-	-	-	-	-
AD&&D	-	-	-	DMG

 
 

Item	Encumbrance in #
Backpack	2
Belt	0.3
Belt pouch, large	1
small	0.5
Book, large metal-bound	20
Boots, hard	6
soft	3
Bottles, flagons	6
Bow, composite long	8
composite short	5
long	10
short	5
Caltrop	5
Candle	0.5
Chest, large solid iron	100-500
small solid iron	20-50
small wooden	10-25 <9 + d16>
large wooden	50-150
Clothes (1 set)	3
Cord, 10'	0.2
Crossbow, heavy	8
light	5
Crystal ball, base and wrapping	15
Flask, empty	0.7
full	2
Gem	0.1 - 0.5
Grapnel	10
Hand tool	1
Helm	4.5
Helm, great	10
Holy water, potion bottles	2.5
Horn	5
Jewelry, large	5
small	0.1 - 0.5
Lantern	6
Mirror	0.5
Musical instrument*	35
Pole, 10'	10
Purse	0.1
Quiver	3
Rations, iron	7.5
standard	20
Robe or cloak, folded	5
worn	2.5
Rod	6
Rope, 50'	7.5
Sack, large	2
small	0.5
Saddle, light horse	25
heavy horse	50
Saddlebag	15
Saddle blanket (pad)	2
Scroll case, bone or ivory	5
leather	2.5
Spike	1
Staff	10
Tapestry (very small to huge)	5-100+ <15-17>
Tinderbox	0.2
Torch	2.5
Wand, bone or ivory case	6
box	8
leather case	3
Waterskin || wineskin, empty	0.5
full	5

<rug: 30-33/ T3.101>

<The encumbrance figures have been converted to #>
<They have been moved to the main entries for the items in the PH>

Certain other items are not included when figuring encumbrance.
These include:

    material components (unless large and bulky).
    any helm but great helm, if the character has any armor.
    one set of clothing.
    thieves' picks and tools.

Many other things will be bought or found, but it is impossible to list them
all here. The encumbrance of most items not on this list may be inferred by
comparison with objects similar to them; thus a decanter of endless water
will encumber as much as a bottle or flagon. In some cases no equivalent
may be found on the table; such instances require the judge to decide.

Many people looking at the table will say, "But a scroll doesn't weigh two pounds!"
The encumbrance figure should not be taken as the weight of the object -- it is the combined weight and relative bulkiness of the item.
These factors together will determine how much a figure can carry.

As an example, Dimwall the magic-user and Drudge the fighter have prepared
for a dungeon expedition. Dimwall, besides his normal clothing, has
strapped on a belt with a large pouch on it. Into this and his robe, he tucks
his material components (minimal encumbrance). He also places in his
pouch a potion bottle, a mirror, some garlic and belladonna, and his
tinderbox. At his right side hangs a dagger and sheath and four more
daggers are on a bandolier slung across his chest. Over all these belts, he
puts his backpack. In his pack goes a hand axe (for chopping, not fighting),
3 flasks of oil, a candle, 3 small sacks, 1 large sack, and 7 torches. lashed
in a bundle to the pack is 50' of rope. At his left side, hanging from his belt,
are a leather scroll case and his purse, filled with 20 gold pieces. He holds
a staff in his right hand and a torch in his left. He is now ready to travel,
with a total encumbrance of 689 g.p.

Meanwhile, his companion, Drudge, has strapped on his splint armor. He
wears 2 belts around his waist; his longsword hangs from one. On the
other belt he places his quiver with 40 bolts, a cocking hook, and a dagger.
He slips on his backpack, already loaded with 10 spikes, one week's iron
rations, and a flask of oil. To the bottom of the pack he has strapped 50' of
rope. Hanging on the rear of the pack i s his heavy crossbow. Around his
neck he wears a holy symbol. Finally, he straps his large shield on his left
arm, fits his helmet, and takes his lantern, ready to go with a total encumbrance
of 11 17 g.p.

During their adventures, Dimwall and Drudge find 800 gold pieces in a
troll's treasure horde. Dimwall can carry 400 gold pieces in his large sack
and another 300 gold pieces in his small sacks. Dimwall leaves his torches
and staff, since he must have his hands free. Then he fastens a small sack
to his belt and, using two hands, carries the large sack over his shoulder.
Drudge eats part of his iron rations and throws the rest away, along with
his spikes and oil. He places the remaining bags in the bottom of his pack
and then pours the loose coins on top of them. Encumbrance for Dimwall is
now 889 gold pieces and 1222 gold pieces for Drudge.

As they leave, Dimwall and Drudge meet the troll. There is little time to
react, so Drudge must quickly drop his lantern (possibly putting it out) and
attack. As he does this, Dimwall must drop the large sack (probably scattering
coins about), unsling his pack, and start digging for his oil. By the time
he finds it, the troll may have killed them both!

Q: How many gold pieces can the
various containers listed in the
AD&D game rules hold?

A: The following unofficial capacities have
been extrapolated from the DMG encumbrance
list. They will give you something
to work with for the time being:
Backpack: 400 gp
Belt pouch, large: 200 gp
Belt pouch, small: 100 gp
Boat: See the Wilderness Survival Guide,
page 44
Box, large: 200 gp
Box, small: 50 gp
Chest, wooden: 15 gp per gp of encumbrance
(see the DMG, page 225)
Chest, iron: 3 gp per gp of encumbrance
(see the DMG, page 225)
Land vehicles: See the WSG, page 33
Sack, large: 400 gp
Sack, small: 100 gp
Saddlebag, large: 1,000 gp
Saddlebag, small: 250 gp
Ship: 900 gp/hull point (see the DMG,
page 54)
(142.71)
 

Q: How much does Oriental equipment
weigh? How large and heavy
are grenades?

