Question on BL and Dodge

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by Colonel__Klink

Suppose a character has a standard basic lift of 20.

I'm looking at a chart that shows "none" as 20 lbs and "light" as 40lbs, light giving a -1 to dodge.

So what's confusing me is this. Is a light load anything between 20 and 40lbs? Or is a light load anything OVER 40lbs but less than the next tier of 60lbs?

The numbers are the maximum you can carry and still be in that encumbrance level. See "Encumbrance and Move" on page B17.

"No Encumbrance" or "None" is weight up to Basic Lift. It makes your Move equal to your Basic Move and gives you your full Dodge score.

"Light Encumbrance" is weight up to 2×BL (so more than BL but no more than 2×BL). It makes your Move equal to your Basic Move × 0.8 and gives you a -1 penalty to your Dodge and any other roll that is affected by Encumbrance.

"Medium Encumbrance" is weight up to 3×BL (so more than 2×BL but no more than 3×BL). It makes your Move equal to your Basic Move × 0.6 and gives you a -2 penalty to Dodge and any other roll that is affected by Encumbrance.

Etc.

Since you have a different BL for each level of Strength (ST), your Encumbrance levels change at different weights. See the Basic Lift and Encumbrance Table on p. B17.

I'm asking because this is very important to balance benefits of armor in my campaign!

Be aware that GURPS equipment isn't designed so much to be "balanced" as it is to be "realistic" or at least "plausible." There are times in history or in certain genres where armor is everything and other times where it is nigh-worthless. GURPS won't always make armor exactly balance in pros and cons because realistically it doesn't work that way. And just because a certain type of armor is theoretically available at your TL doesn't mean that anyone is actually using it. (You probably wouldn't choose to use a fur loincloth as armor, for instance, in an ultra-tech setting. Barbarians with laser swords might be a thing, but don't expect that loincloth to be useful as armor.)