Alright, so I've been looking around and I have no idea if this question has been answered or not. I know second edition is what everyone has their eyes on right now, but me and my friends still have so much content to use in pathfinder that we're probably going to be sticking to first edition for a long time. Anyway, on to my question.
So, I've seen questions about stacking Ant haul and Muleback Cords, as well as other carrying capacity stacking questions. My own question is, can you stack Ant Haul with Ant Haul? For instance, if a character is wearing a Heavyload belt, which functions just like Ant Haul, and they have Ant Haul cast on them, will it stack? What if there was, hypothetically, another item that functioned like Ant Haul/a Heavyload belt? Could that be stacked with a Heavyload belt? I'm using this bag of craziness to make a main villain based on carrying capacity.
Thanks. I was wondering about whether a spell could stack with an item that essentially used the spell. My plan was to put all their levels into the fighter's Pack Mule archetype, plus the feats Heavy Gravity Acclimation and Cut Your Losses, plus the Muscle of the Society Trait, and then invest in items. Sadly, because I want the character's carrying capacity to be a surprise to them, I decided to make my BBEG a human, so I can't make them a centaur or anything. I've seen some things about taking mutagen, or synthesist, or various class combinations. My own plan was that since they are essentially an immortal warlord who's been alive for 500 years, I could have them invest in upgraded muleback cords, as soon as I figure out how to price those. The good news is that the Pack Mule Fighter archetype allows them to go into medium load after enough levels without any penalty other than max dex bonus.
The spell Lighten Object can cut the weight of something in half, effectively granting greater carrying capacity.
The spell Alter Self can give you a +2 size bonus if it makes you a medium creature. So Human -> Human would get that +2.
Both spell are 1 minute per level. The latter can be had as the greater hat of disguise.
Note: if you give the BBEG magic items, expect the party to get them.
/cevah
Oh. Those are some good ideas. I don't think Lighten Object would really be useful for what I have planned, but Alter Self to just get another +2 Strength would really help. Besides carrying capacity, I also built this character with the longbow and grappling in mind just to keep the party on their toes. After maxing out Strength I had to put their points into something. I'm going to have them harass the party early on and a greater vital-strike longbow shot is something to be feared if they don't just full-attack, plus improved unarmed strike so they always threaten. They are basically going to be the final villain, and they are going to be very hard to kill until the end, so I'm not too worried about corpse looting. I have my own set of house rules that don't change overly much but add a good deal to make martials more competitive with casters, so their choice of class isn't much of an issue. I might post the houserules one day when I'm done fine-tuning them if I'm bold enough and anyone wants to give them a try. I got into Pathfinder rather late in its life, but I've learned there are always people who stick to one edition or another.
I also built this character with the longbow
Be sure to get the Adaptive on that longbow to ensure you get full strength bonus on that damage. Way better than a strength bow.
/cevah