Equipment Locations and Packing of Items

The AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide includes a sizable block of example text detailing the outfitting and packing of two adventurers. In my opinion, the inclusion of this example does damage to new players' understanding of AD&D, because it depicts impractical gameplay, at length.

Let's take a look. DMG 255 says,

As an example, Dimwall the magic-user and Drudge the fighter have prepared
for a dungeon expedition. Dimwall, besides his normal clothing, has strapped
on a belt with a large pouch on it. Into this and his robe, he tucks his material
components (minimal encumbrance). He also places in his pouch a potion
bottle, a mirror, some garlic and belladonna, and his tinderbox. At his right
side hangs a dagger and sheath and four more daggers are on a bandolier
slung across his chest. Over all these belts, he puts his backpack. In his pack
goes a hand axe (for chopping, not fighting), 3 flasks of oil, a candle, 3 small
sacks, 1 large sack, and 7 torches. Lashed in a bundle to the pack is 50’ of
rope. At his left side, hanging from his belt, are a leather scroll case and his
purse, filled with 20 gold pieces. He holds a staff in his right hand and a torch
in his left. He is now ready to travel, with a total encumbrance of 689 g.p.

Meanwhile, his companion, Drudge, has strapped on his splint armor. He wears
2 belts around his waist; his longsword hangs from one. On the other belt he
places his quiver with 40 bolts, a cocking hook, and a dagger. He slips on his
backpack, already loaded with 10 spikes, one week’s iron rations, and a flask
of oil. To the bottom of the pack he has strapped 50’ of rope. Hanging on the
rear of the pack is his heavy crossbow. Around his neck he wears a holy
symbol. Finally, he straps his large shield on his left arm, fits his helmet, and
takes his lantern, ready to go with a total encumbrance of 1117 g.p.

During their adventures, Dimwall and Drudge find 800 gold pieces in a troll’s
treasure horde. Dimwall can carry 400 gold pieces in his large sack and
another 300 gold pieces in his small sacks. Dimwall leaves his torches and staff,
since he must have his hands free. Then he fastens a small sack to his belt and,
using two hands, carries the large sack over his shoulder. Drudge eats part of
his iron rations and throws the rest away, along with his spikes and oil. He
places the remaining bags in the bottom of his pack and then pours the loose
coins on top of them. Encumbrance for Dimwall is now 889 gold pieces and
1222 gold pieces for Drudge.

As they leave, Dimwall and Drudge meet the troll. There is little time to react, so
Drudge must quickly drop his lantern (possibly putting it out) and attack. As he
does this, Dimwall must drop the large sack (probably scattering coins about),
unsling his pack, and start digging for his oil. By the time he finds it, the troll
may have killed them both!

So, what do I mean by "impractical gameplay?" Imagine for a moment, this scenario being established at the table. How is this information about equipment arrangement and bag packing being transmitted? Is the player describing this equipment and packing setup? Does each player do this in turn? How long does this take? Does the referee write it all down, or are players meant to track this on their sheets? When an item gets added or removed, does the player "re-pack" their bag, possibly with new declarations? Once the PC is past the first couple levels and has a complex inventory, are the positions and wrappings of each of those odds and ends noted? When this high-octane troll combat's going on – bad place to be with two people and some rope, by the way, guys – I imagine everyone's on the edge of their seat waiting to see if they get the oil out in time. Does the referee pause the game to consider which items are between a container's opening and the desired item, after consulting notes? The example suggests that the referee is responsible for precisely resolving this race against time.

In my opinion, nothing described above was particularly interesting. Jack Vance and Roger Zelazny didn't spend many pages on such narratives. I'd rather ask, "Is that item on your belt, or in your pack?", and then assign a 1-2 segment retrieval time, or a 3-4 segment retrieval time. Even this is an extra bit of paperwork that you must now add to your combat tracker.

Furthermore, describing how treasure is looted in detail slows down the game too much. Players should know what containers they have, and what is in which containers. And they certainly should know who is carrying what! The referee should check on this from time to time, such as when a large, heavy horde is found.

Here's some of the things you need to know about your gear:

• How much can you carry?
• What's your movement ability while carrying that?
• If you have containers, what items are in which containers?
• Which items are handy? (Say, retrievable in 0-12 seconds while in combat.)
• What items are in your hands?
• Are you giving off light or other energy?
• Are any items being carried by another being, like a horse?
• Are any items being stored in an extradimensional space like a bag of holding?
• Are any of those items left behind at home?

That's plenty to track! My goodness!