Encumbrance¶
Every piece of Gear, Armor, and Weapon in the compendium lists a weight in kilograms. Encumbrance is the bookkeeping that turns those weights into a carry limit. An Operator who is overloaded moves slower and rolls worse on anything physical.
Carry Limits¶
Carry capacity scales off your Strength score (the score, not the modifier).
| Threshold | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Light load | up to 2.5 × STR kg |
No penalty. |
| Encumbered | 2.5 × STR to 5 × STR kg |
Speed -10 ft. |
| Heavily encumbered | 5 × STR to 7 × STR kg |
Speed -20 ft (min 5 ft); disadvantage on STR, DEX, and CON checks, attacks, and saves. |
| Over max | above 7 × STR kg |
Cannot carry. May drag at half speed (see Push, Drag, Lift below). |
Example: Falke has STR 11 (his pre-trait score; the Agile trait dropped him from 13 to 11). His carry brackets are: light load up to 27.5 kg, encumbered 27.5-55 kg, heavily encumbered 55-77 kg, over max past 77 kg. With a full assault loadout (rifle + ammo + plate carrier + assault pack ~ 22 kg), he is in light load and pays no penalty. Add a 10-kg breaching kit for an op and he tips into Encumbered: -10 ft speed for the duration.
Push, Drag, Lift¶
You can move heavier loads if you're not trying to carry them on you the whole turn:
- Push, drag, or lift up to twice your max carry (
14 × STRkg). Speed is halved while doing so. - A casualty drag is the canonical use: a 75-kg casualty is well over Falke's 77-kg ceiling, so he can drag but not carry. He moves at half speed and his hands are full.
What Counts as Carried¶
Add up everything on your person: armor worn, weapons slung or holstered, ammo in mags and on the rig, the contents of your pack, and any consumables. Items dropped at your feet, set on a table, or stashed in a vehicle do not count against carry weight until you pick them up.
Per-magazine weights live in Ammunition.
A few common loadouts for reference:
| Loadout | Approx Weight | What's In It |
|---|---|---|
| Patrol minimum | ~10 kg | Rifle + 4 mags + IFAK + canteen + admin pouch. |
| Assault loadout | ~22-25 kg | Plate carrier with plates + rifle + 8 mags + IFAK + grenades + radio + assault pack. |
| Long-range patrol | ~30-35 kg | Assault loadout + full ruck (rations, sleeping kit, batteries, sat radio). |
| Demo / breach loadout | ~35-40 kg | Assault loadout + breaching charges + crowbar + extra ammo + spare batteries. |
| Bomb suit on the man | ~50+ kg | EOD work; speed already capped by the suit itself. |
Reducing Load¶
Common ways to stay out of the encumbered band:
- Cache it. Drop the ruck at the ORP before the assault; pick it back up on exfil.
- Distribute. A SAW gunner's belt-fed ammo gets parceled out across the squad.
- Right-size the kit. A reconnaissance op does not need the breaching kit. Match the loadout to the Mission Kit.
- Stronger Operator. Higher STR shifts every threshold up linearly. Two more STR points = +5 kg of light-load room.
Vehicles and Carry Capacity¶
Vehicles have their own load limits set by the GM. An Operator in a vehicle does not count personally-carried weight against personal encumbrance for the purposes of speed and check penalties - they do, however, have to get out of the vehicle still wearing it.
Compared to Classic D&D 5E¶
- The mechanic mirrors the classic 5E variant encumbrance rule (the standard 5E rule is "you have a flat carry max and otherwise no penalty," which this game finds too forgiving for modern combat).
- Classic 5E uses pounds and
5 × STR/10 × STR/15 × STRthresholds. This compendium uses kilograms and the rounded2.5 × STR/5 × STR/7 × STRthresholds, which works out to roughly the same in absolute terms once you convert. - Push/drag/lift at 2× max carry, half speed, is unchanged.
- The compendium adds a fourth band (over max → drag only); classic 5E just rules it impossible.