"Jefferson" Project Forum News

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(Originally posted by Veldrin)

Here are today's Jefferson project forum highlights. Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context.

J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer

Quote: I am interested to hear how an inventory system with unlimited slots is right.
How right is it that a strong fighter character can carry a weapons and armor shop on his back? Seems rather wrong to me...

It's good when the alternative is that a character can carry virtually nothing "realistically". I'd like the realism advocates to think long and hard about what even a high strength character could "realistically" carry in a fantasy setting. Has anyone here ever taken an appropriately weighted long sword or mace, strapped it to their waist, and tried to run with it? Those among you who have might say, "OH HO, I WOULD SIMPLY PUT IT ON MINE BACK." Of course, this makes such weapons more difficult to draw, especially if your backpack is there.

Let's talk about backpacks. What about books? We can't forget the wizard's spellbook or the cleric's prayer book. Go get a nice, fat book. I suggest Gray's Anatomy or a big fat old bible. Make sure it's hardcover. Put that at the bottom of your backpack. Now, take six or seven Gerber baby food jars. Fill them up with differently colored liquids (your "potions"). Place them at the bottom of your backpack -- on top of the book(s). We must account for rations, too. Get a few dozen Power Bars or similar items and stack them in there. And if your wizard needs scrolls, they'll have to go in here as well. But wait -- you're one of those clever wizards who uses the car-CD-case container for their scrolls. So strap that sucker across your chest and fill it up with single sheets of looseleaf paper. Fill the rest of the pack up with soap, pots, pans, tinder, lantern oil, 50' of rope, etc. Slap a big fat blanket at the top of the backpack.

Now, let's say you have a light weapon on each hip, a buckler, a suit of leather armor, and that backpack. I am sorry to inform you, gentle players, but you are 1) not going to run as fast as you were before, even if you were very strong 2) not going to carry anything else that is larger than a small loaf of bread without moving even more slowly 3) going to lose your scrolls and/or potions on a good hit or knockdown, respectively. If you want to protect them better, you'd have to move the scrolls to your backpack and wrap the potions in cloth to protect them. Of course, then it would "realistically" take you about three rounds to get a potion or a scroll out.

Very few people want "true" realism. Many people want a fair measure of realism.