Thursday, December 20, 2012

Mongoose Traveller - Armor and Encumbrance

Skimming the Central Supply Catalogue, I came across a curious rule in the Armor section (page 133, specifically) stating that armor except for vacc suits do not count towards encumbrance.  This rule, if adopted, changes everything about the encumbrance metagame.  I do not think I like it very much.  However, I understand the intent of the rule - armor, if properly worn, is less encumbering than its weight alone would indicate because the weight is well-distributed.  There are also a lot of heavy, heavy armors in Traveller which are basically impossible to use because they weigh so much.  As a reasonable compromise position, I might be inclined to rule that armor encumbers at half its listed mass.  But no encumbrance whatsoever from most armors seems really unreasonable.

4 comments:

  1. Speaking from experience, I have no trouble running around in almost full plate, with a bit of mail too, for hours at a time, swinging swords and generally having a grand old time. Ask me to carry said battlewear from the car to a tent, and I'll be out of breathe half way there. Wearing it makes a world of difference. Ignoring it entirely, I'm not so sure on, but even if you're not used to wearing it, it doesn't weigh you down as much as you'd think.

    For context, I have been involved in re-enactments, I'm not a crazy person...

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    1. Hmm... my brother tried re-enactment for a time, and reported being quite encumbered by the armor. Perhaps half-weight without any particular skill, with higher skill in Vacc Suit and Battle Dress decreasing the effective mass of those armor types.

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  2. Classic Traveller has that same rule.

    I might consider having Combat Armor (and equivalents) cost 1/2 weight to wear, but it seems characters will have enough time lugging around the equipment they need without also charging them for their flak vests.

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    1. Huh! Good historical perspective. I may have to check Mongoose core and see if it was in there and we just missed it.

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