I have a have seen a Block and tackle in just about every incarnation of every rpg I have played. I know a Block and tackle is a set of pulleys but what is the bonus a Block and tackle provides to lift or pull? a plus to strength bonus, a multiplier...... what?

I have a have seen a Block and tackle in just about every incarnation of every rpg I have played. I know a Block and tackle is a set of pulleys but what is the bonus a Block and tackle provides to lift or pull? a plus to strength bonus, a multiplier...... what?

Haven't seen on in D&D. In the real world it's a strength multiplier. Depending on how good the block and tackle are, you can lift 2 to 10 times your normal lifting capacity. Add in a couple of people and it get's easier. The upper limit on what you can lift with a block and tackle is the smaller of either what you can lift on it by yourself, or what the block and tackle can handle without breaking.

To stat up a block and tackle in D&D, you could probably easily do something like :

Block & Tackle : A block and tackle is rated as both a strength multiplier, and an absolute maximum that it can handle. This absolute maximum is based on the type of materials it is made out of, how well it's made, and how strong a rope is used. A standard block and tackle offers a strength multiplier of x2 and a maximum of 500 lbs. It is made out of reinforced wood and hemp rope. A masterwork version is made out of ironwood and uses braided silk ropes, giving it a multiplier of x5 and a maximum of 2500lbs. Regardless of which one is used, the structures it is attached to must be capable of handling the weight being lifted. A standard block and tackle has 50 feet of play in it's system.
Cost: Standard - 25gp, Masterwork - 250gp

I have a have seen a Block and tackle in just about every incarnation of every rpg I have played. I know a Block and tackle is a set of pulleys but what is the bonus a Block and tackle provides to lift or pull? a plus to strength bonus, a multiplier...... what?

Block and tackle in RL allow you to increase the weigth you are able to lift depending on the numeber of pulleys you are using. The only real limit is the strength of the rope you are using and the weight that can be supperted by your bracing point. In general you should double the weight you can lift (not the str score) for every B&T set you are using. As with other multipliers in the game you should triplle, quadruple, etc. for B&T as well.

wow...im not the op or anything, but this is really interesting and now have some new ideas for my games...thanks guys.

Pulleys aren't as simple as "Count the pulleys and that's your multiplier."

Here are some rules of thumb.

1) How much rope?

It all works based on work (force times distance). Work to lift load = Weight x height lifted. Work to drag a load = Friction x distance moved.

Work exerted using pulleys = amount of force exerted on the rope x the amount of rope your hands "see." Work exerted = Work to move load.

2) How many pulleys?

The number of pulleys that move the entire path of the load is the actual multiplier. Usually these pulleys are attached to the load itself. Other pulleys only serve to redirect force, and thus are anchored.

3) How much weight?

The mechanism will only survive until the weakest part breaks. However, luckily, the tension in the rope is divided. (That tension force is the same as the work force.)

Pulleys aren't as simple as "Count the pulleys and that's your multiplier."

I agree with your entire post. But often the games need simplified physics.

As for rope I suggest a 50´hemp rope be used with each block and tackle set. The main weakness is the fixing point for the pulleys. Even if multiple fixing points are used simultaneously they should be the main consideration for the GM when determining if players can lift something.

If anyone knows how much weight an average sized iron and wooden puley can take it would be very useful information.

What's the difference between the "pulley" listed in the APG and the "block and tackle" listed in the Core rulebook? As far as I can tell, it's the same device, but with completely different rules!

The pulley weighs half as much and grants a +5 bonus on strength checks to lift heavy objects. Since when were strength checks required to lift heavy objects?

The pulley weighs half as much and grants a +5 bonus on strength checks to lift heavy objects. Since when were strength checks required to lift heavy objects?

Agreed - I couldn't find any such rules when an earlier poster asked about it.

What's the difference between the "pulley" listed in the APG and the "block and tackle" listed in the Core rulebook? As far as I can tell, it's the same device, but with completely different rules!

The pulley weighs half as much and grants a +5 bonus on strength checks to lift heavy objects. Since when were strength checks required to lift heavy objects?

let it add 5 to your effective str score for determining what you can lift

Ravingdork wrote:

What's the difference between the "pulley" listed in the APG and the "block and tackle" listed in the Core rulebook? As far as I can tell, it's the same device, but with completely different rules!

The pulley weighs half as much and grants a +5 bonus on strength checks to lift heavy objects. Since when were strength checks required to lift heavy objects?

let it add 5 to your effective str score for determining what you can lift

That's a nifty houserule I guess, but it upsets me to see that house ruling something to get it to work is necessary.

Pulley
Block and Tackle
The Wiki post the pictures are from
So a Pulley (once secured) allows you to pull the rope, to lift the object, from a more favourable location/ direction. The Block and Tackle in addition to that also allow you to increase your effective strength by doing more work (you have to pull additional rope)

What's the difference between the "pulley" listed in the APG and the "block and tackle" listed in the Core rulebook? As far as I can tell, it's the same device, but with completely different rules!

The pulley weighs half as much and grants a +5 bonus on strength checks to lift heavy objects. Since when were strength checks required to lift heavy objects?

Also the block and tackle costs 5 gp and the pulley (which should be more or less mechanically the same thing as a block and tackle--i.e., a pulley system which makes lifting easier) costs 2 gp.

I agree with Name Violation--what was probably intended is that your Strength is considered 5 higher, but it was written down hastily without much doublechecking. I am not sure it's so much a house rule interpretation as RAI---because as you point out, RAW doesn't actually work within the mechanics of the game at all.

David Thomassen: your post illustrates why the gear entries make even less sense, as in fact a block and tackle should weigh more than the pulley (or they should weigh roughly the same--unless I am misinterpreting something).

A pully is one pully. A block and tackle is two pullies. They should have different costs and work differently.

It should be written as a block and tackle can double, triple, or quadruple the amount of weight you can lift up to a maximum of 2300 lbs**, depending on the setup, while a pully alone allows you to reposition the rope at an angle you can pull from at all.

It should go on to say a Knowledge(Engineering) or related skill check (Craft:Carpentry or the like) is required to set up properly, and a failure to do so causes an 80% chance for the block and tackle to break away from the surface it is attached to some time during lifting of the material.

**If you consider the stats from Knot and Rope to be approx accurate, and assume normal hemp rope to be 1/2" then your max load would be 2300 lbs. One could buy at an increased price larger rope, say 1" at 3x the cost, to gain a break strength of 8100 lbs.

Silk rope would hold quite a bit less, so much so as to not even be considered a part of block and tackle.

EDIT: this is for new, unknotted rope. a square knot in the rope will decrease it's weight capacity by about 50%, other knots have more or less of an effect. For game purposes, it might be prudent to multiply those numbers by .75 and leave it at that.

EDIT2: Here is something I found that might help, though I would disagree with the writers assumptions of rope diameter and weight capacity, but to each their own. Adventurer Essentials: Rope