(because I know many of you have just been waiting for me to let that one slip out!)
So I'm working on filling the details of the equipment lists for the game. Yeah, chain is going to be AC 5 and a normal sword does d8 damage. Compatibility yay!
But I'm reassigning costs and weights across the board, to make them more plausible, if not realistic. This sort of detail is the kind of thing that will get people pointing out how dumb you are in a hurry, so I was trying to get it reasonably correct for the next PDF update.
So I'm trying to look up real weights of armor and weapons and blah blah. I get distracted and click on links and I'm looking at Youtube videos where guys in 80 pound armor are doing forward rolls and some actual impressive feats of athleticism (the guy jumping off a horse in armor and landing on his ass - on purpose - is impressive in any event).
And none of it matters! Not one whit!
I've already covered this in the encumbrance rules!
The "short list of questions" encumbrance rule, while not perfected yet (holes have been found), seems to be a good idea overall. Nobody has to keep track of the weight of anything, let alone spikes and torches and arrows, and encumbrance is still accounted for and people have to be careful carrying too much stuff.
And as it is, a plate mail plus sword combo, if not carrying anything else, still leaves you unencumbered. So you can do your rolls and such like the Youtube yahoos. Carry all that plus a backpack plus crap on your belt and treasure and and a giant tuning fork (flashbacks to doings in my game in 2006), and you're not moving very fast anymore.
So instead of agonizing over the weights of 100+ items... I'm just deleting the weight column from the equipment list. Don't care. Referees are free to consult other games' equipment lists if they really need to know (and my impression is those weights are mostly fiction anyway), online resources, or just make it up on the spot and get on with things if it's important.
So why didn't I do that as soon as I came up with the general encumbrance rule in the first place? Why did I have to waste time to get to this point?
ay ay ay
Now to actually fill in all these prices. I'd love to present something like this, or at least a how-to guide to construct such tables, but I just don't have the knowledge to do so. But you'll be getting "urban" and "rural" price lists - not going to buy plate mail out in the country, y'hear?
So I'm working on filling the details of the equipment lists for the game. Yeah, chain is going to be AC 5 and a normal sword does d8 damage. Compatibility yay!
But I'm reassigning costs and weights across the board, to make them more plausible, if not realistic. This sort of detail is the kind of thing that will get people pointing out how dumb you are in a hurry, so I was trying to get it reasonably correct for the next PDF update.
So I'm trying to look up real weights of armor and weapons and blah blah. I get distracted and click on links and I'm looking at Youtube videos where guys in 80 pound armor are doing forward rolls and some actual impressive feats of athleticism (the guy jumping off a horse in armor and landing on his ass - on purpose - is impressive in any event).
And none of it matters! Not one whit!
I've already covered this in the encumbrance rules!
The "short list of questions" encumbrance rule, while not perfected yet (holes have been found), seems to be a good idea overall. Nobody has to keep track of the weight of anything, let alone spikes and torches and arrows, and encumbrance is still accounted for and people have to be careful carrying too much stuff.
And as it is, a plate mail plus sword combo, if not carrying anything else, still leaves you unencumbered. So you can do your rolls and such like the Youtube yahoos. Carry all that plus a backpack plus crap on your belt and treasure and and a giant tuning fork (flashbacks to doings in my game in 2006), and you're not moving very fast anymore.
So instead of agonizing over the weights of 100+ items... I'm just deleting the weight column from the equipment list. Don't care. Referees are free to consult other games' equipment lists if they really need to know (and my impression is those weights are mostly fiction anyway), online resources, or just make it up on the spot and get on with things if it's important.
So why didn't I do that as soon as I came up with the general encumbrance rule in the first place? Why did I have to waste time to get to this point?
ay ay ay
Now to actually fill in all these prices. I'd love to present something like this, or at least a how-to guide to construct such tables, but I just don't have the knowledge to do so. But you'll be getting "urban" and "rural" price lists - not going to buy plate mail out in the country, y'hear?
A good place to start for equipment pricing and such is the book Fief. I think it's available as a pdf and softcover.
ReplyDeleteara
the guy jumping off a horse in armor and landing on his ass - on purpose - is impressive in any event
ReplyDeleteMike Loades in "Weapons that Made Britain"? He does good documentaries once you get past the overly-macho, male menopausal presenting style.
Alexius' dynamic price charts are a tour de force of gaming obsession, but they're way too involved for me.
As for encumbrance, the OED stones system?
Mike Loades in "Weapons that Made Britain"? He does good documentaries once you get past the overly-macho, male menopausal presenting style.
ReplyDeleteSometimes referred to as "Mad Mike", still you have to have a certain temperament to do the stuff he does. Excellent television, usually accurate, and actually educational.
I agree with Ara, Fief is a good resource for this sort of thing, but if you are not using weights in favour of a more abstracted encumbrance system, nothing to worry about. I like to know ball park weights for other reasons, as I rarely calculate encumbrance when I have the option of making a best guess.
I use the simple dot system, abstract but still useful.
ReplyDeletehttp://zzarchov.blogspot.com/2009/06/you-know-what-rules-everybody-loves.html
Basically items have number of "dots" they use up in inventory, an abstract mesh of fragility, weight and awkward shape.
All small items are 1 dot (a short sword), a medium is 2 (A regular sword) and a large is 4 (A tower shield, two handed maul etc). Armour? Light, Mail and Plate (1,2,4).
How many abstract dots can you carry? Why, the same number as your abstract strength score. 10 strength, 10 dots without penalty.
So Armour, Sword and Shield, 8 dots. Put in a backup dagger and a heavy helm, 10 dots. The maximum effective gear for a normal person. Give him a crossbow, 50 feet of rope and a backpack with 2 weeks supplies, he might need to drop that stuff before fighting.