I am in the minority on this, but, oh, do I enjoy creating equipment load-outs for my character to the last pound. In many games, they write for the "please make it easy" crowd; those games just don't do it for me. They will simplify encumbrance straight out of the game, handwave it to coins to movement, or ignore the weight of essential gear.
Yes, crafting an equipment load takes time.
But this is just as enjoyable as character creation, especially if your weight matters. And you are playing a system where you can point-buy your strength up to levels where your combat statistics and movement improve, and you can see that improvement on the battlefield. GURPS and Dungeon Fantasy are like that. My low-level tanks are slow and unable to dodge. They are designed to drop those backpacks to at least get to light encumbrance so they can get an extra point of movement.
My first priorities are buying strength and the character's basic movement allowance. If I get magic gear that is lighter, great. If I can upgrade the armor, I need to recalculate. I may earn money for new stuff, and shopping is a character improvement.
Look at that loadout. I added six rations after this and spent 12 copper, but those went in the backpack, and I am ready to go. This loadout is "dressing for success" in an old-school game - and your weight allowance game is the difference between life and death.
I've lost half the people reading this by now; I know that equipment list is atrocious. This is the GURPS Character Sheet, by the way (please support the creator on Patreon, this is an awesome application, far more worth subscriptions to anything), and it makes organizing and picking gear easy. I organized the list so pouches would go on the belt, the backpack would be last in case I wanted to drop to get to light encumbrance, and my weapons and armor would come first.
She is a cleric with a light spell; no torches are needed (sorry, Shadowdark). This candle-like light isn't torch-worthy, but it will keep her out of the dark. And I know the image below is a plate mail set when my gear says scale. This is later in her career.
Note to gamemastering games like this. Don't you dare make those heavily armored orcs have a complete, unencumbered movement allowance! That is not fair! If the players are tracking to-the-pound weight allowances, knock points off the move/dodge EVERY humanoid enemy depending on their armor and load. Stronger enemies will have fewer points knocked off, but armored (usually fast) goblins may suffer more.
This isn't D&D where goblins can run in full plate at full speed.
If I am running one or two characters in a solo play, I can manage this. That gear list is a part of the character design. My gear will force character point spending. If my STR goes up, my move and dodge improve, and so will my melee damage, so I get a triple benefit. Better equipment will change her load out, especially magic items.
Gear, once set, usually doesn't change all that much. Typically, it will be "X pounds of treasure carried" in a dungeon, and when the adventure is over, we go shopping and recalculate our gear. This is also "character improvement" without raising the power level as characters improve their gear and optimize.
In games like GURPS, I don't give out too much magic treasure. I am rethinking that and will be more generous in my solo games since magic items are fun.
If you simplify the gear game, a lot starts falling apart. The Fantasy Trip simplifies gear but has the GURPS assumptions built in. Armor sets movement rate. You have limited slots for items; some take up more 'item slots' than others. The gear game is here, and it matters. It is simplified for multi-unit skirmishes, but the design principles are the same.
Dungeon Fantasy and GURPS are built on that core assumption, but the game goes into more detail. You track encumbrance, and strong characters can negate the movement penalties. There is a concept of dodge linked to the encumbrance level. You can drop backpacks before you go into battle. You can increase base speed. Character points let you play with these values so you can level up and tweak your gear load and build.
Some games handwave it all off for simplicity, and there is a market for that. I find that many 'ease of use' OSR games toss out that complexity, and there isn't much to replace it. Movement and hauling treasure, the core of the OSR dungeon game, is simplified to an extent where all the tactical (and escape) options are meaningless. It becomes walk up and bonk each over the head until the bag of hit points is depleted. Having archers to target fast enemies isn't needed. Your tanks being slow isn't a consideration in tactics, battle movement, and evasion.
It's all just too simplified to the point of being bland.
No comments:
Post a Comment