Exhausting Encumbrance
Ever since the D&D 3e, I always felt that the provided encumbrance system was somewhat off. The major problem I had was with the fact that your load would affect your moving speed.
But up until recently, I didn’t know how to fix it, so I mainly ignored that rule.
Before, delving into my though, a little disclaimer :
I’m not a professional game designer, just a dabbler. I don’t have any personal experience to back up anything I says here. Like hiking, military training or anything. Just so you know.
Inspiration in the new edition
When D&D 5e came out last summer, I was really please to see that the “default” rules are somewhat simpler :
Carrying Capacity. Your carrying capacity is your Strength score multiplied by 15. This is the weight (in pounds) that you can carry, which is high enough that most characters don’t usually have to worry about it.
Source : Dungeons and Dragons : Player’s Basic Rules Version 2.0
But, that rules are basically what I was already doing … ignoring carrying capacity all together. Reading further down the Basic Rules, I saw the Variant Encumbrance rules I was psyched, until I realized that they are basically what they always were and there main effect was to slow down your movement.
That’s when I had the thought that carrying an heavy load doesn’t affect your walking speed as much as it affect the time you could walk with that given load. So the size of your load should interact with your fatigue rather than your walking speed, and when you are fatigued enough that’s when you walking speed will be affected.
Keeping that in mind I continued my reading of the basic rules, and at the same reflection when reading about the effect of wearing an heavy armour.
Heavy Armor. Heavier armor interferes with the wearer’s ability to move quickly,stealthily, and freely. If the Armor table shows “Str 13” or “Str 15” in the Strength column for an armor type, the armor reduces the wearer’s speed by 10 feet unless the wearer has a Strength score equal to or higher than the listed score.
Source : Dungeons and Dragons : Player’s Basic Rules Version 2.0
So, wearing an heavy armor, confer the same penalty to it’s wearer as if he was carrying a medium load (reduces the wearer’s speed by 10 feet). Again, that’s not really what I think it should do, while you wear the armor, you should be able to keep on going at the same speed, but just fatigue quicker.
A look into exhaustion
It’s when I read about the conditions in the Appendix A, all added up together as I was reading about the Exhaustion mechanism.
Exhaustion
Some special abilities and environmental hazards, such as
starvation and the long-term effects of freezing or scorching
temperatures, can lead to a special condition called
exhaustion. Exhaustion is measured in six levels. An effect
can give a creature one or more levels of exhaustion, as
specified in the effect’s description.
Level Effect 1 Disadvantage on ability checks 2 Speed halved 3 Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws 4 Hit point maximum halved 5 Speed reduced to 0 6 Death If an already exhausted creature suffers another effect that causes exhaustion, its current level of exhaustion increases by the amount specified in the effect’s description.
A creature suffers the effect of its current level of exhaustion as well as all lower levels. For example, a creature suffering level 2 exhaustion has its speed halved and has disadvantage on ability checks.An effect that removes exhaustion reduces its level as specified in the effect’s description, with all exhaustion effects ending if a creature’s exhaustion level is reduced below 1.
Finishing a long rest reduces a creature’s exhaustion level by 1, provided that the creature has also ingested some food and drink.
Source : Dungeons and Dragons : Player’s Basic Rules Version 2.0
So, this exhaustion sub-system is exactly how fatigue is build into the game, and it’s a good damn way of doing hit. Now the only thing to do is to merge encumbrance with it.The way of doing it, is hinted by the forced march rules, in the adventuring chapter.
Forced March. The Travel Pace table assumes that characters travel for 8 hours in day. They can push on beyond that limit, at the risk of exhaustion.
For each additional hour of travel beyond 8 hours, the characters cover the distance shown in the Hour column for their pace, and each character must make a Constitution saving throw at the end of the hour. The DC is 10 + 1 for each hour past 8 hours. On a failed saving throw, a character suffers one level of exhaustion (see appendix A).
Source : Dungeons and Dragons : Player’s Basic Rules Version 2.0
So, after walking for 8 hours, what I call a strenuous activity, you make a constitution saving throw to prevent being exhausted. The only thing next to do is to extend the definition of that strenuous activity to include other things.
Looking into the strenuous activities
Searching for the term “strenuous” in the Basic rules returns two hits, both in the Resting section of the rules. The one in the definition of the long rest in really interesting.
[…] If the rest is interrupted by a period of strenuous activity—at least 1 hour of walking, fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity— the characters must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it. […]
Source : Dungeons and Dragons : Player’s Basic Rules Version 2.0
So, we have at least some idea of what is a strenuous activity now. So, 8 hours of walking could be counted as 8 strenuous activity in a day. And 8 strenuous activities without some kind of rest requires a Constitution Saving throw against exhaustion.
That 8 activities thought sounds a little bit of an arbitrary number. If we take into account that a fight, or casting a spell is considered a strenuous activity, it is likely that a character will perform some other strenuous activities in a day of walk.
So if we add a couple of activities to that 8, we end up with 10. The same number used as the base of the Constitution saving throw (10 + 1 per a hours past the first 8). So, the DC is actually 1 per strenuous activities done since the last long rest.
10 is also the average Constitution score for humans. Coincidence or not, I feel comfortable that the Constitution score of a character alter the number of strenuous activities he can perform in a day.
We now have the foundation for the basic rules governing strenuous activities :
A character can make a number of strenuous activities in a day equals to it’s constitution score.
Beyond that, he must start to make a Constitution saving throw against exhaustion.
The DC is equals to the number of strenuous activities done since the last long rest.Strenuous Activities
- 1 hour of walk
- a fight
- casting a spell
Going back to encumbrance
Now that I have a rough definition of what is a strenuous activity and that I have a rough idea of how much a character could perform in a day without rest. I’m ready to look at how to incorporate encumbrance in this system.
Since my list of strenuous activities already includes walking, I’m tempted to say that performing strenuous activities while wearing an heavy armor, or carrying a medium to heavy load, make that activity more strenuous, and thous count as more than one against the “limit per day”.
The simplest way of doing so is the following :
- Wearing an Heavy armor or carrying an heavy load, while performing a strenuous activity, make that activity count as three (3) for determining exhaustion.
- Wearing an Heavy armor, but while meeting the armor’s strength prerequisite, or carrying an medium load, while performing a strenuous activity, make that activiy count as two (2) for determining exhaustion.
That way, a average human (10 in all stats) would be able to walk in a full plate for about 3 hours before starting to feel exhaustion kicking in. (3*3 (for not meeting the strength prerequisite) = 9 vs 10 (constitution score)).
On the other hand, a character with 15 in Strength and 14 in constitution (a regular level 1 fighter) would be able to wear it and walk with it for 7 hours before starting to make exhaustion saving throws. Or (7*2 (for meeting the strength prerequisite) vs 14 (constitution score)).
Sounds good to me.
The actual house rule
Strenuous Activites
- A character can make a number of strenuous activities in a day equals to it’s Constitution score before facing exhaustion.
- For each strenuous activities done beyond that, the character has to perform a Constitution saving throw vs the number of strenuous activity performed that day. If he failed, the character gain one level of exhaustion.
List of strenuous activities
- 1 hour of walk
- fighting
- casting spells
Strenuous activities modifiers
Some condition can make strenuous activities more exhausting.
- carrying a medium load (x2)
- carrying a heavy load (x3)
- wearing an heavy armor (x2)
- wearing an heavy armor, without meeting the strength prerequisite (x3)
Expending the strenuous activities
With that sub-system ready, we now have a simple way to handle other things that would be exhausting, like sleep deprivation for example.