Quote Originally Posted by Tanarii View Post
Or they can just tell the one serious objector (not "the group") that these are the normal rules, they were explicitly called out as not being house ruled away in session 0, and everyone else is onboard both then and now with using these standard rules.
I agree. :) The counscientous objector to tracking encumbrance should have it pointed out that everyone agreed to use it at the start of the game and that since they are using Roll20 it quite conveniently prints out the total weight carried.

I've only ever found this to be an issue for strength 8 characters whose weight limit is 120lbs which wear medium armor (like half-plate) and a shield, a full backpack, and then want to carry a few thousand coins. These characters will often be over the 120lb weight limit due to the coins required. However, carrying coins is a pretty normal part of D&D play.

In addition, this situation is made worse if the character is the type that likes to carry a variety of weapons for just the right situation - slashing, piercing and bludgeoning weapons - ranged weapons etc - plus a variety of gear for obscure situations - climbing gear, caltrops, alchemist's fire, a range of potions, various tool sets (blacksmith+brewing+ ...). All of these add up in weight and if a character has 8 strength and medium armor then the reality is that they can't carry it all at once.

Overall encumbrance does place limits on what gear a character can have available which will affect game play. However, it doesn't require micromanagement of every single gram to achieve this. Every 0.1 to 0.5 lbs on the character sheet doesn't need to be accounted for - but the character/player does need to recognize the overall limitations imposed by their choice of 8 strength and play accordingly (which is the main point of the encumbrance system - as a tool for role playing how much your character can carry and dealing with the consequences of the character's choices).

I may not be in favor of a detailed accounting of every pound carried ... is 119 pounds that different from 121? However, at a higher level, that number does limit the flexibility of the character in terms of what they can transport and those limits should be incorporated from a role playing perspective and since everyone agreed to it in session 0 - it should be gently explained to all players that as soon as they get back to town, they will need to pair down their inventory to match up generally with their carrying capacity. This may mean making choices about what gear to carry or finding a bank or similar to store excess coins but that is simply part of the game they agreed to play.

However, ideally the shift to using it as intended should be "gentle" and the DM should ideally not make everyone drop all their excess possessions right away - give them a chance to drop them at a safe place where they might be able to get them later (this is often why characters buy houses in a game - it gives them a place to store their stuff :) ).