RPG Evolution: Weight, What?

Picture courtesy of Pixabay.​

This mantra echoes through the mind of any experienced backpacker, a constant negotiation between necessity and comfort, safety and speed. Extended wilderness trips demand meticulous packing, where every item is weighed, scrutinized, and often grudgingly left behind. Philmont Scout Ranch taught me some strict guidelines: carry no more than 30% of your body weight. This isn't just a suggestion; it's a foundation for endurance and injury prevention. Yet, when factoring in essential consumables like food and water, this is no easy task. Here's what I learned the hard way.

The Relentless Math of the Pack​

Achieving that ideal 30% body weight target is a constant battle against gravity and temptation. As I experienced on the hike, even with fierce discipline, sacrifices are inevitable. Getting my base pack weight down to 35 lbs. often meant leaving behind creature comforts. A lightweight, foldable chair might seem like a luxury, but after miles on the trail, the promise of a comfortable seat can become a powerful motivator (I gave up mine in favor of an inflatable pad, no regrets there). Rain pants, initially deemed optional to save ounces, were sorely missed when a sudden downpour hit, leading to the beginnings of hypothermia (a LOT of regret about that one!). Every item, from an extra pair of socks to a favorite snack, adds to the total, forcing hikers to prioritize ruthlessly. It's a stark lesson in minimalism, where every personal item must justify its existence in ounces, not just in utility.

The Consumable Conundrum​

Even after stripping down to the bare essentials, the true weight challenge emerges with food and water. Water weighs approximately 2 lb. per liter; Philmont recommended 5 liters minimum per person (10 lbs). For a ten-person crew, even with careful rationing and planning for resupply, the initial water weight is substantial. Add to that the necessary caloric intake—around 3,000 calories per day per person for high-intensity activity (approximately 5 more lbs), which for a group of ten, translated to a considerable mass of food and cooking gear that must be carried. For my Philmont trek, these essentials pushed my pack weight past a daunting 50 lbs.

The good news is that this load doesn't remain static. As food is eaten and water is consumed, the pack naturally lightens, providing a small, much-anticipated psychological boost each day. The bad news is that this reduction is temporary. Strategic resupply at streams and camps is crucial, meaning the pack weight constantly fluctuates. We'd start the day off lighter, only to refill water at a river crossing and find the weight inceased, necessitating careful planning for where and when to carry maximum load.

Carrying the Burden​

The real-world struggle of managing pack weight finds a direct parallel in D&D's encumbrance and overland travel rules. Characters in D&D aren't immune to the laws of physics, and their carrying capacity can, depending on the campaign, affect adventurers quite a bit.

In D&D 5th (2024) a creature's normal carrying capacity is its Strength score multiplied by 15 pounds. For instance, a character with a Strength of 10 can comfortably carry up to 150 lbs, while a burly Strength 16 character can manage 240 lbs. However, many Dungeon Masters opt to use the Variant Encumbrance rules from the 2014 version, which add granular penalties for progressively heavier loads. Under these optional rules, a 50 lb. pack can quickly become a significant hindrance, even if it's below the absolute maximum carrying capacity.

• If a character carries weight in excess of 5 times their Strength score, they become encumbered, reducing their speed by 10 feet. For example, a character with a Strength of 8 would become encumbered at 40 lbs, meaning a 50 lb. pack would immediately reduce their movement. Even a Strength 10 character carrying 50 lbs would find their speed reduced by 10 feet.
• Should they carry weight exceeding 10 times their Strength score, they become heavily encumbered, suffering a 20-foot speed reduction and Disadvantage on D20 Tests involving Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. While a 50 lb. pack wouldn't typically make a character heavily encumbered unless their Strength score was very low (e.g., 5 Strength makes 50 lbs heavily encumbered), the first tier of encumbrance is a common reality.

Overland travel further complicates this. Traveling at a normal pace covers 24 miles per day for 8 hours of marching, but this assumes relatively unencumbered movement. If a character is encumbered or heavily encumbered, their reduced speed translates directly to covering less ground each day, burning more resources (food, water, torches), and increasing exposure to random encounters.

We hiked 30 miles over 5 days at Philmont (not counting the first day at basecamp where we sleep over, and the fact that we spent half-days hiking on the second and last day), meaning our average daily travel was 6 miles per day. This was despite significant elevation changes (7,908' to 8,246') and the heavy 50 lb. packs. With 8 hours of travel, we were traveling at a Normal pace (4 miles per hour) of 24 miles per day, further complicated by:

• Difficult Terrain: D&D rules state that moving 1 foot in difficult terrain costs 2 feet of speed. While Philmont wasn't all difficult terrain, significant elevation changes, rocky trails, and even muddy patches due to storms certainly qualified. It effectively halved our speed for those segments, drastically reducing daily progress. The 24 miles per day became 12 miles per day.
• Elevation: We were at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level and I suffered from altitude sickness for two days: each hour such a creature spends traveling at high altitude counts as 2 hours for the purpose of determining how long that creature can travel. The 12 miles per day became 6 miles per day.

