The 10-foot pole, antithesis of what adventuring should be?

[alan]

2 5' long, 1" thick metal poles.
A tap & die set.
...
5' iron rods, baby.

Just a quick calculation for my sake, as I know how heavy a 12" cast iron skillet and/or dutch oven is...

What would the weight of a 5' by 1" diameter cast iron pole be?

1. What is the volume of a single pole?

height = h = 5' = 60" = 152.4 cm
radius = r = 1" = 2.54 cm

Volume of a cylinder = pi * r^2 * h
= pi * 2.54cm^2 * 152.4cm
= 3,088.88879 cm^3

Density of cast iron = 7.207 g/cm^3

So, weight = 3,088.88879 cm^3 * 7.207 g/cm^3
= 22,261.6215 grams
= 22.262 kg
= 49.1 lbs

So, 2 5' x 1" iron poles would be just shy of 100 lbs. (hopefully I didn't screw anything up in the above calculation).

Alan

 

[Kanegrundar]

I'll restate and clarify: I use and enforce the weather rules. I also require my PCs to eat, and to buy food to do it with. (Unless the cleric wants to spend a lot of time creating food and water.)

I emphasize the fact that being an adventurer is hard, dirty, uncomfortable work, and that they need to think ahead to get by. I make it clear that the world is out to get them, because it is. Same as it is in the Real World, something that we civilized gamers, safe in the basement, tend to forget. Again, what's not spelled out in the vignette related above is that no one took even a point of subdual damage, thanks to the ranger and his suddenly-useful Wilderness Lore (or Survival, if you like) skill, and its ability to help the ranger and his companions avoid taking damage from the environment. Wonder why they put that in the rules, not very "heroic", is it?

And I said if that works for your group, then great. Good for you guys. If you all are having fun then mission accomplished.

I'm just stating that *I* would find that fun. As to environmental effects being in the rules, well, I don't use all of the rules in the CR. Some things just bog down on my group's fun.

 

[ThirdWizard]

I'll restate and clarify: I use and enforce the weather rules. I also require my PCs to eat, and to buy food to do it with. (Unless the cleric wants to spend a lot of time creating food and water.)

I don't find anything wrong with using the rules. It's the "gotcha" feel that comes off of your post.

 

[DestroyYouAlot]

I don't find anything wrong with using the rules. It's the "gotcha" feel that comes off of your post.

Haha - Ok, I'll admit it, I was making the "evil DM" face, a little bit. I'm far from a "killer DM", if anything I'm too much of a softy when it comes to the PCs - but sometimes you just gotta mess with'em.

And, for what it's worth, one thing they don't have is a ten-foot pole, and the dwarf battlerager with the polearm collection just went off to visit his family...

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Um, JrrNeiklot, you are wrong on this. Hypothermia at 20 degrees F is VERY possible, as well as frostbite. You can and will die in a few hours if undressed in that temperature. Never mind that people traveling by horse are NOT going to stay dry for very long. Horses and people sweat.

Well, of course you will! I never said anyone could survive naked at 20 degrees. But a t shirt and jeans will keep you quite comfortable at 20 degrees as long as you are active, hydrated, and dry. I've backpacked all over North America in temperatures much colder than that, wearing a t shirt, pants, and a baseball cap. I fail to see why anyone would work up a sweat by simply walking or riding a horse at a trot in 20 degree weather. SLEEPING in20 degree weather is a different matter altogether.

 

[jodyjohnson]

...
What would the weight of a 5' by 1" diameter cast iron pole be?

1. What is the volume of a single pole?

height = h = 5' = 60" = 152.4 cm
radius = r = 1" = 2.54 cm

...

So, 2 5' x 1" iron poles would be just shy of 100 lbs. (hopefully I didn't screw anything up in the above calculation).

Alan

A 2" diameter pole is a wee bit heavier than a 1" diameter pole which has a radius of .5" (1.27cm).

 

[alan]

A 2" diameter pole is a wee bit heavier than a 1" diameter pole which has a radius of .5" (1.27cm).

That's what I get for trying to rush something out before lunch... ;>

Alan

 

[iwatt]

A 2" diameter pole is a wee bit heavier than a 1" diameter pole which has a radius of .5" (1.27cm).

So cut the weight by 4. You're still lugging 25 lbs of extra weight.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Don't forget that holding a long object at the midpoint is going to be a very different thing than trying to hold a long object from one end. There's a big difference between holding up a 50 lb weight and holding a 50 lb 10 ft pole at one end (which is why most would probably be made of wood).

 

[JohnSnow]

So cut the weight by 4. You're still lugging 25 lbs of extra weight.

Yeah. And it ain't LIGHT!

My frame of reference? When I was taking martial arts, I once made the mistake of complaining to my instructor about the weight of my red oak bo staff (yes, I know the phrase is semi-redundant). He said "Oh, you think that's heavy? Try this!" and handed me a 6' iron bar.

Then he says: "do the kata."
My response: "ummm...I can barely lift this."
His: "Sure you can."

Stealing the calculations, how much does this thing way?

Volume?

height = h = 6' = 73" = 182.88 cm
radius = r = 1/2" = 1.27 cm

Volume of a cylinder = pi * r^2 * h
= pi * 1.27cm^2 * 182.88cm
= 926.667 cm^3

Density of cast iron = 7.207 g/cm^3

So, weight =6,678.5 grams
= 6.6785 kg
= ~14.7 lbs

Trying to do a staff kata with an iron bar was...educational. I was much faster when I picked up my red oak staff.

And I never complained about its weight again.

I think walking sticks, staves, poles, pitons, ropes and the like are perfectly reasonable things for PCs to carry. I will allow the characters to make survival checks, knowledge (dungeoneering) checks or INT or WIS checks to remember basic gear. Basic clothing I'd remind them of. Rope, on the other hand...

I have no problem with 10' poles, other then them being a trifle unwieldy. Players who want to take them into dungeons are encouraged to go with two smaller sticks instead. There are times when a pole that big isn't appropriate.

People keep mentioning that dungeoneering should feel like an Indiana Jones movie. It's worth pointing out that Indiana Jones did carry one VERY useful item - a whip. It was a portable rope, weapon, and long range grabbing device rolled into one. He also made a regular habit of tapping floor tiles that looked...suspicious.

Sapito (moving forward): "There is the idol! There's nothing to fear now!"
Indy (grabbing him and shoving him back): "That's what scares me."
*Indy peels back the moss*
*Indy takes a torch and depresses a tile*
*whhhht - THUNK!*
Indy: "Stay here."
Sapito (shaken): "If you insist, senor..."

So clearly, there's room for being cautious. Later in the film, Indy deals with the snakes by burning them to a crisp with GALLONS of flammable substance (gasoline or kerosene)...

Paranoid, much?

The Mummy and The Mummy Returns are other good examples. And they make another very important point. If you suspect a trap, and have your henchmen open it instead, you're one of the bad guys.