D&D 4E Realistic Strength and Carrying Capacity for 4E

[PeterWeller]

Not actually true. I've seen people wearing actual full suits of platemail and they could run, jump and even kip up in their full plate. The idea of it making movement difficult or restricted is a false one; intuitively it seems likely but in practice it isn't.

(This was at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds, UK by the way)

Isn't plate actually lighter than a coat of mail?

 

[BASHMAN]

Well I don't think they want to get into too much realism. That road leads back to female characters having strength penalties based on average lifting ability, etc.

I once made a game where male and female characters had stat differences-- but never did it as penalties. Males could get a free +1 bonus to STR or CON and female characters could get 2 +1 bonuses to Dex, Wis (woman's intuition), or Cha.

The result was lots of female clerics and sorcerers and male fighters. And I am cool with that-- but not everyone would be. So I say they shouldn't fool with it too much.

 

[Roman]

Carrying 115 pounds is like giving your skinny girlfriend a piggyback; most blokes can do that without trouble.

Lifting 230 pounds and staggering about it is like picking up your rugby playing mate and stumbling a few feet forward. Most blokes can do that.

I don't know - especially with respect to the second feat of strength you describe. Perhaps most professional and amateur sportsmen can do that, but that does not equate to most men. This could imply similar base numbers, but a a different multiplier to determine maximum lift, say 1.5 x the base numbers, rather than 2 x the base numbers, as it stands now.

Besides, those numbers are supposed to be general population averages, so we have to account for women too - and I really doubt that 50% of women can lift 230 pounds and stagger around with the weight. I don't want to turn this into a thread on gender differences, but the average strength should be the average for the whole population, not just the average for the men.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Isn't plate actually lighter than a coat of mail?

Generally it's heavier though there are exceptions in either direction. But the weight distribution is much better. Mail rest primarily on your shoulders which most people don't handle as well.

 

[Roman]

Finland has a mandatory military service, so everyone has to go. In that sense, not only the strong end up in the military so avg STR of 10 could be assumed. The full pack can easily weight 100 lbs, and everyone could carry it for extended periods (first time in full gear I thought it would be impossible to go more than a couple of kilometers).

If Finnish mandatory military service is anything like Slovak mandatory military service used to be before it was abolished, though, the draft does not take in all men. Some people are excused for health reasons (and these often imply weaker physique). Furthermore, in Slovakia at least, military service was only compulsory for men. Women, who are on average physically weaker are not forced to join.

In another instance (her idea) a 110 pound woman claimed she could carry me piggyback. 210 lbs. She could only stagger a few feet, but that's what happened.

Or maybe my life is broken, and doesn't use encumbrance rules.

Well, the point is fair, but it is anecdotal. Still, after several posts I think that perhaps the 100-115 pound limit is not so unreasonable (for men at least - the generalized average probably still should be lower). The lift and stagger limit though still seems to be way too high.

 

[Gimby]

Generally it's heavier though there are exceptions in either direction. But the weight distribution is much better. Mail rest primarily on your shoulders which most people don't handle as well.

True, but an important part of wearing mail is a good strong belt - it can put a decent amount of the weight on your hips.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Encumbrance is friggin' annoying.

Here's hoping we don't need a scale and a lot of tallying up "1 lb, 5 lbs, 10 lbs, 7 lbs..." to know if our characters can walk about.

There's gotta be better ways to accomplish this (body slots, heavy armor movement penalty, etc.).

 

[Christian]

If they make carrying capacity more realistic, I also hope that they make weights more realistic... four pounds for an arming sword (longsword) is about twice what it should actually weigh, same with six for a bastard sword and eight for a greatsword.

I don't think encumbrances were ever intended to be actual weights, but rather equivalences to compact & symmetrical weights. Eg. carrying a longsword on your hip is supposed to have approximately the same effect as carrying four pounds of coins in a balanced pack ...

 

[Najo]

I don't have a problem with the range for humans, but if they want strength to be realistic, they need to do something about halflings.

Right now, it is easy in the game to make a halfling that is way stronger than the average human. That doesn't seem reasonable to me, given the relative sizes of halflings and humans.

Or they could just get rid of the little varmints!

Ken

Some how size modifiers or a multiplier based on size needs to be applied to strength, or more realistic strength modifiers for smaller or larger than medium size creatures.

 

[FadedC]

I had planned out an extremely abstract and simplified encumbrance system for my next campaign in which I'd like to have some limits on how many assorted weapon and armor pieces the player can loot, but I don't want to slow down the game.

Basically I ignore all current equipment and gear and only keep track of loot. People can carry 20 pounds of loot plus or minus 5 for every point therir strength is different then 10. Not very realistic, but very simple. Though I may change 20 to a different number.