Not sure if this is the right messageboard, but here it goes.
The pack saddle is described as follows (p. 162, Core Rulebook) :
A pack saddle holds gear and supplies, but
not a rider. It holds as much gear as the mount can carry.
It weighs 15 lbs. and costs 5 gp.
The saddlebags are not precisely described (that I can find). They weigh 8 lbs. and cost 4 gp.
Why would anyone buy the more expensive and heavier pack saddle to accomplish exactly the same thing as with saddlebags ? is what I wonder.
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Not everything that all players do is 100% determined by efficency. Some people might just picture a pack saddle rather than saddlebags, and be willing to shell out the rather measly 1 gp in order to have their character match the picture in their heads.
Also, while it may not be fully defined, a pack saddle lholds a LOT more than saddlebags.
Saddlebags are just small bags behind a saddle. Pack saddle are those saddles that allow you to load a a mountain full of stuff on a horse (up to its max load)
Also with saddlebags you also need a saddle, or you can't attach them to anything. Those cost another 10gp.
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Saddle bags carry very little compared to what a pack saddle will carry.Think of them as a purse for horses.
A pack saddle like it says will carry as much as the mount can carry. Which in most cases is alot.
Pictures.
Saddlebags
Pack saddle
Saddlebags They carry a little in addition to a ride
Pack Saddle Carries a mound of stuff
The question becomes: how much can you store in saddlebags?
Up to the GM, same as "How much can the 25 Str Half-orc really carry in his backpack?"
I'd generally say, if its too large to fit in a backpack its too large for a saddlebag.
So in most games, as much as you want :)
Thanks for all the informative answers.
I'm glad I asked because I thought that saddlebag = pack saddle and pack saddle = saddlebag (I mixed the two).
It makes sense now than a pack saddle is more expensive than a saddlebag.
If your mount needs to carry more than this , get the bag of holding already.
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If your mount needs to carry more than this , get the bag of holding already.
Poor thing. Don't do this to your mounts!
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If your mount needs to carry more than this , get the bag of holding already.Poor thing. Don't do this to your mounts!
Yes. Spare your poor imaginary animals this cruelty!
Inflict it on actual real-world animals instead.
Be glad it's just straw and not... i don't know looted weapons and other stuff adventureres like to take with them.
This, for example, may be a little too much.
Why would anyone buy the more expensive and heavier pack saddle to accomplish exactly the same thing as with saddlebags ? is what I wonder.
Well, and the point that nobody's explicitly addressed yet is that a horse can carry a rider and saddlebags. A pack saddle is for a separate horse that just carries gear.
The question becomes: how much can you store in saddlebags?
According to the 3.0 Players Handbook, 5 cubic feet of stuff. Thats volume. The weight of stuff that can be carried isn't listed. (Backpacks and sacks 1 cubic foot, chests 2 cubic feet, and belt pouch 1/5th of a cubic foot.)
Why that information was removed in 3.5 (and so didn't appear in Pathfinder) is beyond me. Seems like that kind of stuff would be important.
As I understand it, IRL, pack saddles were primarily used with donkey or pony trains in very rough terrain where you can't get a cart or when a cart or travois would not be able to keep up with the rest of the nomadic tribe.
Also pack saddles should make it harder for npcs to steal your horse as they can't just get on them and ride them. Or be riding them and attack you as you leave the dungeon. Although doing these things would not be the nicest GM move.