A: Use the figures for the nearest equivalent
from the regular AD&D rules or real
life. Rope or clothing, for example, weighs
the same no matter where it is made.
Grenades are about the size and weight of
a flask of oil.
(151.58)

<
    <weights & measures>
    <a pint has 16 oz. : cf. dmg.64>
    <basically, 1 pint = 1 pound, to start>
    <1 gallon = 8 pints = 8 pounds : wsg.53>
    <here's where it gets strange>
    <1 gallon = 0.5# per gallon, plus an extra 0.5# for every 3 gallons being transported in a single container>
    <a typical waterskin holds 1 gallon>
    <1 cubic foot of water = 7 gallons>
>

<
Acid - 1/2 pint (8 oz.)
Holy/Unholy Water - 1/4 pint (4 oz.)
Oil - 1 pint (16 oz.)
Poison - 1/4 pint (4 oz.)
-dmg64
>

<flask, empty = 0.7. flask, full = 2>
<waterskin or wineskin. empty = 0.5, full = 5>
<holy water, potion bottles = 2.5>
<16 ounces to the pound (avoirdupois ounces), therefore, 1 gp weighs 1.6 ounces>

<1 quart = 2 pints>
    <pint = approx. 473 ml to 551 ml, so halfway between a 12 & a 26er>

<units of volume>
<US. liquid gallon = 231 cubic inches = 0.133680555 cubic feet = approx. 4 litres, with 1 litre equalling 2.11337641 U.S. fluid pints (1)>

THE FORUM

Looking at the recent letters of Stephen Licata
(issue #117) and S.D. Anderson (issue #122), it
seems that the details of encumbrance are being
ignored. While this may be true in some cases,
most PCs that I have seen find a solution to the
rules: They use portable holes and bags of
holding as if they were embroidered with
certain runes of power such as "Kirby," "Hoover,"
and "Eureka," to name just a few. I myself am
not immune to this problem, as I have one
character with 21 portable holes. What follows
is a DM's solution to the player's solution.

First, in the case of the portable hole, a 10" x
6" cylindrical volume is a lot of space to look for
something you need in a hurry. Unless you
outline a plan of storage in advance, it will take
time to find the object you are looking for. Plus,
if you have more than one portable hole, how
can you be certain that you have the right one?
Time involved should be at least 10 minutes to
an hour, depending on the object searched for.
Also, bear in mind that telling a monster that
you have something that may interest him, then
searching through mounds of stuff to find it,
just may get him more interested in killing you
to take everything.

Next, since most players toss things in with
impunity, give them another portable hole or
bag of holding (possibly concealed in another
object), then watch the fireworks as they toss
one inside the other. Or you can invent a monster
like an "Astral Termite" which eats through
the walls of either object with the result being a
loss of contents, and the possibility of the PC,
upon opening an item, being sucked in, or an
astral dweller coming out for a stroll.

Of course, the possibilities are up to the DM,
but it should be recommended that these tactics
be reserved for those that use portable, eversucking
vacuum cleaners.

James Allen
Kalamazoo MI
(Dragon #126)
 

I ran the introductory AD&.D game at a local
con a couple of weeks ago and wrote up the
players? character sheets a little differently. I
was reading the statistics for a 15 strength to
the players, and as I was about to give the
additional gold-piece weight encumbrance, I
realized what a useless statistic it was. It is an
addition or subtraction made to the formula
used to calculate the maximum weight a character
could carry if his strength is abnormally
high or low. The problems are that: 1) the
formula gives the weight in pounds, while the
adjustment is in gold-piece weights (the old saw
about apples and oranges pops to mind); and, 2)
what is needed on the character sheet is not the
adjustment to the maximum weight a character
can carry, but the maximum weight the character
can carry.

What I did for those players (and for the
characters I roll up for myself) is to calculate
that [maximum weight] figure. It?s a lot easier to
do this if the information I need is in a chart. I
worked out the figures for myself.

I did find a nice little goof. Your 3-strength
magic-user has a base carrying capacity of 35
lbs. [Players Handbook, page 101] but has a
penalty of 350 gp [page 9], which comes out to
? 35 pounds. Point a wand at someone? Carry
spell components? [It is difficult to do] with a
net 0 lbs. carrying capacity.

On a related note, keeping track of encumbrance
is difficult when many relatively heavy
items listed in the provisions tables have no
weights listed. A monk, thief, druid, magic-user,
or illusionist is not going to have much in the
way of weapons or armor but may well stock
up on other necessary items, and only arms and
armor have weight listings (arms in gold pieces,
armor in pounds). If the amount of treasure a
character carries back from an adventure
determines whether or not he is able to pay for
the training needed to go up a level before the
next adventure, the character and the player
need to know precisely how much his equipment
weighs. Frankly, the game has failed to
provide this vital information since the original
D&D game came out.

Strength Chart

Strength	Unencumbered wt. limit (lbs.)
3	0
4-5	10
6-7	20
8-11	35
12-13	45
14-15	55
16	70
17	85
18	110
18/01-50	135
18/51-75	160
18/76-90	185
18/91-99	235
18/00	335
19	485
20	535
21	635
22	785
23	935
24	1235
25	1535

S. D. Anderson
Whittier CA
(Dragon #144)

NOTES BY GARY GYGAX

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nagora
...

One Imperial gallon = 10 Imperial pounds weight.

1 acre = 1 chain x 1 furlong.

1 US gallon is eight pounds weight, so the Imperial gallon is 25% larger, or the US gallon is 80% the volume of an Imperial one 

The measure for an acre you give is per side of a square acre.

BTW, a section is one-quarter of a square mile, 160 acres.

Cheerio,
Gary