Characters and Carrying capacity

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

[Naaman]

I like your perspective on this.

I can think of a half dozen ways to achieve this without actually having a list of things, but, then, for some, the list actually matters (what they have, and just as importantly what they choose not to have and why) matters to some folk.

I TEND to make allowances for characters to be assumed to have the basic items appropriate to their concept. A medic, for example, still has to track how many med packs he has used, but bandages and suringes and other thins that would be like "ammo" to the character are generrally assumed to be in his possession, up to a reasonable limit (how long have they gone without access to resupply, how bad were the injuries most recently treated, etc). But the same character can't just reach into his pocket and find a plasma torch or hydro-spanner... but the shipyard tech turned PC crew chief could.

[Bren]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

A system I've used with Star Wars and other games is this: Each piece of equipment has its own equipment card. Sometimes, I use index cards. Sometimes, I create 8.5x11 sheets of paper (Word doc). But, the point is, each item is on one piece of paper or card.

A character's equipment is either placed in a zip lock container (like one of those pockets for pencils that you can keep in a three ring binder--cards fit into them nicely) or I punch letter holes in the individual equipment sheets so that the player can place them in his binder.

Each equipment sheet will have necessary details about that item. Weight, game stats, and specific notes.* There's usually enough room on the sheets to track ammo usage, if you want to do that.

Having each item on one sheet of paper serves several purposes.



1. First, just the stack of paper or cards is something physical for the player to see to make him appreciate just how much gear he is carrying. For some reason, looking at a stack of index cards has a stronger effect than just looking at 10 items listed on one sheet of paper.



2. This makes it extremely easy to pass things between PCs. It's just like passing the actual item. If a player has his character give or loan his sidearm to another character, then the player physically takes the index card from his pile or the sheet from the equipment section of his Player's Notebook and hands it to the other player.



3. If I have a pack-hound player (I've got one!) who tries to carry everything he can to the limit the rules allow, then I'll have him go through this exercise.

I'll point to his stack of equipment sheets/cards, and I'll say, "That's all of your equipment. I want you to place those on the table in the place that you are roughly carrying the item.

The player has to put any helmet or head device at the top. Then, he goes down the body--anything on the neck, shoulders, torso, arms, waist (always a big area), legs, feet.

There won't be equipment at each location, but it's a stunning visual representation of how the equipment is distributed on the body.

Once the player sees this, I often see the pack-hounds become a little more softer about all the equipment that they are carrying. It's because they can visualize it.

And, in doing this, it gives me more legitimacy if I apply an encumbrance penalty.





*The specific notes on the equipment cards are stuff that I'll attach to equipment to make the game world more "real" and visible in the player's mind's eye. Instead of a Heavy Blaster Pistol, the card may say it's a DL-44 with a handle made from ivory--some horn of some unidentified animal. On the handle, someone has scratched lines--probably marking kills. This one has three hash marks on it.

Or, maybe there is a pair of macro binoculars where the x15 setting does't work. x10 works, and x20 works, but if you set it on x15, you just get a static screen in the viewer.

I find that doing this kind of stuff not only adds character to the equipment, but also leads to some roleplaying sometime. Star Wars is a game where those with good TEC skills can improve and repair items. If someone picks up those damaged macrobinocs, he might also have a moment in the game where he fixes the issue.

This can eat up player character wealth, for parts. And, it can actually endear an item to a player.

[Bren]

[garhkal]

[Straxus]