Encumbrance

Encumberment affects your ability to fight and move around. It's increased by the amount and type of clothing items and gear you're currently wearing. While its negative impact can be countered with high skill and stat levels, low encumberment levels are always desired.

You can check your current encumbrance levels in your character (@) screen. Pressing the SPACEBAR and browsing the screen with the arrow keys will allow you to check the encumberment effects on specific body areas.

Torso

It affects your ability to fight in melee and swimming.

Formulas:

• Melee skill: hit roll *= 1 - (Torso Encumbrance Lvl/100)
• Dodge skill: Dodge Skill Lvl - Torso Encumbrance Lvl
• Swimming cost: Torso Encumbrance Lvl /10 * (80 - Swimming Skill Lvl * 3) (movement points when swimming)
• Melee attack cost: Torso Encumbrance Lvl (movement points for each melee attack)

Head

It only affects how many clothing items you can put on your head: once it's encumbered, that's it. You can generally fit a wool hat under a helmet come winter: just manually put the hat on, then the helmet over top.

Eyes

It affects perception, which in turn affects how far away you can throw things and your ability to spot traps. It also affects your accuracy with ranged weapons, which along with dispersion and recoil increases the chances of missing a target.

Formulas:

• Checking traps and firing ranged weapons: Perception Lvl - Eyes Encumbrance Lvl
• Throwing items: Perception Lvl - (Eyes Encumbrance Lvl / 2)
• Ranged weapon accuracy: deviation += 2 * Arms Encumbrance Lvl + 4 * Eyes Encumbrance Lvl

Mouth

It affects the movement cost of moving around (which you do by running).

Formulas:

• Running cost: Running cost + (Mouth Encumbrance Lvl * 5)

Arms

It affects your accuracy with ranged weapons, which along with dispersion and recoil increases the chances of missing a target.

Formulas:

• Ranged weapon accuracy: deviation += 2 * Arms Encumbrance Lvl + 4 * Eyes Encumbrance Lvl

Hands

It affects the time it takes you to reload a ranged weapon or tool, and your ability to throw things accurately.

Formulas:

• Reloading cost: Reloading cost + (Hands Encumbrance Lvl * 30) (movement points)
• Dexterity when throwing items: Dexterity Lvl - Hands Encumbrance Lvl

Legs

It affects your ability to dodge, run and swim.

Formulas:

• Running cost: Running cost + (Legs Encumbrance Lvl * 3)
• Swimming cost: Legs Encumbrance Lvl * (50 - Swimming Skill Lvl * 2)
• Dodge skill: Dodge Skill Lvl - (Legs Encumbrance Lvl / 2)

Feet

It affects the movement cost of moving around (which you do by running).

Formulas:

• Running cost: Running cost + (Feet Encumbrance Lvl * 5)