Movement and Encumbrance are closely linked.
Encumbrance #
Encumbrance (ENC) refers to a combination of both ‘weight’ and ‘cumbersome’ of a specific item. While something might be light in weight it could be difficult to carry or use. In other words it is unwieldy. The inverse of that can also be true, where it is heavy but small and easy to grip. Both are valid and both could be considered similar in terms of its Encumbrance rating.
Just about every item in the game has an Encumbrance value. This value is a number with 2 decimal places. This allows for the gaming system to handle items with very little encumbrance (a lower ENC value) to items that are very unwieldy (a higher ENC value).
The Equipment section of this PHB is a good place to check out not only the common costs of items, but also their ENC value.
Every Race starts off with a Base Encumbrance:
| HUMAN | ELF | DWARF | HALFLING |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 8 | 12 | 6 |
Each character’s Strength Bonus is added to their Base Encumbrance. This will represent the maximum load a character can carry without any form of assistance.
Max Encumbrance = Base Encumbrance + STR Bonus
Burdened #
Each item an adventurer carries will add to his overall encumbrance. He will be able to carry on his person 50% of his Max Encumbrance before it starts to affect him negatively.
If he 51% burdened (or more) it will start reduce the distance he could travel. This is something you need to be careful about. Besides reducing travelling distance it will also affect everyday actions and activities too.
Movement #
Movement Points (MP) are used to determine how far a character is able to travel per day.
Each Race is assigned a Base Movement Rate:
| HUMAN | ELF | DWARF | HALFLING |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 60 | 45 | 40 |
Overland Movement deals with adventurers travelling throughout the Lands of Arcadia. A hex map is used to represent the different terrain types. Each hex equates to 5 miles.
Characters will ‘spend’ an amount of Movement Points when travelling through a hex location of a specific terrain type based on their race.
It is advised to read about the different terrain types.
A character’s total daily MP will be reduced the more burdened he is when his encumbrance is over 50%.
Travelling on a road, trail or path will help reduce the amount of MP need to travel. Mounts can also help increase the distance an adventurer is able to travel too.
A character generally cannot travel for more than 1 week in a single turn.