Equipping the Grogs
Grogs are expected to be ready for anything, and carrying the correct equipment is the essence of good preparation. However, the benefits of equipment are often downplayed in Ars Magica Fifth Edition — this is not a game in which you load up on dungeoneering gear, since magi are considered to be above such things. They assume, as do their players, that the grogs have everything they might need. This section discusses
The Grog Pack
The liber gregis lists the essential equipment that should be carried on expeditions. Beorhtric demanded that each grog should carry in their pack or on their person the following equipment:
Five paces of hawser (stout rope)
Flint and tinder
A lantern and two candles
A woolen blanket
A leather flask filled with ale, or two parts water and one part wine (another flask filled only with wine is allowed, with the permission of a magus)
Scraps of cloth and leather, and leather thongs, for bandaging wounds and repairing clothing
A small flask of oil and sharpening stones to care for weapons and armor
A heavy cloak
An entrenching tool, either a mattock or a shovel (for digging latrine pits or burying the vanguard)
Strong thread and a bodkin for making repairs
A leather cup, a metal bowl, and a skewer for eating
A quantity of food (consisting of hard baked biscuits, cheese, dried salted fish or meat, flour meal), sufficient to support the grog for the number of days ordered by a magus
Any other equipment that the grog or a magus deems necessary for applying the other skills that the grog possesses must also be included. Any personal acquisitions must be transported in the grog's own pouches.
Furthermore, distributed among the grogs in the group are:
Waterskins, food, eating utensils, woolen blankets, and leather tarps for tents for use by all magi present
Several empty sacks and pouches
One set of pots and pans for cooking
Two grappling hooks
Two lanterns and three flasks of oil
Ten paces of thin rope
A saw and axe for preparation of firewood
The gear that each grog carries must be arranged so that a large majority of the load can be dropped at a moment's notice in emergency situations. The classic manner is to suspend the pack from the tines of a forked pole carried on one shoulder. For long expeditions, pack-grogs or animals should be considered.
If the covenant follows the recommendations of the liber gregis, then each grog pack imposes a Load of 4. However, this load need not be taken into account for most situations like combat, since it can be discarded without using the grog's action in a round.
Encumbrance should penalize most physical activities, such as running, jumping, hiding, and moving silently. Encumbrance also subtracts from any fatigue rolls. However, under certain circumstances, a heavily encumbered character should be at an even greater disadvantage particularly for climbing, swimming, and balancing. In such situations, use Burden rather than Encumbrance as a penalty to Ability rolls, to represent the additional penalty imposed by carrying a lot of extra kit.
the use of such equipment, and expands on the concepts of Load, Burden, and Encumbrance.
Equipment Bonuses
Grogs often carry equipment to assist in the execution of their tasks. This optional rule permits certain pieces of equipment to make these tasks easier. Equipment can offer a reduction in the Ease Factor for a given Ability roll, but only if that equipment is not essential to perform the task. For example, a craftsman does not gain an equipment bonus to his Craft: Wrought Iron from using a hammer or anvil, and a crook cannot use Legerdemain to operate a lock without using the various picks and levers of his trade. However, virtually any sort of climbing is easier if a rope is at hand. Usually, no piece of equipment can assist in all uses of a single Ability, but equipment can often provide a bonus in a specialty. When a character uses equipment, the storyguide should determine whether it offers minor or major assistance. Minor assistance subtracts 1 from the Ease Factor, whereas major assistance subtracts 3. Only one equipment bonus can be gained for each roll. The following table gives some examples of equipment bonuses (in order of Ability). Naturally, the storyguide should equally impose a minor or major penalty to the Ease Factor for using substandard, shoddy, or damaged equipment.
MINOR EQUIPMENT BONUS: –1 to Ease Factor
MAJOR EQUIPMENT BONUS: –3 to Ease Factor
Encumbrance and Load
The Encumbrance system of Ars Magica Fifth Edition (page 178) is purposefully abstract, but it can be used to approximate weight. Broadly speaking, 1 point of Load equates to 7 pounds of weight. However, unwieldy or unbalanced objects might have a Load one point higher than their weight might suggest — a good example of this is the long spear (ArM5, page 176). Based on this measurement, a 100-pound human is equivalent to a Load of 15, or a Burden of 5.
