How much does a backpack hold?
As well as a sack, a belt pouch, a chest and saddle bags.
I can't believe this question has never been asked, so if someone could point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.
How much does a backpack hold?
As well as a sack, a belt pouch, a chest and saddle bags.
I can't believe this question has never been asked, so if someone could point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.
Oh god not this one again. There was a lengthy conversation about this a while back and I was in your position then. Get ready to be called an idiot for asking such an asinine question.
Not that I think it is, but apparently a lot of people do.
The answer though is that it is undefined. It is up to you and your GM (in all of the cases you listed).
I've always pictured an adventurer's backpack as like one of those full-sized backpacks the Boy Scouts or the military uses. They hold about 2 cubic feet.
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[Silly sarcasm] Ahh ahha hhaa OMG! Lakeside you are so dumb!!! BWAA HAAA HAAA [/end silly sarcasm]
Good question. I always wondered about it, I would be curious to see what other people say.
I like Sean's response but I have an issue with the volume only because how do you know how much space something takes up?
We have weights though and I have tended to rule in the 35-50 lb range for a normal backpack and higher for "masterwork ones". Sean's description of a backpack "style" for more high end, larger load bearing bags seems pretty spot on to me.
Certain objects given their dimensions are an obvious no go. (Ladder, 10 foot pole, barrel etc.) but weight has worked fairly well for me in the past.
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The 3.0 PHB had the limits for all of these. Somewhere I have a list of them all printed out. That "somewhere" is not "here". But my memory is teh awesomz!
Backpack weight=2lbs holds 40lbs
Large Sack weight = 1lbs holds 60lbs
Small Sack weight = 0.5lbs holds 30 lbs
Large Belt Pouch weight = 0.5lbs holds 10lbs (fuzzy memory on this one)
Small Belt Pouch weight = nil holds 1lbs
Pack Saddles = as much as the mount can carry
Saddlebags weight = ?? holds 30lbs each (in pairs, but fuzzy memory on this one too).
Chests as listed in the PHB hold something like 200lbs, but that's only if you want to move it around. It'll probably hold a lot more if it's just sitting there. Steel chests would hold more too, but I don't remember these specifically either.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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This is something I'm constantly asking too. Out of curiosity, where is the prior thread and why was the question bashed?
Also, I've got to say that inventory is one of those things that video games do really well with the tetris style boxes. I wish there were an easy way to use such a tool in a tabletop rpg, but the only thing I can think of is either doing it with paper (ugh) or using a laptop and having a simple program (which is well beyond my capabilities).
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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We have weights though and I have tended to rule in the 35-50 lb range for a normal backpack and higher for "masterwork ones". Sean's description of a backpack "style" for more high end, larger load bearing bags seems pretty spot on to me.Certain objects given their dimensions are an obvious no go. (Ladder, 10 foot pole, barrel etc.) but weight has worked fairly well for me in the past.
Yeah, 2e used a funny system for encumbrance for just this reason. I still remember the example of the adventurer's backpack, describing how he had a rolled up carpet of flying in it along with maps and other gear. For whatever reason, I'm always fascinated with how all the crazy gear is held by PCs.
I've always pictured an adventurer's backpack as like one of those full-sized backpacks the Boy Scouts or the military uses. They hold about 2 cubic feet.
Yes...but how many wardstones does that equate to...? ;-P
Thanks everybody.
On the one hand that's the answer I thought I would get, yet on the other hand that's the answer I was afraid I would get.
Without a reference I just wanted to make sure I hadn't overlooked it somewhere in the book.
I didn't intend to start a riot, so let's all calm down and considered the question answered.
Its undefined, its not in the book, so you can stop looking for it.
I didn't intend to start a riot, so let's all calm down and considered the question answered. Its undefined, its not in the book, so you can stop looking for it.
No riot here. I was just saying I seemed to recall having this discussion once before and getting into a heated debate about it. It seems like so far most of the people who thought it was important enough to get heated up about it haven't popped in yet. Perhaps I'm even mistaking it for a different subject, as I tried to look up the old thread but couldn't find it. Either way, I'm happy as a clam and have no ill feelings :)
This question was in fact answered in previous editions of the rules (or in the rules system which PFRPG is based on, depending on how you want to say it). The question was answered here (Wizards of the Coast) and now I have added it to the d20pfsrd.com Goods and Services page so people can have a place to look each time this comes up every month or so :)
This is something I'm constantly asking too. Out of curiosity, where is the prior thread and why was the question bashed?
Also, I've got to say that inventory is one of those things that video games do really well with the tetris style boxes. I wish there were an easy way to use such a tool in a tabletop rpg, but the only thing I can think of is either doing it with paper (ugh) or using a laptop and having a simple program (which is well beyond my capabilities).
