Hi All,
I attempted to give roll20.net a try and the game I tried to join was using the encumbrance rules.
This is the first time in my 20+ years of tabletop gaming experience that I've had to deal with item weight.
Being excited for the new Swashbuckler class I tried to make one but just having a chain shirt and all the normal adventuring gear (backpack, bedroll, rations, waterskin, etc.) put me over the light load limit which pretty much kills the Swash.
Are there any special tips or tricks to get the weight of your gear down?
Thanks for the help.
Get a set of muleback cords, or a masterwork backpack, until you can get a portable hole, or a handy haversack.
Until then, just drop the pack until the fight is over.
Wear lighter armor than chain.
Yeah, you shouldn't really have any problems unless you dumped strength hard.
Most people seem to treat the Barbarian/Fighter as a pack mule to avoid this problem, and (self-esteem issues aside) that seems to work well.
Masterwork backpack seems like a good idea. I might be just barely scraping by with that.
I should have mentioned that I'd be starting at 1st level so muleback cords are out and I'd still want that slot open for a cloak of resistance.
I was thinking of getting lighter armor than a chain shirt but it's pretty much 5lbs per 1 ac and getting my weight low enough would mean sacrificing 2 or more ac which I'm loathe to do for a front line fighter.
Use the muscle of the society trait. It and the masterwork backpack will make your strength 3 higher for carry.
I have a 13 str so I get can power attack but a chain shirt, buckler, and scimitar is already 34lbs of my 50lb light load limit.
I like to load up on weapons to beat DR too so I've got a morningstar, dagger, and spiked gauntlet. That brings me up to 40 of 50 before any gear.
The idea of a Halfling is good though so I might re-do it and see how that turns out.
The morningstar might be pushing it but I think the rest fit just fine.
Dropping that and getting the MW backpack should do the trick.
I think I'm all set now, thanks for all the help and any further advice is always welcome.
You're adding the right weight for the small weapons right? (1/2 listed weight?) And for small equipment? (kit's and such weight 3/4th weight, water skins and such 1/4th weight).
I first built the character as human and after looking at the halfling stats, I'm going to stick with human.
That -2 to str just hurts too much on top of the lower damage dice.
Buy a donkey to carry your gear, or get a henchman to carry your things.
Honestly, if you're pumping Dexterity as much as you are, do you really need a Chain Shirt?
When I'm running characters who are dumping Strength, I can manage all of my equipment and materials under 28 or so pounds just fine; and that's before I get into half-weight special materials like Darkwood and Mithril.
And we're talking the entire min-maxing situation of 7 Strength and 20 Dexterity. Some things to consider:
If you're supposed to be a solid damage dealer, you won't really need secondary weapons like a Morningstar. The damage you can pump from your main hand should outweigh any need to bypass DR. Although in cases a secondary weapon isn't a bad idea when you're in tight spots or your main weapon simply can't do anything whereas your secondary weapon can, since your carrying capacity is (somehow) in the crapper, you'll be focusing on utilizing a single weapon anyway. If you need to cover Bludgeoning DR, get a Cestus. It has a 19-20/X2 range, and it eliminates the need for both a Morningstar and a Spiked Gauntlet, since it can deal Bludgeoning or Piercing damage. That cuts 7 pounds right there.
If your Dexterity is extremely high (and your statistics seem to suggest it's in the 20's), don't bother with an item like the Chain Shirt, it really messes with your Maximum Dexterity, and it gives you needless weight. I'd try Leather or Studded Leather instead, and it would raise your Touch AC, which is key. It's also cheaper, so even if you can get hit easier, you're better off snatching a couple Cure Light Potions. That's another 5 or more pounds shaved off, depending on your choice.
Taking a bedroll, some rations, etc. should be no more than 10 or 12 pounds. Additionally, stuff like that can be carried by other party members who decided not to dump strength, and probably should along with other such stuff. Investing in a Haversack or similar item will remove that need, but chances are the group will want a Bag of Holding instead. If so, I recommend you try and wrap everything that has pointy spikes on it in cloth or something bad will happen.
If you really feel uncomfortable without eahc type of weapon, maybe look into the Weapon Versatility feat from the Undead Slayers handbook that lets you use one weapon for all three.
Weapon Versatility (Combat)
You can use your favored weapons in unconventional ways.
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus, base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: When wielding a weapon with which you have Weapon Focus, you can shift your grip as a swift action so that your weapon deals bludgeoning,
piercing, or slashing damage instead of the damage type normally dealt by
that weapon. You may switch back to the weapon’s normal damage type or another damage type as a swift action. If your base attack bonus is +5 or higher, using this feat is a free action instead.