Equipment
Encumbrance
Journeying to distant and dangerous lands is a central part of a VsD campaign. Encumbrance is Against the Darkmaster's way of representing how much characters are hampered in their movements and actions by the overall weight and bulk of the items they carry. Rather than recording every single object and its exact weight, VsD relies on common sense to determine how cluttered a character is.
Encumbrance is measured in Encumbrance Levels (EL). There are five ELs.
Encumbrance Levels
| Encumbrance Level | Penalties | Typical Load |
|---|---|---|
| Unencumbered | None. | Clothes, belt with small pouch, a single weapon or two light weapons, light travelling gear (up to ~5 kg bag). |
| Lightly Encumbered | No stat penalties, but may be prevented from using certain Traits or abilities. | Clothes, belt with scabbard, a heavy weapon or two light weapons, a small quiver, travelling gear (up to ~10 kg backpack). |
| Encumbered | Move Rate reduced by one third (rounded down). Slowed when travelling. | Clothes, belt with pouch, a heavy weapon or two light weapons, a heavy backpack with a week of rations, a bedroll, and various travelling equipment. |
| Heavily Encumbered | Move Rate halved. -20 penalty to all actions. Greatly slowed when travelling. | Clothes, several weapons, a large heavy pack (25+ kg) with two weeks of rations, a camping tent, rope, chains, or heavy treasure. |
| Over Encumbered | Move Rate reduced to one quarter. Cannot Sprint, make attacks, or travel. Cannot add SWI to Defense. | Dragging a laden sled, or carrying the body of a wounded companion. Generally a brief, situational condition — not a normal adventuring state. |
Determining Encumbrance Level
Determining a character's EL is mainly about common sense and mutual agreement. The players and GM should discuss the matter without over-analysing it, taking into account the character's actual size, strength, and physical condition. The GM has the final say.
The Encumbrance Levels table above provides guidelines for a man-sized character of average strength. Characters of uncommon strength and resilience — those with 30 or more in both their Brawn and Fortitude Stats — as well as Large characters such as Trolls, may decrease their Encumbrance Level by one.
Armor and Encumbrance
Armor is never considered when determining a character's EL. Armor has its own inherent penalties to maneuvering, attacking, and general activities — see the Armor page for details.
Any movement or combat penalties from armor always stack with those from Encumbrance.