We noticed that some adversaries are encumbered.

For example the Pirate Captain should be adding a setback die to all Brawn and Agility checks.

Some others it’s hard to figure the encumbrance for because we don’t know the stats for their equipment.

For example the Stormtrooper Sergeant seems quite encumbered depending on the stats for Stormtrooper armor.

And I’m not even sure Stormtrooper minions can maneuver at all. The encumbrance rules say that if your excess enc rating meets or exceeds your Brawn you cannot maneuver without spending strain. But minions cannot spend strain voluntarily.

Bounty Hunter seems encumbered too.

Suggestion:

I think it would be helpful if adversary stat blocks indicated Enc penalties so we know that at a glance without having to do the math on each.

First: I agree, having some note on total encumbrance for adversaries could be cool - not that I think it matters too much for minions and the like.

Second, you lose the free manoeuvre if you are encumbered equal to or more than your Brawn rating. Which I take to mean that if you exceed your Enc Threshold by an amount equal to or more than your Brawn, then you lose your free manoeuvre, meeting Enc Threshold incurs no penalty, however going over it does initially incur a Setback die.

So the Stormtroopers have a Enc Threshold of 5 +3 Brawn +1 Utility belt. So they have a total of 9 encumbrance threshold, that means they can carry up to 9 points worth of encumbrance with no penalty (which I'm pretty sure they do), but once they reach 10 they add a Setback die to all Agility and Brawn checks, when they reach a total of 12 encumbrance they lose their free manoeuvre every turn.

Their total Enc = 4 rifle + 1 extra reloads +2 frag grenades +1 Vibro knife +1 armour (4 - 3 when worn) = 9. They're fine.

The Pirate captain is encumbered, but that's easy to modify, either slap on a utility belt or exchange one of the weapons. Rarely would I send a dude carrying both those weapons.

The Sergeant troopers also seems encumbered indeed. That can also be solved by removing grenades, or exchanging the utility belt with a backpack, or just adding a backpack.

I don't worry about it since npcs don't follow the same rules as player characters.

Thanks for commenting. I agree It's not a huge deal in most cases but the bounty hunter I was looking at recently was extremely encumbered (not sure where I saw it) and the sergeant seems so as well.

I don't think the Stormtrooper lists a utility belt and we don't know the stats for Stormtrooper armor. You can go by laminate but maybe Stormtrooper armor is special and grants a utility belt or the equivalent of a backpack or load-bearing gear? Stats on Stormtrooper armor would be nice as I think it has special perception gear too. Not that PCs would ever be impersonating stormtroopers. That never happens...

I don't worry about it since npcs don't follow the same rules as player characters.

Actually, they do follow the same rules unless an exception is noted. AFAIK, there is no special exception for Encumbrance.

@usgrandprix: Stormtroopers lists utility belt, its right there between their stormtrooper armour and the extra reloads.

Also, few armours fit the Laminate bill as the stormtrooper armour does. It's even listed in paranthesis in the laminate armour heading in the gear chapter, so its obviously the intention, look up Models Include at the end of the laminate armour entry on page 170...

There is more on the stormtrooper stuff in AoR.

You could basically give them integrated scanner goggles, or some such thing, like ignore up to 2 setback dice from concealment/environmental effect to Perception and combat checks... I think AoR has something like that listed, at least for the speciality corps. And integrated comlinks of course.

Thanks Jegergryte. All good to know.

I don't worry about it since npcs don't follow the same rules as player characters.

Actually, they do follow the same rules unless an exception is noted. AFAIK, there is no special exception for Encumbrance.

As you wish. I don't worry about trivial things like that for what is basically one-shot characters. Pointless as far as i'm concerned.

I agree with mouthymerc. Encumbrance for NPCs really isn't going to be a factor in most encounters, particularly if the NPCs are Minions or Rivals, since they're not likely to be seen again after the encounter they show up in. If anything, it'd be one more thing for the GM to keep track off during an encounter, and from how FFG has presented EotE and AoR, it seems their approach is to keep things as fluid and easy on the GM as possible.

However, for a recurring Nemesis, then I'd say Encumbrance might be something worth noting, but that too could simply be on a case-by-case basis.

Agreed, unless the NPC is dragging a crate full of mcguffen to his ship, I don't think tracking encumbrance will give any value added.

I pretty much ignore encumbrance on NPC's. I give it the "does this look reasonable?" check, and if all's good, move on. There are so much more important things to worry about.

I think my player has a valid gripe if he has to roll a setback die against an adversary who does not if they both have the same gear.

A setback die is a lot, especially for sticking with his slugthrower for really nice RP reasons.

He'll be flexible but it helps if I can point to a rule that says encumbrance does not apply to adversaries. Especially when the rule as written says enc applies to "characters" and not "player characters."

There's a difference between how the rule is written and what it should be.

I'm cool with the "adversaries don't have to worry about enc" idea but that's not what the book says to be clear. Just pointing it out.

I think my player has a valid gripe if he has to roll a setback die against an adversary who does not if they both have the same gear.

Well, as a PC he's got a lot more options available to him in the form of talents and likely a much higher Wound Threshold on top of having a Strain Threshold in comparison to the vast majority of NPCs that he'll be facing. So it ultimately works out in his favor, since he's got a broader range of abilities and resources available to him. Even the Nemesis-tier NPCs that we've seen only have a small selection of talents beyond Adversary, and for most Rivals it's the only talent they have listed.

I have to agree with Donovan. I freely encumber my NPC's, which the PC's can't do. However I also give a stormtrooper or a thug 4 to 10 wound threshhold, very limited (if any) talents, and no strain at all.

If a player becomes to problematic you can agree to manage encumbrance carefully, but you'll have to up their wounds to keep it balanced.