forums.cubicle7.co.uk
archive

I'm sure this has cropped up before, but If it has, I don't recall where I read it.

Is there an encumbrance value for a body (unconscious or dead) of a person being carried by his companions?

Logically, add up all the character's equipment, and then add...hmmm...a human body weighs about 3 times what a mail hauberk weighs, so I'd imagine about 75 or so.

That would be why Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli buried Boromir at sea.

An unconscious or dead body is a lot more encumbering than a conscious one. It is surprising how much so. A suit of armour being carried, even in a sack is also unwieldy and encumbering much more than the same being worn.

DavetheLost wrote:An unconscious or dead body is a lot more encumbering than a conscious one.

Depends on how energetically they're resisting...

For making things easy, I would say that 20 is a good encumbrance value. Massive, but an unarmoured dude can carry a fallen comrade and still carry a weapon. Now, I would treat it like a helm: if you drop the body you recover 12 encumbrance right away.

It also depends on the size of the body. Andre the Giant and Mini-Me are two very different encumbrances.

More accurately, Frodo vs. Boromir

How I handle a body would probably depend on the context. In a travel phase, I would probably make the TN of the travel checks a bit higher for those dealing with the body (unless they have ponies or a boat or something). I like the encumbrance of 20 for more roleplay-ish scenes or fights though. Easy to remember and makes some sense for an average-to-slightly-above-average body.

I don't calculate encumbrance for such a situation, I don't think it's needed.
Unless we are speaking of a troll with an hobbit in his pocket, whoever is carrying a body is effectively tired, game-wise (such a load gives you hefty malus to action resolution).

Count as "weary" while carrying the body works for me. I think it could apply to most situations of carrying a large burden and trying to do something else at the same time.