Packhorse member?

[Taliesin]

Forgive me if this has already been discussed, but is it a good idea to designate a party member as a packhorse, spending all their skill points on strength and such? Or the reduced fighting efficiency of your party a bit much relative to the amount of XP you are getting?

 

I haven't done much in the Avernum games, but I always wondered who to give the heavy stuff to.

 

Added: This is essentially the "Deadweight Shaper" idea from the Geneforge series. I didn't use it much in those games, but I thought it might be nice in a party.

[Randomizer]

The pack mule will suck of expierence so you will want it to do some fighting even if it wastes a round to dump everything. You will never get enough strength to carry everything without some encumberance. Geneforge 4 and Avernum 5 are changed so you no longer get encumbered by the pack items.

 

In practice the best method is to clear an area and pick up items on the return trip. It's hard because you want to get them now and not have to remember where you found them.

[Alorael at Large]

If you have a character, the character might as well be useful. Total encumberance doesn't matter anyway if the character is useless. If you really need a mule, just designate your least helpful member as one and don't worry about mule optimization.

 

—Alorael, who generally found that his fighters had enough strength to carry anything important and that most other items could be safely stored in Fort Avernum (or elsewhere) most of the time.

[Taliesin]

That's good to know about A5. Even though it's not terribly realistic, it's nice to be able to pick up twenty-five iron bars in a dungeon and not worry about running home right away.

 

I guess my slith tank will have to carry most everything, since none of the others will ever have many points in strength. Still, encumbrance is nasty for characters that have to use several AP just to get withing striking distance of the enemy.

 

I had considered the tactic of picking stuff up only after clearing the area, but in many areas that's just not practical.

[Celtic Minstrel]

Quote:

Originally written by Taliesin:
That's good to know about A5. Even though it's not terribly realistic, it's nice to be able to pick up twenty-five iron bars in a dungeon and not worry about running home right away.

Actually, I think it is at least equally realistic. How many people keep their pack on their back while fighting? Most people would throw it on the ground until the battle is over.
Of course, you have to wonder how they can reach their pack once they've moved a few spaces. But with the old system you had to wonder how they can find something in their pack and take it out in the middle of battle.

[wxxqut]

I usually divide stuff betwen characters so none gets encumbeted.

 

But if items are too heavy I put them all in one place and get back for them after battle.

[Taliesin]

Quote:

Originally written by LakiRa@:
I usually divide stuff betwen characters so none gets encumbered.

Well, obviously, but you often come across things (like piles of iron bars) that you can't divide up nicely, especially in the early game.

[Student of Trinity]

At some point you just have to decide that the inventory and encumbrance systems are merely symbolic representations of the game world's real mechanics — like turn-based combat, the replacement of anatomy with a health score, the simple graphics, etc. Your characters somehow carry a bunch of stuff and also find whatever they need in time to use it; the details of how this is represented are not to be taken seriously. The limits of their ability to carry stuff and accomplish things in battle are also represented symbolically, by the encumbrance and AP systems.

[wxxqut]

quote:

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Originally written by Taliesin:

Well, obviously, but you often come across things (like piles of iron bars) that you can't divide up nicely, especially in the early game.

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As I already said if items are too heavy I put them all in one place and then come back for them after battle.