How many potions can your PCs carry?

[Bystander]

I know some people do this...

In my campaigns, we don't keep track of carried weight too much. We eyeball it, and keep it to common sense.

But there are two main factors that sometimes give us trouble:
Do any of you put a limit on how much gold, or how many potions a PC can carry at any given time?

My one DM allows one potion for every point of STR your character has. Just because he thinks str doesn't count for enough to most characters.

Another DM says 10 potions max.

Another lets us carry as many potions as we want- One of us has like 30. Isn't that like having a glass keg in your back pack?!


And my next question:
If a player is carrying a bunch of potions- Do you have any system for determining if they get broken when the character is in melee or something? Or are they unbreakable unless targeted by an attacker?

 

[CRGreathouse]

I'd let them carry just about as many as they'd like - though only a few would be readily accessable. I imagine them as small vials.

If they're carrying too many, I'd have an enemy bull-rush them and have most break.

 

[Rashak Mani]

At the most 10 ... more than that can get complicated... even with potion belts... 30 !! Thats too much...

Normal characters...5 or 6 maybe.

 

[Victim]

Aren't potions only like one once of liquid? They're small and shouldn't way that much.

 

[pontus]

They can carry as many potions as they can fit in their backpack, pockets and potionbeltst combined. Try not to trip, or get hit in a fight, or struck by a shatter spell, though.

 

[vkhayman]

I guess it would depend on your DM's vision of how big a typical potion bottle is. If, in your world, potions are nothing but small vials of liquid roughly the size of test tubes then a character could likely stuff them all over the place. If however your DM imagines them larger, say the size of many coke bottles today, there are only so many places you can stuff a coke bottle without them wiggling their way free and falling to the ground.

Just use your best judgement as a DM... Where could *you* safely stow a potion without it breaking free or wiggling its way loose?

 

[bleedthefreak]

Keeping track of weight

Back in the day, my players and I (when were were teenagers) didn't bother with encumbrance, but the new system is so slick that we decided to start. No real limit on potions, but use common sense, like someone pointed out you could fill your backpack and potion belt with them, but yikes, how much money do your players have to spend? Most players don't need/want more then 10, and in my campaign it hasn't been a problem, but I would say only one potions belt is allowed at a time (10 to be readied as free actions) and up to 10 more in the backpack (standard action to ready, or is it move equivalent?).

Coins are easy, they weigh 1 lb for 50 of them, so make sure you get to a town and exchange everything you have to platinum as soon as you can, or get the party to go in on a Bag of Holding (this is what we always do). 1,200 gp sounds like a great treasure but it weighs 24lbs, which puts most non-fighter types over the limit (mages in particular). However, you can get that converted over to platinum for only 10% of that, so you would end up with 108 coins of platinum, weighing only 2lbs.

Seriously get a bag of holding and start tracking your weight, it may seem tedious, but it actually makes the game more fun (especially for the DM, "So, you open the box and it has over 8,000 silver in it!)

 

[AuraSeer]

I see potions as the little one-ounce dealies. Since they're intended to be usable in combat, it doesn't make sense for them to be too big. (Try to chug a twenty-ounce Coke in six seconds, while somebody's trying to bash you with an axe!) You can carry a couple dozen without penalty, but

Also, IMC you can get potion vials made of steel, specially treated so as not to react with the alchemical substances. This adds 5 gp to the cost of the potion, but prevents the vials from breaking accidentally.

 

[Bystander]

Are drinking potions considered free actions?
My DM considers it standard, and offers aao's.

Seriously, thanks for the great insite.

I had considered them as being like a pint or so- a little vial is much more appealing, and logical. I like the steel vial idea too- hadn't thought of that!

I was think ten in potion belt, and maybe 10 or 20 in pack, but wouldn't you guys worry that if your players had too many healing potions- they wouldn't take combat as seriously if they can get them so easily- 25 gold for clw? And as a free action?

There *has* to be a limit on them, no?!

Do I have this right?!

 

[bleedthefreak]

Heh

I wouldn't worry about to many potions of cure making them to cocky, it is in fact a standard action to drink a potion and yes it does draw an AoO. Normally, you would take a 5' step, grab a potion, and drink it, but since potion belts are around now (lovely little items, no adventurer should be without one) you can move AND drink a potion, but still, one (even Cure Moderate Wounds) won't really help you out a HUGE amount, even if you have 20, because just drinking potions won't win you a fight.

Most of the time, my group drinks potions and/or uses wands after a fight, and tries to maximize offense to avoid getting hit if possible, and uses potinos only if necessary.

What you have watch out for is stock piles of haste or heroism, but those are very expensive. Don't forget about master alchemists, who can make potions of any spell level, now you would have to worry about potoins of stoneskin (yum!) or potions of ghost form or iron body. Ah... that would ROCK!!