The maximum practical weight a character can carry is that Load that inflicts an Encumbrance of –5, which is equivalent to a Burden of (Strength + 5). This is the weight that a character can lift over his head. A character can lift a Burden of (Strength + 7) off the ground, and can push or drag a Burden of (Strength + 12). See the nearby insert for an expanded Encumbrance table. Using a pulley to assist in lifting a load adds 3 to the character's effective Strength. Using a lever to assist in pushing a load also adds 3 to the character's effective Strength. If more than one character shoulders a load, then combine the weight that each can carry alone.
Exempli gratia: Paul the grog has a Strength of +2. He can carry a maximum weight equal to a Load of 28 (Burden 7); this translates to approximately 196 pounds. He can lift 315 pounds off the ground (Burden 9), and drag 735 pounds (Burden 14). The story demands that the characters push a stone block aside. The storyguide judges
| Equipment Bonuses | ||
|---|---|---|
| EQUIPMENT | ABILITY (SPECIALTY) | ASSISTANCE |
| Whip or crop | Animal Handling (obedience) | Major |
| Map | Area Lore (planning route) | Major |
| Astronomical tables | Artes Liberales (astronomy) | Minor |
| Rope | Athletics (climbing) | Major |
| Pole (at least 10 foot) | Athletics (distance jumping) | Major |
| Fine wine | Folk Ken (getting information) | Minor |
| Flickering light | Concentration (meditation) | Minor |
| Good clothing | Charm (making good impression) | Minor |
| Guild badge | Guild Lore (gaining favors) | Minor |
| Makeup | Guile (disguise) | Minor |
| Bird Lime | Hunt (birds) | Major |
| Concealed blade | Legerdemain (slitting pouches) | Major |
| Watchglass | Medicine (diagnosis) | Minor |
| Cantled saddle | Ride (resisting charge) | Major |
| Flawless Crystal | Second Sight (see regio boundaries) | Minor |
| Lampblack | Stealth (hiding) | Minor |
| Like The Think | Expand | ed E nc | umbrance 7 | Cable | ANT DE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Load | WEIGHT (LB) | Burden | TOTAL LOAD | WEIGHT (LB) | BURDEN |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 637 | 13 |
| 1 | 7 | 1 | 105 | 735 | 14 |
| 3 | 21 | 2 | 120 | 840 | 15 |
| 6 | 42 | 3 | 136 | 952 | 16 |
| 10 | 70 | 4 | 153 | 1071 | 17 |
| 15 | 105 | 5 | 171 | 1197 | 18 |
| 21 | 147 | 6 | 190 | 1330 | 19 |
| 28 | 196 | 7 | 210 | 1470 | 20 |
| 36 | 252 | 8 | 231 | 1617 | 21 |
| 45 | 315 | 9 | 253 | 1771 | 22 |
| 55 | 385 | 10 | 276 | 1932 | 23 |
| 66 | 462 | 11 | 300 | 2100 | 24 |
| 78 | 546 | 12 | 325 | 2275 | 25 |
this to be equivalent to an Individual of Terram, and therefore weighs over 4100 pounds (see Insert). It will take six grogs as strong as Paul to shift the stone block. If they each had a crowbar, then it would only take four of them.
All four-footed beasts increase their Strength by half again for the purpose of determining Encumbrance and weight. Note that pack animals and horses usually have Strength scores beyond the normal human range: a courser has a Strength of +4, and a destrier has a Strength of +6 (see Realms of Power: Magic, page 142, or the Book of Beasts, freely available from Atlas Games' website). A destrier can therefore take its rider (Load 21), his armor (Load 6), his lance, mace, and heater shield (Load 7), and a full grog pack (Load 4), and still be unencumbered (Burden 8, effective Strength 9).
1 POINT OF LOAD = 7 pounds
MAXIMUM PRACTICAL WEIGHT: Burden equal to (Strength + 5)
LIFT OFF GROUND: Burden equal to (Strength + 7)
Push or Drag: Burden equal to (Strength + 12) USING A PULLEY: +3 to effective Strength when lifting
USING A LEVER: +3 to effective Strength when pushing
PACK ANIMALS: 1½ x Strength when calculating Encumbrance