Real World Data -- Loads

I recently read a newspaper article on the heavy loads carried by combat soldiers and the impact thereof.

The key point was that carrying loads of 100 lbs in combat on a regular basis -- even when the bearer is a young, physically fit male -- causes injuries. A USMC after-action-report finds that heavy loads limit the mobility of riflemen with tactical consequences.

Note how well this maps to the rule of 7; a 100 lb load is around 7 stones, and that is apparently beyond the max load that can be carried safely. It also hints at some possible mechanical consequences to heavy loads beyond speed penalties. Perhaps there is a risk of long-term ability score damage or other long-term consequences to carrying such extreme burdens in combat conditions.

Encumbrance Consequences

I've been thinking about ENC. On one hand, encumbrance must have consequences if its to be worth tracking. On the other hand, if the consequences are crippling then it will basically preclude a choice -- carrying too much stuff is so painful that nobody will ever carry too much.

I wanted to look at ENC consequences in various systems and see how they are applied. For now I'm looking at D&D based games. It would be of value to check out other systems but for now this will suffice.

3LBB OD&D

Load in Gold Pieces Equal to Light Foot Movement (12") -- 750
Load in Gold Pieces Equal to Heavy Foot Movement (9") -- 1000
Load in Gold Pieces Equal to Armd. Foot Movement (6") -- 1500

From what I can see, its just a speed penalty.

1E AD&D

The rules are a bit complicated and spread across several sections. However, this is what I run with.

Category	Weight (GP)*	Armor Type*	Movement	Game Mechanics
Normal Gear	<500		12” – Subject can run quickly
Heavy	501-850	Fairly Bulky (Chain mail, studded leather, Field Plate, etc.)	9” – Subject can make a lumbering run	No bonuses to reaction in surprise situations or to initiative (ex. from high dexterity)
Very Heavy	851-1200	Bulky (Plate Mail, Splint Mail, etc.)	6” – Subject can trot for short distances	-3 penalty on initiative rolls
Full	1201-1500		3” – No trotting possible	No charging possible; Automatically lose initiative vs. non-encumbered foes; -3 penalty on surprise reaction rolls; -2 penalty to AC
Maximum	1501+		0” – No movement possible	Considered to be “held”

*Use the least favorable category. A character in the normal gear category for carried equipment wearing plate mail is considered to be in the Very Heavy load category.

S&W

S&W has a section on page 11 labeled ENC, but there don't seem to be more defined rules.

Microlite 74

Encumbrance (Optional)
"Characters can carry twelve (plus STR bonus) items in addition to armour, primary weapon, and possibly a shield; six items can be readily available dangling from a belt or slung over the shoulders, but everything else goes into the backpack. Small collections of things (10 flasks, 20 arrows, 50 gems, 100 gold pieces) count as a single item."

Labyrinth Lord

Carrying Capacity and Encumbrance
This is an optional rule, and is used if the Labyrinth Lord wants to make sure characters carry more realistic weights. It is important to keep track of how much weight characters are carrying, because they can only haul so much treasure from a labyrinth, and if they are heavily weighed down they cannot move as fast. Encumbrance is measured in pounds, and is calculated based on adding the weights of all significant items carried, including weapons and armor. The maximum any character can carry is 160 pounds. Character speed will be affected based on encumbrance. Refer to the Movement and Encumbrance Table.

There is then a table that compares weights to movement rates with no other effects.

3.5

In 3.5, encumbrance is based on a table related to STR. There are three categories, light/medium/heavy load. Per the SRD: "maximum Dexterity bonus to AC, armor check penalty, speed, and running speed."

4E

Medium and Heavy armor has speed limitations built in. It also tends to impose reasonable penalties on agility skill checks. Carrying a heavy load makes you slowed, which lets you move 2 squares/round -- fairly crippling.

Conclusions

The most common penalty is a limitation to speed. AD&D has the most complicated rules, which also affects surprise and initiative.

I'd say that the penalties are crippling in 4E (Slowed = sucks), AD&D (worst categories only -- AC penalty is bad news), and microlite 74 (its just banned to carry more).

Otherwise, the limits have consequences that are generally livable. 3.5 and 4E are somewhat bad with penalties to skills, but many characters won't care. Otherwise its generally just a speed limitation, except for 1E, where high-DEX characters start to lose benefits.

This leads me to conclude that the OD&D model is a good one for a game. Later versions may be more realistic -- yes, its harder to jump a pit or dodge a blow if heavily laden -- but if the consequences get too bad then its rare for adventurers to push the limits, so why have the rule at all? You might as well just go the Microlite version then and say, "You can't bust enc, just because." AD&D rules work well but they are very complicated.

AD&D: Standard Infantry Loads

I wanted to post my standard loadouts for soldier hirelings.

