3lb Belt Pouch??

[AuraSeer]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Weights are off!

But that doesn't explain why it affects spells with weight limits, like Levitate, Feather Fall, Teleport, Heat Metal, etc, differently.

I've got two answers. Pick whichever you prefer.

Explanation #1 (aka "Suspension of Disbelief"):
Because those spells are also affected by the distribution of mass. For instance, Heat Metal may apply energy at one point of the target object, and have trouble moving the heat to the other side. (If you stick the tip of your greatsword into a campfire, the hilt will not instantaneously feel warm.) The energy transfer requirements place additional demands on the spell, lessening the amount of raw mass it can affect.

Levitate and Feather Fall involve supporting things in the air, which clearly involves knowing a center of gravity. Awkward or oddly-distributed loads may confuse the magic that calculates where to apply force, and therefore cause the spell to "give up" even when it really could have supported the weight.

Other spells are limited for similar reasons.

OR:
Explanation #2 (aka "The Real Answer"):
Because it'd be really damn annoying if all objects had two weight values instead of one. Hurray for simplicity!

 

[The Fifth Elephant]

4 pounds for a longsword is realistic? Are you nuts?

 

[Zhure]

4 pounds for a longsword is realistic? Are you nuts?

Yeah, that is crazy. Historically they should weigh about three pounds.

A lot of errors occured early in gaming books because the weights of weapons and armor were taken from dress weapons, not actual combat weapons. These errors have compounded through the years.

Greg

 

[Andion Isurand]

I think the listed wieght of the items is not so much the actual weight, but rather it is used as a single number to encompass the effects that the item's weight, dimensions and balance have on a character's encumberance.