One very important thing to consider in a game is inventory. While video games have some especially tough decisions to make, a tabletop RPG still has a lot of things that come into play. How much crap do you want the characters to be able to lug around? Unlimited? If so, then your job is done. Just provide enough paper to track all of it. But if you decide to limit them, say, to make a game fit a certain vibe, how do you limit them?
That is the big question.
One option is to limit characters by weight. I’m a big fan of Fallout, and you have a weight limitation (a huge one) that’s based on Strength. Go over that weight limit and you become over-incumbered and you move ridiculously slow. Painfully slow. I considered this, but then the issue became tracking the weight of all your items. I felt it would be too much of a pain in the ass with this method. So I went back to the drawing board.
The other option is to have a number of slots. A character is limited by this number, and cannot go over it. Maybe they can earn or purchase new slots. Either way, this seems pretty manageable. You provide a limited amount of space on a character sheet and the deal is done. But this poses another problem: one person’s pack might be completely full with (let’s say we gave them 18 slots) 18 tiny items, while another person is carrying around 18 gigantic items. Doesn’t seem fair.
But that’s realism for ya. You can try to get close to realistic in a game, but you’ll always fall short unless you want some unwieldy mechanics. Some people love heavy crunch, though. The other issue with the slot system is that one character might be very small in stature while another is enormous and physically powerful. Does it make sense to give them the same number of slots?
You have to try to find a balance somewhere, and in a way that makes sense for your game. Never forget the vibe of the game you’re making.
So here’s what I ultimately decided. I combined the two methods. I have different slot numbers for different Strength scores. It’s simple, easy to understand, and it all fit on one easy chart on the character sheet. Stronger people can carry more shit, and physically weaker characters understand why they don’t have as many slots. It still doesn’t solve the issue of filling your pack with tiny items, but I guess that’s why choices are important. Your pack is full and you find new items. What will you keep and what will you get rid of?
I like it, I’m keeping it, and it fits in with the apocalypse setting just fine. I also have a separate place for people to carry consumables, so technically there are extra slots than what is shown. Still. I think it’s enough.