BobTheBard
Refugee
...it also shouldn't be removed entirely. Instead, I think Pack Mule and inventory management in general would be best handled as an item-based solution. Right now it feels a bit weird that I need to invest points to carry more stuff despite already having the strength. Am I learning how to carry stuff more efficiently? Why would I just not go the obvious route and pick up one of the many, many bags I find lying around to carry more stuff in? Thus my proposal here.
Give each survivor a new equipment slot for a Backpack and make inventory capacity and encumbrance dependent on that. You'd start with the same amount you have now. A basic plant-fiber bag could add, say, 4 slots (equivalent to Pack Mule 1). A simple leather bag could add 9 (Pack Mule 2) and could be made with leather and plant fiber as soon as you get a source of leather. An Old Duffel Bag or Old Backpack still in serviceable condition could be found as loot or bought and would give 15 slots (Pack Mule 3). Both the Leather Bag and the Old Backpack could be upgraded to a Sturdy Leather Backpack with a workbench and the right materials, giving 21 slots (Pack Mule 4). And the king of them all would be the Hiker's Backpack, craftable from scrap polymer and forged iron with the right crafting perk and a workbench or found as rare loot, giving 27 slots (Pack Mule 5).
But wait, I hear many people already saying, wouldn't this mean you lose your carrying capacity on death? Well, yes, it would. Why do I think that's not a problem? The first is easy enough, a setting could be added that says you don't drop your backpack item (just its contents) when you die. But secondly, you generally don't take that much with you when you go back to get your stuff anyway. And now not going back for it has the added element of 'Crap, I lost my shiny new hiker pack!' This might not be a huge deal for a mid-level crafter who can make a new one (though it would take time and resources) but would be a much bigger issue for the scavenger who got a little too greedy and died in a dangerous place.
I think this idea would be of benefit to a lot of different groups. Crafters will be happy they don't need to invest heavily in Strength to have a decent carrying capacity anymore. Scavengers will be happy they don't need to invest heavily in Strength to have a decent carrying capacity anymore. Hardcore players will enjoy the thrill of potentially losing their inventory space if they overreach too much, or the balance of making sure you can afford to lose not just your stuff but the thing you're carrying it all with. And realists will like the idea of someone not being able to haul 40 shovels around while swinging a sledgehammer without some kind of carrying device.
What does everyone think?
Give each survivor a new equipment slot for a Backpack and make inventory capacity and encumbrance dependent on that. You'd start with the same amount you have now. A basic plant-fiber bag could add, say, 4 slots (equivalent to Pack Mule 1). A simple leather bag could add 9 (Pack Mule 2) and could be made with leather and plant fiber as soon as you get a source of leather. An Old Duffel Bag or Old Backpack still in serviceable condition could be found as loot or bought and would give 15 slots (Pack Mule 3). Both the Leather Bag and the Old Backpack could be upgraded to a Sturdy Leather Backpack with a workbench and the right materials, giving 21 slots (Pack Mule 4). And the king of them all would be the Hiker's Backpack, craftable from scrap polymer and forged iron with the right crafting perk and a workbench or found as rare loot, giving 27 slots (Pack Mule 5).
But wait, I hear many people already saying, wouldn't this mean you lose your carrying capacity on death? Well, yes, it would. Why do I think that's not a problem? The first is easy enough, a setting could be added that says you don't drop your backpack item (just its contents) when you die. But secondly, you generally don't take that much with you when you go back to get your stuff anyway. And now not going back for it has the added element of 'Crap, I lost my shiny new hiker pack!' This might not be a huge deal for a mid-level crafter who can make a new one (though it would take time and resources) but would be a much bigger issue for the scavenger who got a little too greedy and died in a dangerous place.
I think this idea would be of benefit to a lot of different groups. Crafters will be happy they don't need to invest heavily in Strength to have a decent carrying capacity anymore. Scavengers will be happy they don't need to invest heavily in Strength to have a decent carrying capacity anymore. Hardcore players will enjoy the thrill of potentially losing their inventory space if they overreach too much, or the balance of making sure you can afford to lose not just your stuff but the thing you're carrying it all with. And realists will like the idea of someone not being able to haul 40 shovels around while swinging a sledgehammer without some kind of carrying device.
What does everyone think?
