IT'S SO OBVIOUS!!! Slaves as Pack Mules

[Thucydides]

I was just watching The Road Warrior (brilliant movie, I might add), and seeing the Gyro Captain carrying gas to the tanker, it hit me...SLAVES CAN BE MADE TO CARRY OUR EXTRA ITEMS! We could add a set of slots (perhaps the standard +1 Inventory Management 21-Item grid, if people think that using each slave individually would be too effective for you) and make them free, then just put up some sort of simple script to prevent selling the slaves before unloading the gear they're carrying (to avoid possible bugs and/or item losses). If we do this, I won't have a problem with Marnid and Borcha randomly demanding pay for item exchanges--making nobles and knights carry my swag will be infinitely more pleasurable!

 

[Ingolifs]

Interesting. I'd say they're worth 1 0r maybe 2 slots of inventory.
I don't think any more than that because the stuff you get from merchants is actually quite large. (Go to the merchant in Tihr to see how large it is).

 

[Laurence of Arabia]

this is an excellent idea, but as you said, only 1 or 2 slots at most per slave. Slaves need o become more useful anyway.

 

[alesch]

I always pictured the slaves being hogtied to sticks and draged behind my horse. That'd make it ahrd to carry stuff, but I'd let them walk if they held my junk.

 

[JohnathanStrange]

Yeah, our prisoners may as well be useful as we head to the salt mines or to Zendar!

Our inventory system right now requires us to make our decision on what to keep and what to leave behind without any second chances, so we have to make some hard choices at times - or invest precious skill points in inventory skills, which BTW while necessary seems wasteful.

Any negative consequences?

 

[Rando]

How about you move slower? I mean they have been defeated in battle, taken as prisoners, being used as mules, and then sold off to work in salt mines till they die. I don't know about you but, I wouldn't have the morale (or interest) to move things along very fast.

So, I don't know, lower their speed to like 5 - X where X is how many items they carry or something.

 

[Ingolifs]

They slow you down anyway.

 

[Thucydides]

That's good--one or two slots *per slave*, so you get fifteen and have another character's back's worth of inventory space. Cool. I think, as for speed, that each prisoner carrying an item (or two) should lose a point or two of speed, total, subtracted from whatever his original top speed was (i.e., knights go from 10 to 9 or 8, footmen from 7 to 6 or 5, etc.). They could still be tied to your horse--we're only using their backs, nothing else. Imagine that...CAPTURE THE NOBLEMAN, AGAIN, but this time, he's on all fours behind you, with a few suits of armor tied to his back! Ah man, that would be great.

 

[Ummu]

How about you move slower? I mean they have been defeated in battle, taken as prisoners, being used as mules, and then sold off to work in salt mines till they die. I don't know about you but, I wouldn't have the morale (or interest) to move things along very fast.

I don't think so... Maybe a few slaves might die off, but the rest would have to walk the same speed, or be whipped, etc.

 

[DaLagga]

Well, while we're on the topic, i might as well post my views. Personally, i feel that the inventory management skill should be removed. I mean, what does that skill mean anyway? Like an intelligent person is really going to be able to pack stuff significantly more efficiently than a person of lesser intelect? I feel the skill is worthless, and you should really be able to carry as much as you want...with a weight penalty of course. Perhaps add a bulk value to items as well. More horses not only means less weight penalty, but increases the max bulk you can carry(exceeding your max bulk has a HUGE negative effect on your speed). In short, i think items should have both weight and bulk, and inventory management be removed. I know, nobody will agree with me for sure and its probably not worth the time it would take to implement...just my two cents

 

[JohnathanStrange]

Well, while we're on the topic, i might as well post my views. Personally, i feel that the inventory management skill should be removed. I mean, what does that skill mean anyway? Like an intelligent person is really going to be able to pack stuff significantly more efficiently than a person of lesser intelect? I feel the skill is worthless, and you should really be able to carry as much as you want...with a weight penalty of course. Perhaps add a bulk value to items as well. More horses not only means less weight penalty, but increases the max bulk you can carry(exceeding your max bulk has a HUGE negative effect on your speed). In short, i think items should have both weight and bulk, and inventory management be removed. I know, nobody will agree with me for sure and its probably not worth the time it would take to implement...just my two cents

Dalagga, I agree with you. I even put inventory skills on my "Least Valuable Skills" list http://taleworlds.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1377&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=least+valuable+skills

Inventory skills always seemed out-of-place with martial skills like riding, horse archery, and power strike. It seemed to me a better way to increase one's carrying capacity beyond one's personal saddlebags would be to acquire additional horses which would open up additional slots. Maybe one's riding skill could represent the number of additional horses one could handle effectively traveling the world map.

However, the current system is convenient and few others seem to care anyway!

 

[Ingolifs]

Here's an idea. Perhaps you could hire a caravan master or something from a merchant, and he could carry craploads for a fee. It would make you slow too.

 

[Skeletor9000]

I really think that the inventory system should be wholly tied to horses and men. I think that for every additional party member you should get two more slots of inventory to represent the reasonable amount of "gear" or "loot" the fellow would be able to carry in addition to his warfighting equipment. Each additional horse could allow you another six or so slots. Granted, every item has a weight, so you'd need to set weight limits as well. But if you fill 16 slots with horses, you oughta get a crapload of inventory you'd be able to pack on them. I think that the sumpter horses seem tailor made for this, since they're worthless in battle. They are pretty much packmules, as it is. Also, you ought to get a slight speed bonus for each additional horse, as people would be able to ride them/carry gear with them. This may already be in-game, but it's slight, if so.

 

[Murka]

I think it's a great idea,
the question is what the A-man thinks about it

 

[Laurence of Arabia]

that is the be all and end all of any proposition.

 

[screwtype]

I agree that the inventory "skill" does not make much sense, and should probably be replaced by something like increased inventory depending on the number of horses you have.

But to stop you from carrying huge amounts of stuff, horses should be much more expensive, as they probably were in real life. And perhaps you should have to pay for their upkeep as well, and for stable costs when you're in town and so on.