A scene-based 5e inventory subsystem using Anchors, Live and Buried gear, Overload, and Load Tugs to make equipment matter without weight math.
The ruin starts to fall apart. One character has the coffer. Another is carrying an unconscious ally. The rope they need is somewhere beneath the rations. That is when inventory should matter. Living Load is a 5e subsystem that turns scene-relevant equipment into Anchors instead of pounds. Two items can remain Live and ready; everything else is Buried. Carry too much and temporary Overload cuts Speed. A fall, shove, closing door, or chaotic chase can trigger a Load Tug, forcing a choice between lost movement, displaced gear, or a damaged object. Prepared equipment can grant Advantage, but only when the player made that preparation visible before danger arrived. Once the pressure ends, every temporary mark clears and the group reorganizes. It keeps the interesting part of encumbrance—the decisions—and leaves the arithmetic behind.
