MetalBoar wrote:I've felt that Strength is a relatively weak stat (no pun intended) in Earthdawn. ... Just damage and carrying capacity
For what it's worth, Strength is also your base for Knockdown tests.
I think it would good to open your perspective.
First, does an extra point or two of damage really matter? Yes ... yes it does. An extra point or two of damage can be the difference of an extra round or two in combat, and against strong opponents, this can mean life or death. An extra point or two of damage can also mean causing a wound, and wounds can completely turn the tide of a battle. So, yes, if your group is not combat-heavy, then Strength can seem like a wasted stat, but since each gaming session aims to have at least one 'conflict', which may or can require combat, having that extra point of Strength has a huge impact.
Second, carrying capacity should not be overlooked. Yes, at the end of the day, no one wants to count individual pounds to see if your character is over-burdened, and no one wants to get whammed by the GM because they're a pound or two over. However, have you ever stopped to look at how much an Adventurer's Kit, a few Booster Potions, clothing, basic armor and weapon, and other small scale adventuring gear weighs? If you haven't, add the numbers up once as an exercise in perspective. You'll quickly learn that your magician
probably can't actually carry all the gear they say they're carrying. This
should force the player into making gear compromises on their character, which adds to drama.
Now, you may say "well, we'll just dump it on Warrior" or "fine, we'll rent/buy a horse to haul stuff." That presents it's own problems. A Warrior pack mule can't have everything strapped at the ready (whereas it may be reasonable for a character to have a few core items available as Simple, or a single, Standard action). Once you leave the realm of "at the ready," you're talking ~ three turns to locate and retrieve an item from a backpack (per the Player's Guide, citation currently not available). That can be a problem. Then, an animal-based pack mule presents its own problems. You got to feed the thing. If it's not war-trained, it's going to bolt when conflict kicks up. It won't be able to go to a variety of places that adventurers can go (ever tried to get a horse to climb a rope?).
Last, just because Strength is only listed as having direct impact to damage, carrying capacity, and knockdown, your GM is well within his rights to make this stat more applicable (and, in my opinion, should). Running through a tunnel when a rock starts to collapse? That Warrior can hold up the stone, let his companions escape, and then nudge his way underneath it - magicians only, well, they're hosed. Something suspicious behind a cupboard? Warrior can likely push it out of the way with minimum noise - magicians only, well, they probably need to topple it, which is going to create quite a ruckus. Etc, etc, etc.