job.

But you are right, there is a tremendous difference between 0 and 1.

Huh? There are only a handful of rules dealing with Encumbrance. I can rattle off a bunch of games that make you micro-manage that down to the ounce.

This one is simple. If I am carrying under my Brawn in Encumbrance I am unencumbered and receive my free maneuver. If I am carrying more, up to 5 + Brawn I do not get a free maneuver. Worn armor requires 3 less encumbrance. Some packs and utility belts increase carrying capacity.

I think that is all of them.

That's not correct. You get your free maneuver until you are carrying you are carrying 5 + 2 x Brawn. Anything under your Encumbrance Threshold (5 + Brawn) doesn't affect you, once you are carrying past that threshold you are Encumbered and take a Setback die for every point over your Encumbrance Threshold you are on all Agility and Brawn checks. If you are encumbered by an amount greater than your Brawn rating, you lose your free maneuver. You are not Encumbered until you get past your Threshold.

That said, don't think there's much of a need to really get into that kind of detail.

That was why I asked. Given the general adherence to cinematic mechanics, I found the encumbrance rules heavy on accounting. Encumbrance is about as crucial to fun as tracking food reserves.

Huh? There are only a handful of rules dealing with Encumbrance. I can rattle off a bunch of games that make you micro-manage that down to the ounce.

This one is simple. If I am carrying under my Brawn in Encumbrance I am unencumbered and receive my free maneuver. If I am carrying more, up to 5 + Brawn I do not get a free maneuver. Worn armor requires 3 less encumbrance. Some packs and utility belts increase carrying capacity.

I think that is all of them.

That's not correct. You get your free maneuver until you are carrying you are carrying 5 + 2 x Brawn. Anything under your Encumbrance Threshold (5 + Brawn) doesn't affect you, once you are carrying past that threshold you are Encumbered and take a Setback die for every point over your Encumbrance Threshold you are on all Agility and Brawn checks. If you are encumbered by an amount greater than your Brawn rating, you lose your free maneuver. You are not Encumbered until you get past your Threshold.

I stand corrected.

The Encumbrance section has some really awkward wording. I had to read it three times after looking at your post because the thought of someone holding a blaster pistol and being so overburdened as to not be able to carry anything else seemed absurd. The key to it is the one line that says it become Encumbrance when it goes over your Threshold.

So, if it was just your Brawn: A Bothan who did not put any points into Brawn has a datapad, then picks up a glow rod... he must now take two Strain to walk any distance (if I'm reading the section of Encumbrance that says you must take two strain to take use any maneuvers correctly).