All hirelings get the following loadout:

STANDARD INFANTRY PROVISIONS					210
Backpack	20	Bedroll	20	Sack, Large	20
Waterskin	50	Cloak	0	Torch	25
		Belt	0	Candle	5
Rations, Iron (1W)	75	Boots, Low Hard	0	Rope, 10'	15
Subtotal	145		20		45

Then, depending on their branch, infantry are equipped as follows:

LIGHT INFANTRY			565		355
MISSILES	100	HAND-TO-HAND	75	DEFENSE	180
Javelin	20	Spear, Short	40	Leather	150
Short Bow	50	Short Sword	35	Shield (Buckler)	30
Arrows, Score	30

MEDIUM INFANTRY			740		530
MISSILES	60	HAND-TO-HAND	140	DEFENSE	330
Javelin	20	Spear, Regular	50	Padded	100
Sling Bullet (20)	40	Spear, Long	60	Shield (wood)	30
		Club	30	Rations, Std (1W)	200

HEAVY INFANTRY			845		635
MISSILES	60	HAND-TO-HAND	225	DEFENSE	350
Javelin	20	Spear, Regular	50	Ring Mail	250
Sling Bullet (20)	40	Hand Axe	50	Shield (tower)	100
		Morningstar	125	Helm	0

HEAVY INFANTRY WITH CROSSBOW			800		590
MISSILES	140	HAND-TO-HAND	100	DEFENSE	350
Javelin	20	Spear, Regular	50	Ring Mail	250
Heavy Crossbow	80	Hand Axe	50	Shield (tower)	100
Bolts [20], +1 [1]	40			Helm	0

Lamp Oil, Torches, & Rations

LAMP OIL

Tonight, I decided to research just how long lamp oil burns.

Turns out that 1 pint of lamp oil burns for about 40 hours in an oil lamp (according to some survivalist groups that I found who actually burn this stuff on a regular basis). Also, oil weighs roughly 1 lb per pint. Actually, it weighs a bit less -- water is a pound per pint, so 1 pint of lamp oil weighs 0.786 lbs, according to Australia; but we're rounding, here. Let's figure that adventurer spill a bit of oil now and then, or their high-beam Adventurer Bullseye Lanterns burn a bit more than an oil lamp does, or medieval lamp oil was a bit less refined and energy packed than modern lamp oil.

1 pint = 1 lb = 40 hours
1 stone = ~15 lbs = 15 pints = ~600 hours = 25 days
1/3 stone = ~5 lbs = 5 pints = ~200 hours = 8.3 days
1/6 stone = ~2.5 lbs = 2.5 pints = ~100 hours = 4.16 days of continuous use

So, its reasonable to say that 1/6 of a stone of lamp oil (about 3 pints) might last for a week of dungeon exploration, assuming its not being burned 24/7.

So: LAMP OIL - 1/6 STONE (C-DAY)

TORCHES

A primitive light source researcher found that he could build a torch that lasted for 2 hours.

TORCH - 1/6 STONE (C-TURN)

Close enough. I'd let it double as a club, because fire + hitting things... that's just cool.

RATIONS

Modern military MREs weigh about 12 meals/stone. They aren't the lightest field rations out there, but they have the benefit of modern technology; I'm guessing that hard tack and dried fruits and beef jerky probably were bulkier for the same calorie count. You can really get by on 1-2 MREs/day, so let's say that one stone of MREs gets you 6 days of chow.

Easy: 1 stone = 1 week of rations

FIELD RATIONS, WEEK - 1 STONE (C-DAY)

That doesn't include water, which is much heavier. For survival you need 4-6 pints of water per day. If active, you need much more. So factoring in water, we get 6 pints (6 lbs) of water + 2.5 lbs of food = ~9 lbs/day.

WATERSKIN - 1/3 STONE (C-TURN)


ROPE

That heavy duty rope you climbed in elementary school PE class (remember how embarrassing it was? I bet you do if you're reading this blog) weighs almost 1 lb per foot.

A modern climbing rope weighs 0.15 lb per foot.

A cheap manila rope that can hold 2380 lbs of weight (1/2" thick -- not that much when you remember that F=MA, so 200 lbs of person falling at 125 mph terminal velocity will have a lot of force!) is 0.075 lb per foot. A 1" thick rope is 0.27 lb per foot.

So, our notorious 50' of rope spool (adventuring essential) weighs in at 3.75 for the cheap manila, 7.5 lbs for the modern climbing rope, 13.5 lbs for the 1" manila, and 37.5 lbs for the old-school PE rope.

I think that if your adventurers expect climbing quality rope, it should be a STONE. In a dungeon, old school rope wouldn't hold up well. There'd be problems with rot, it'd be easily damaged from any sort of fall or sudden addition of weight (they didn't have dynamic ropes back then), it would generally kind of suck. So, making them check for degradation every time they use it is likely wise.

Silk rope would be superior rope that has an extra die or two for consumption purposes. I'd restrict super light weight "elvish rope" or somesuch (1/3 stone) to be a special, rare, perhaps even magical item. After all, even our modern nylon climbing rope weighs 1/2 a stone!

50' CLIMBING ROPE - 1 STONE (C-TURN)