RPGMemes

Yup. Same goes for temp/hunger/thirst. Unless the environment creates a situation that directly challenges that, like arctic conditions, desert, underwater, extended covert ops etc., these things do not serve the story and get in the way.

Plus, a bag of holding neatly side-steps a lot of encumbrance problems and I firmly believe that's why it's been a part of D&D lore since at least 2nd ed.

Meanwhile, if the table wants to go deep simulation on all this, the rules are there for that. But I wish everyone good luck with fighting monsters up close in a cave where weapons bigger than daggers are too large to swing, and heavy armor too bulky to be practical.

Yeah, encumbrance, rations, and even sleep can be too crunchy to deal with all the time. We're making so little progress as it is! But they can be nice as occasional plot points.

I do enjoy the tactical side of inventory management, but that's only for a specific kind of game, and even then, slot-based inventory works so much smoother.