You could use a few business card holder sheets for 3-ring binders (I think they have 12 slots per sheet, and blank business cards, a backpack/large sack could hold 3 sheets worth, a large belt pouch/small sack could hold say 2 sheets worth and smaller things a 1/2 sheet or a single sheet. (each slot could be 1 lb of material.)
If one were so inclined.
I've always pictured an adventurer's backpack as like one of those full-sized backpacks the Boy Scouts or the military uses. They hold about 2 cubic feet.Yes...but how many wardstones does that equate to...? ;-P
I dunno, you didn't tell me how big the wardstones are. :p
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and now I have added it to the d20pfsrd.com Goods and Services page so people can have a place to look each time this comes up every month or so :)
Thanks for including this information, a solid respectable source helps speed things up at the game table.
I cheat around this one by making sure my players get their hands on bags of holding ASAP.
Probably too late, but this would be great little table to include in the Adventurer's Armory.
What is the Adventurers Armory?
Edit: Nevermind, I see it now.
<tongue in cheek>
Backpacks hold exactly one bag of holding. And maybe a torch or two.
I dunno, you didn't tell me how big the wardstones are. :p
I know! Quite an oversight on my part. Much like there's no indication of the carrying capacity of a Small-sized backpack anywhere in the rules. ;-)
I dunno, you didn't tell me how big the wardstones are. :pI know! Quite an oversight on my part. Much like there's no indication of the carrying capacity of a Small-sized backpack anywhere in the rules. ;-)
Au contraire mon frere!
1 When made for Medium characters. Weighs one-quarter the normal amount when made for Small characters. Weighs twice the normal amount when made for Large characters. Containers carry one-quarter the normal amount when made for Small characters.
So there! No more discussions! :)
1 When made for Medium characters. Weighs one-quarter the normal amount when made for Small characters. Weighs twice the normal amount when made for Large characters. Containers carry one-quarter the normal amount when made for Small characters.
LOL!
No worries, jreyst. This exact question came up between me and Sean awhile back. And though the 3.0 rules might have indicated the actual carrying capacity of backpacks...it's absent from 3.5 and PFRPG, apparently. Yet, we still have the text you cited above, which I remember finding when I was looking for a backpack's carrying capacity.
It's okay, though. We worked out an answer. I just thought it was humorous that this question popped up again. Such good timing. :-)
--Neil
Probably too late, but this would be great little table to include in the Adventurer's Armory.
Actually, I think I specified in the outline that info like that is EXACTLY the sort of thing that should be in the Armory.
In D&D 3.0 a backpack held 1 cubic foot of material.
Water is as a tool for translating this into pounds.
1 cubic foot of water is approx. 60 lbs. This translates into 3000 coins of any type (the 1 lb. = 50 coins formula).
But if more accurate numbers needs to be known,
gold 1206 lbs/cu ft (ouch)
flesh 84 lbs/cu ft
silver 655 lbs/cu ft
copper 559 lbs/cu ft
generic stone 156 lbs/cu ft
fine salt 75 lbs/cu ft
leather 59 lbs/cu ft
apples 40 lbs/cu ft
I wish there were an easy way to use such a tool in a tabletop rpg, but the only thing I can think of is either doing it with paper (ugh) or using a laptop and having a simple program (which is well beyond my capabilities).
I was going to say that Herolab does this, but I'm not sure it really is. I can add over 40 lbs to a backpack; I just noticed I can over 20 lbs to a mapcase, which is pretty silly.
So, this software has the *potential* to track containers and their capacity, which would seem relatively easy for them to implement given that they've got the interface and logic in place right now to assign objects to containers. It isn't that much more difficult to track how much weight you've got left after adding an item. For crying out loud, if you're not going to do this last step, then why even keep up with what item is in which container???
I've left a question for Herolab on their forums about this. As soon as I see an answer, I'll post here.
In D&D 3.0 a backpack held 1 cubic foot of material.
gold 1206 lbs/cu ft (ouch)Which brings you to the second piece of info you need.
How many pounds of weight until the backpack breaks and spills it's contents.
And that answer would vary greatly depending on the quality of the materials and construction of the pack.
As for the dimensions of a typical backpack, sack, belt pouch, etc sized for a human, I have seen actual numbers in other rpg's, just never in any D&D books that I can remember. But, unfortunately, I cannot remember which game systems had those numbers, though it was probably from a high-tech or futuristic game, or perhaps from a more detail-oriented fantasy system.
Edit: One thing I did find while I could still edit this post is from the Rolemaster system. A normal backpack holds the same 1 cubic foot as a D&D pack and holds a max weight of 20 lbs. There is also a frame pack listed which I guess is closer to a modern hiking backpack and has a capacity of 2 cubic feet and 45 lbs. A standard sack in that system has a capacity of 3 cubic feet and 50 lbs.
