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Equipment Limit
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Zarm R'keeg
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 5:45 pm    Post subject: Equipment Limit Reply with quote

On another thread here, Ral_Brelt said:

Ral_Brelt wrote:
PC loots 4th stormtrooper so they can have the armor, blaster rifle, etc

As GM, I say...okay...-3d on all Dex skills...they ask why, I list off their loot scroll and explain the weight, etc.

Or if its a blaster that does one more pip of damage and they discard theirs...pause the game and explain this isn't D&D, ask them how many times they saw the party grab for new gear just because...not for plot purpose or for lack of any gear of their own...then ask them if they're interested in heroic play, or monty haul...if they say the latter, I kindly ask them to leave my table as its not a monty haul game.


While Lane Arroway noted:

Lane Arroway wrote:
Id like to also point out that, despite all his options, Luke Skywalker carried a blaster pistol rather than a heavy for most of his trilogy career. Mara Jade specializes in hold-out blaster. Some of the most heroic and nefarious characters we love and hate use less optimal weapons than we might as players.


These points really stuck with me; it conjured up images of Luke in Cloud City- just a blaster and a lightsaber were all he needed. It got me thinking about de-emphasizing the equipment-grab, and that in turn made me think about the old 'Lara Croft Backpack' syndrome.

Does anyone here have a system that they use for tracking equipment and making sure that PCs have a reasonable amount? I don't want to be restrictive, but I think having some tracking system (excess equipment can always be kept back at base or on-ship) and adding a dexterity penalty for carry huge bulks of equipment will both help the realism, and ideally keep the focus off a loot-grab. Any thoughts?
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 12:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The best i have seen was in rules of engagement the spec force handbook..

First method was that you get a set list of gear you can carry, such as 1 set armor, clothes, backpack, belt, 2 weapons, 3 weeks rations, and each full D of str added one additional item.

2nd was that for each pip of strength, you got one medium item you could carry. Some items might cost 2, such as a full suit of armor.
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griff
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 12:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have always tried not to be too heavy handed with the players about their characters and the character's equipment. As long as the player was being reasonable with their character's equipment being carried and what they might have in another location. I always tried to stress that what you have at home and what you take with you when being gone for the day. task at hand for the character and the character's profession makes a big difference. What a bounty hunter would carry and an engineer would carry day to day would be very different.
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 2:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Something I've considered in the past is offering free dice in skill specializations when dealing with a specific piece of equipment that they use on a regular basis, such as a particular ship or weapon, like Han Solo's heavy blaster pistol or the Millennium Falcon, or Mara's holdout blaster. This is something with which the character is intimately familiar, knowing where all the controls are without having to even think about it. In game terms, that familiarity grants an additional bonus of 1D or 2D (or more, if you prefer), and gives the player an incentive to keep his standard equipment. Yes, that new blaster may do an extra D in damage, but the character will take a 2D penalty in Blaster when he uses it. Characters may use weapons other than their standard (such as Han and Chewie using blaster rifles on the Death Star) but out of necessity instead of upgrading.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A while back i proposed a subset of specialization just for that sort of familiarity.
IE Space transport operations - specialization YT-1300, Familiarity (or double spec) in Millennium Falcon.
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cheshire
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My current GM is not imposing encumbrance rules on me, though at some point he probably should. My character tends to do looting that's... well... unconventional.

One time we were searching the penthouse of a recently incarcerated crime boss. I took it upon myself to take a comfortable-looking satin pillow. On some other adventure when other people were collecting things such as lightsaber crystals, I took a smooth purple stone and kept it in my inventory. The party took down a tarentatek, I kept a tooth.

One of these days my GM is going to look at my inventory and say, "WHY do you even HAVE these!?!?!"

I'm still trying to remember where I picked up the six-inch marble statue.
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jawa1138
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hope that I do not run into a problem in my campaign with overloaded characters, but if I do I will just try to use common sense as to what you can really carry and still expect to be useful.

As for players trying to constantly upgrade gear, I have realized that this is a big problem with the current video game generation. Even many table top rpgs lately have been ruled to the video game mentality.

I like the idea of specialization for a specific item but perhaps also give the characters a pipp or two at character creation to add to thier equipment as free upgrades. That would create a bond from the start and perhaps motivate them to use "Vera" over another blaster rifle just because its the newer model.
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Thx1138
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would think that most of the equipment a character would need to carry could be worn on a utility belt. I mean characters aren't Vietnam soldiers who carried around 30 to 40 pounds of equipment. They are mostly operatives.
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evilnerf
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was so proud of my players. I gave them a prime chance to loot some dead smugglers. They decided against it out of respect for the dead.
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 7:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Something to remember as far as looting armor; according to the RAW, if a character wearing armor is killed, the armor is effectively destroyed...
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griff
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 8:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If it ever was needed I thought that using the lifting difficulty chart would be the best answer.
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

griff wrote:
If it ever was needed I thought that using the lifting difficulty chart would be the best answer.

Or to send in stormtrooper reinforcements mid-loot...
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Savar
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

crmcneill wrote:
Something to remember as far as looting armor; according to the RAW, if a character wearing armor is killed, the armor is effectively destroyed...


Even if called shot ?
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Savar wrote:
crmcneill wrote:
Something to remember as far as looting armor; according to the RAW, if a character wearing armor is killed, the armor is effectively destroyed...


Even if called shot ?

Not if you are playing by the RAW. If the character wearing the armor is wounded or killed, the armor takes damage commensurate with the character. The RAW makes no provision for the effects of called shots in this situation.
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Whill
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 9:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't think the problem is a player wanting to upgrade to a better blaster, so I don't see any need to give away specialization (or familiarity) dice to incent them to just stick with the blaster they have. The real problem is player greed sometimes making players think their PCs needs three blasters, etc. I despise the D&D (or video game) mentality that makes players think their Star Wars PCs need to carry a ton of weapons and equipment around. Are the film heroes overly encumbered by material things on their person? No, so the PCs shouldn't be either.

It is no secret to my players that I take the anti-technology theme of SW to heart in my game. With the exception of PC-owned starships, droids and lightsabers, no possessions have any sort of special considerations. Most PC equipment and weapons can easily be damaged, confiscated or stolen, and it happens from time to time. If you can loot a better blaster than the one you have and toss yours, then great. But the same thing can happen to you so don't get too attached to it.

I like the SpecForce rule garhkal mentioned as a guideline, but I've never felt the need to get too crunchy about it and use any hard rule. What a PC carries on their person should be reasonable for the character. If it's too much, it will become a burden in one way or another, and the universe has a way of lightening your load.
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