GM Hobs game musings 1: Equipment and Encumbrance.

As a player I have always hated buying equipment. As a GM I have always hated tracking it. I didn't get into gaming to be an accountant (I clearly got into it to be a statistician). Yet, with that said, it can become ludicrous what PCs end up having after a few levels. I once audited a character sheet after three levels and found an old cheese sandwich written down on it. As a GM I have glanced at players sheets and politely suggested that their character maybe better served by having a pack mule, rather than by being one. So, clearly some system is needful to keep up with equipment and to limit how much is carried.

Lately, some OSR developers have had similar attitudes, and we are seeing some alternate encumbrance rules that neither focus on heavy bookkeeping or completely ignore its need all together. (The rules light Knave game is a favorite as it integrates equipment in a way that is actually fun).

Here is an idea I will be trying in my next OSR D&D game.

Equipment declaration.

There are two truisms of gold and encumbrance. Gold does little good on an adventure when it could be turned into the right tool. Also once you start down the road to the lightly encumbered you may as well push it up to the last pound because the penalties will be no different. Taking both of these into account this system would work as follows.

When making a character (or preparing for the next adventure) a player purchase essentials like weapons, armor, and items that have to be specialty acquired (like potions in my games). For very common items they declare a number of gold pieces they have invested in equipment and a level of encumbrance (including the armor/weapons/shields) they will be carrying. From that point on when the PC needs a piece of common equipment they merely declare they would have purchased it. As long as it is logical the GM agrees they then have it in their packs. The Player then adds it to the character sheet and reduces the "gold-credit" by that amount.  Next they simply add the weight amount to the total of the weight they are currently carrying which. The PC can keep declaring equipment until either they run out of gold-credit or reach the maximum encumbrance value they have committed to.

Along the way PCs are going to gain extra stuff (more weapons, coins, a Persian carpet, or the hide of a small dragon, etc). When the PCs do here is my fix. If the item is small just add it to the current total and keep going. If the item is large check if the character has passed the halfway mark of "uncertain equipment" to the next encumbrance level. If they are well below it simply inform the Player that their character is now at the halfway point and restart the total from there. If they are near the halfway point inform the player that this puts them at max encumbrance for that encumbrance level and keep going. If they were near the top of that encumbrance level, you guessed it, just boost them to the next encumbrance level and keep going.
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Not part of the above system, but worth noting, is the other side of encumbrance, rarely covered (hats off again to Knave), which is bulk. I don't like to be over fussed about this, but there is a limit to what can be carried based on where to put it. Modern camping packs are modern. Even backpacks as we consider them really aren't historically accurate. Ergonomics as a word only goes back to the 50s.

I don't like to get to fussed about this, but I do try to be loosely reasonable.

I think one backpack and one other back item (maybe weapon, quiver, or wineskin), one large and two or three small things on the belt  (belt pouches, and scabbards come to mind), and one large thing or two small things in the hands pretty well covers what can be carried before the bulk of it become encumbering.

As I run OSR games I highly encourage the PCs to hire hench persons and buy pack animals. That loot has to make it to town somehow.

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