I wish there were an easy way to use such a tool in a tabletop rpg, but the only thing I can think of is either doing it with paper (ugh) or using a laptop and having a simple program (which is well beyond my capabilities).I was going to say that Herolab does this, but I'm not sure it really is. I can add over 40 lbs to a backpack; I just noticed I can over 20 lbs to a mapcase, which is pretty silly.
So, this software has the *potential* to track containers and their capacity,
You can use Herolab to assign items to containers, but you'll have to use common sense to judge the limits. I got a reply from their developer that the software right now doesn't impose limits to backpacks, etc.
So, this functionality is fairly useful, if you're looking for software to handle the chore of personal inventory, but it's not ideal.
Although having a volume indication for these various containers, it isn't sufficient if the Equipment section doesn't list the items' volume. And dimensions, too - after all, I can't really store my polearm in my empty backpack even if their volume is similar, now can I?
But we enter here the complex NP domain of Knapsack optimal filling. I'm sure the usual D&D player hasn't even heard of it. And if they have, they won't want to play a game with this sort of problem as an aside ;-)
How many pounds of weight until the backpack breaks and spills it's contents.And that answer would vary greatly depending on the quality of the materials and construction of the pack.
Not to mention the items in said pack. My leathery bag's structural integrity would be quite challenged if I were to use it to store, say, a dozen daggers without sheath.
If water is 60 lbs per CF and flesh is 84lbs per cf, people would find it AWFUL hard to swim, and impossible to float.
Swimming people use muscle force to fight gravity and overcome water currents. And buoyancy above water isn't a only measure of the density of flesh, too: empty body spaces like lungs (and brain, for certain people ;-) improve the body's general floatability. All this is why you go underwater (and drown) quicker when your lungs fill with water. The fact that bodies sometimes emerge depends on several factors, including whatever air remains in lungs, body fat proportion, and partial decay.
While the density of flesh is 1.4 times the density of water, the density of an average human is lower: only 1.01. And that 0.01 is the reason why we can float by only filling our lungs with air without moving.
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In D&D 3.0 a backpack held 1 cubic foot of material.
Water is as a tool for translating this into pounds.
1 cubic foot of water is approx. 60 lbs. This translates into 3000 coins of any type (the 1 lb. = 50 coins formula).
But if more accurate numbers needs to be known,
gold 1206 lbs/cu ft (ouch)
flesh 84 lbs/cu ft
silver 655 lbs/cu ft
copper 559 lbs/cu ft
generic stone 156 lbs/cu ft
fine salt 75 lbs/cu ft
leather 59 lbs/cu ft
apples 40 lbs/cu ftIf water is 60 lbs per CF and flesh is 84lbs per cf, people would find it AWFUL hard to swim, and impossible to float.
What Louis said and:
Steel is much heavier than water.
Steel can float (ships).
It is a matter of bouyancy and area of pressure against the water surface.
Therefore, flesh can float.
It's not pressure against the water surface. Things float because they weigh less than the amount of water they displace. It's simple physics.
A steel ship floats because there's a large volume of AIR inside it that makes its overall density less than that of water. A 10-ton steel ship can float, a 10-ton cube of solid steel will sink, as will a 10-ton straight rod of steel.
A human body's density is very close to that of water; the volume of water displaced weighs almost the same as that volume of your body. While an individual's body fat and proportions of muscle mass may skew you one way or the other so you tend to float or sink, you can also regulate your density by breathing. With my lungs halfway full, I tend to float upright with my head above water; my overall density is slightly less than water. If I take a deep breath, I rise a little bit so my shoulders are out of the water; the air is less dense than the water and my flesh, and my overall volume increases slightly, thus my overall density decreases. If I let all my air out, my volume decreases and therefore my overall density increases, so I sink to the bottom and can stay underwater without having to swim against any buoyancy.
I grew up with a pool, I've tested this often. Also, I have a degree in chemistry. So nyah nyah. :)
But will a witch float?
Totally with you on this one ;-)
What also floats on water?
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Having hiked a 45 degree incline, in the summer, with 90 pounds of gear as part of a USMC training exercise... I can say that I always envisioned backpacks as being pretty much "Fits just about anything of reasonable size"
My problem with inventory management has always been with where to hang all my weapons when I'm going commando.
GM: "Ok, so you have... a greataxe, a warhammer, a heavy adamantine shield and a partridge in a peartree. Where is all that?"
Me: "Um... on my belt?"
GM: "Sure it is. Describe in more detail..."
Me: "Um.. *expletive*"
GM: "So I guess you're not carrying all that stuff, are you?"
Me: "Um, no. Guess not."