Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Rule Book

Encumbrance

E

DGE OF THE EMPIRE emphasizes sweeping stories, epic

tales, and fast action. Keeping track of the weight of

every stimpack isn't fun, but knowing that a hero is load-

ed down with the weapons he just stole for the Rebellion

is an important story element; so is having some idea of

how many days worth of rations a rogue can carry as he

marches across the Jundland Wastes.

In general, players and the Game Master won't need

to track a character's encumbrance (how much he's

carrying on his person). Occasionally, however, it may

play an important part in the story, and a player needs

to know if the weight, mass, and collective bulk of the

items his hero is wearing inhibits his actions.

ENCUMBRANCE VALUES

All of the gear listed in this chapter has an encumbrance

value. Most items that can be commonly carried have a

value of 0 through 5—from relatively light objects (such

as credit chips or light clothing) to heavier items (like

blaster rifles or gaffi sticks). The encumbrance value of

armor is discussed in more detail later, and is different

when it's worn, where the weight is distributed appropri-

ately, and when it's carried, when it's just another item.

Encumbrance doesn't strictly represent weight; it

also represents mass, bulk, and how easy items are to

carry. A well-fitting suit of armor adds very little en-

cumbrance, while an armful of gimer sticks have a high

encumbrance because they're tricky to carry.

Small items such as dataslates, most pistols, or

knives have an encumbrance value of 1 or 2. Medium

items, such as blaster rifles, a satchel of thermite gre-

nades, or a grappling hook and cord, have an encum-

brance value of 3 to 4. Large or heavy items such as

cargo crates, repeating blaster rifles, or a heavy tool-

box, are valued at 5 to 6.

If it becomes critical to the story to have more de-

tail. 10 loosely carried incidental items have an en-

cumbrance value of 1. If they are stored in an effec-

tive manner (such as bowcaster quarrels in a quiver

or crystals in a pouch), then 20 incidental items have

an encumbrance value of 1. If for some reason the

character is unable to manage his gear in such a way,

the GM may increase his overall encumbrance value

by several points to reflect the difficulty in managing

and carrying items by less efficient means.

Living beings generally have encumbrance values of 5

plus their Brawn if carried. A typical human, like a soldier

for the Rebel Alliance, has a Brawn of 2, and therefore a

total encumbrance value of 7. A scholar from Garos IV,

with a Brawn of 1, has an encumbrance value of 6. This

may be modified by specific species' features, such as

the fatty bulk of a Hutt or the hollow bones of an avian.

ENCUMBRANCE THRESHOLD

Characters have an "encumbrance threshold" of 5 plus

their Brawn rating, which limits how much they can carry

under normal conditions and without penalty. A total

encumbrance value over the threshold means the hero

is "encumbered," and suffers one • to all Agility and

Brawn rolls for every point of encumbrance over his lim-

it. This is cumulative with any • dice suffered for strain

or other conditions, should any be in play.

Also, if a character is encumbered by an amount

equal to or greater than his Brawn rating, he no longer

earns a free maneuver each turn. The character can

still perform up to two maneuvers, but each maneuver

costs two strain. With a Brawn of 2, for example, Luke

does not get a free maneuver each turn if he's carry-

ing 9 or more points of encumbrance.

LIFTING AND CARRYING

EXCESSIVE ENCUMBRANCE

Characters shouldn't typically carry more than their

encumbrance threshold. When necessity demands,

however, they can do so for a short time (suffering the

effects described above).

If a character needs to lift an object greater than his

encumbrance threshold, such as an ally who has fallen

off a gantry or ledge, he must make an Athletics check.

The difficulty is Simple if the object's Encumbrance val-

ue is less than or equal to the character's encumbrance

threshold. Add 1 to the difficulty for every point over,

up to a maximum additional encumbrance of 4 and

difficulty of Daunting (••••) A freelancer with a

Brawn of 2 and a threshold of 7, for example, tries to

lift a rock with an encumbrance value of 10. That's 3

over, so the difficulty is Hard (•••)

Additional characters may help, adding their raw

Brawn to the total value of the object being lifted. In the

example above, a Wookiee with a Brawn of 4 adds +4

to the encumbrance threshold for that specific task.

EXAMPLE OF ENCUMBRANCE

Pash and Lowhhrick have been hired to kidnap a

crime lord's assistant—a Rodian named Kappo. Low-

hhrick is trying to run with Kappo over his shoulder

and has an encumbrance threshold of 9 (5 plus his

Brawn of 4). Kappo's encumbrance value is 7. Be-

tween the criminal and Lowhhrick's bowcaster (en-

cumbrance value 5), the Wookiee is carrying 3 over

his threshold, and thus makes a Hard (•••) Ath-

letics check and suffers • • • to all Agility and

Brawn-based checks until he drops the thug.

GEAR AND EQUIPMENT

EDCE OF THE EMPIRE