The Block and Tackle item adds a +5 (circumstance?) bonus to lifting heavy objects. But what is the maximum weight capacity of the block and tackle?
The item descriptions says that it can be used to "haul treasure", but doesn't give any specific numbers. Could it be used to raise an animal, like a mule or donkey?
I ask, because my next character uses a mule to carry most of his dungeon-exploring gear. But there will inevitably be times when we come to ladders, where, obviously, mules cannot follow.
Thanks for any responses!
Depending on the type of block and tackle and the setup you wouldn't actually get any increase in how much you could lift. Then again, you can also get very large increases in how much you can lift.
See here for an explanation as to why.
As for what is the maximum capacity of things to be lifted...
That I imagine depends on the burst strength of your rope more than anything else. You could look into the break strength of your materials. A wooden block and tackle will obviously break and strain before a steel one. And of course your support beam that you're using with the block and tackle could collapse too. But I think all of these are unlikely in comparison to your rope simply bursting.
Thankfully, we do have rules for that. Regular rope has a burst DC of 23, silk rope of 24, bloodvine rope of 30, and spider silk rope of 25.
I would treat the equivalent medium creature heavy load amount as the maximum an individual rope could lift. For a strength score of 23 that's 600 lbs. For a 30 that's 1,600 lbs. You could add additional ropes (with additional block and tackle) to increase the amount lifted since the load is distributed across the ropes (ideally).