Encumbrance

Encumbrance is a physical penalty that will lower both your character's mobility and also, temporary, his/her mastery of any physical skills. If the encumbrance penalty is -20% and his/her sword skill level is 42%, the effective skill level is 22%.

The encumbrance penalty is 2× weight carried / Endurance, that is to say, every Endurance/2 lbs. of weight will increase it by one percent.

Everything your character carries and wears contribute to this penalty, so while more layers of clothing will keep him/her warmer during winter he/she will also be slowed down. Skiing while wielding a Ski stick will counter the mobility issue, but the physical skills will still suffer.