Dhruin
SasqWatch
Captain Patch dropped us a line to point out the third piece in his op-ed series on Inflation in RPGs is up, this time talking about equipment:
More information.So, naturally, you keep your eyes open for stuff that can be cashed in later. Money, jewels, gear, artwork, weapons, armor, et al. The backpack becomes a Bag of Holding -- even if it's not. What does that mean? It means that the vast majority of (but thankfully not all) RPGs take into account the weight of stuff, but not the _encumberance_ factor. Like, your character may have an 18/00 Strength, and he may be able to carry 500 pounds of weight on his back, but how would he carry 1) the armor he is wearing and the weapon he has equipped, 2) four different kinds of enchanted helmets, each with a specific spell used for special situations, 3) four similarly enchanted shields, 4) the three kinds of enchanted bows, each good for different kinds of combat, plus the 150 arrows of assorted enchantments, 5) several dozen flasks of assorted alchemical potions having a wide range of effects, 6) several dozens texts, tomes, and books, 6) a wide assortment of tools, 7) and the large mound of valuable stuff recently picked up and stowed until you next get to a merchant where you can convert it into cash?