These factors do not include exhaustion rules, which (surprisingly) do not affect overland travel in D&D but certainly could. A DM could reasonably impose levels of exhaustion for characters pushing themselves with heavy loads over multiple days without adequate rest. It's worth noting that not all of my crew suffered from altitude sickness, just me, but the crew only moves as fast as its slowest member (my to my group's consternation as I kept taking breaks and asking for them to slow down their pace).

Add all this up, and our real-world pace of 6 miles per day matched the severe reductions caused by the effects of high altitude, heavy encumbrance, and difficult terrain. A DM aiming for realism might apply these layered penalties to make the journey an accurate, grueling test of endurance, just as we experienced.

The Weight of Adventure​

DMs have a powerful tool in encumbrance, not just for realism, but for narrative impact. Characters aren't just carrying their armor and weapons; they're hauling treasure from a goblin horde, vital rations for a besieged town, or the cumbersome magical artifact needed to save the world. The difference between a well-managed load and an overloaded party can define the pace, difficulty, and ultimately, the success of a quest.

Ultimately, the burden of carried weight can transform an adventure from a simple journey into a tactical challenge. A well-prepared party, making smart choices about what to carry and when to resupply, finds the adventure an exciting test of endurance. A heedless party, weighed down by unnecessary bulk, faces an excruciating slog, constantly fighting against the very gear meant to aid them, turning every step into a monumental effort. Using these rules fosters a healthy respect for logistics, making every ounce, every pound, truly matter. It certainly did for our hike.

 

[doctorhook]

It certainly requires a specific game type to encourage “realistic” adventuring practices, the nitty gritty details that aren’t part of the heroic stories/shows/games.

Also I would love a prestidigitation spell for personal hygiene in real life, so convenient. Can I use it on other people too?

 

[aco175]

Sam and Bill the Pony can be hired cheaply - just 2 s.p. per day.

Then if the goblins ever do kill and eat Bill the Pony (or Sam!) it's like killing John Wick's dog.

I thought they left the pony with the octopus monster at the entrance to the mines. The rest of them that had to carry al that stuff did not seem to be any more encumbered because of it.

 

[AlViking]

Is it that they actively prefer fantastical heroism, or that they actively don't want to bother keeping track of this stuff? In other words, is the preference rooted in avoidance?


In my experience, players don't even like taking off armor to sleep or in social situations. They feel like it's the DM nerfing them.

If you regularly interrupt a nights rest with random encounters or have important social gatherings ending in combat, I can't say as I blame them. Especially when for some reason light and medium armor is perfectly okay but chainmail? Off it goes! If heavy armor were as good as it likely should be it might be a different story. But a high dex character (not to mention barbarians and monks) can get within 1 point of AC as someone in plate while having significant benefits. High dex characters get everything from being better at the most common saving throw, many DMs allow acrobatics checks for climbing, better at stealth, better ranged attacks, same damage unless you go with a heavy weapon so you can't increase your AC with a shield.

The game is so heavily stacked in favor of dex that I don't want to penalize non-dex characters for purposes of "realism".

 

[AlViking]

I thought they left the pony with the octopus monster at the entrance to the mines. The rest of them that had to carry al that stuff did not seem to be any more encumbered because of it.

They left the pony behind before they encountered the monster and Bill "knew the way home". I forget if it was just assumed he made it somewhere safe but I seem to remember there being mention he made it home.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

They left the pony behind before they encountered the monster and Bill "knew the way home". I forget if it was just assumed he made it somewhere safe but I seem to remember there being mention he made it home.

Bill made it safely back to Rivendell, as per the book.

 

[LordBP]

Good paper to read if you want a historical basis for the weight carried by soldiers.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258883795_The_History_of_the_Soldier's_Load

 

[Celebrim]

I thought they left the pony with the octopus monster at the entrance to the mines. The rest of them that had to carry all that stuff did not seem to be any more encumbered because of it.

They were at the point in the story where they were running out of food so as in the essay above, the packs were getting lighter. They then with light packs made it to Lorien, where when the packs were full again they were in boats. After the breaking of the fellowship, they left a lot behind, with Sam doing his heroic job as porter and the "three hunters" sprinting lightly to Rohan where they would have suffered hunger if they hadn't again met allies to give them provisions.

There is actually a ton of logistics in the Tolkien story, as befitting a story written by a soldier. Where is the food now and how much is left is something Tolkien is tracking, just as he's tracking distance and travel time scrupulously.

As for my post you are responding to, I didn't mean literally Sam and Bill the Pony, but rather that heroic adventuring parties include heroes whose main job is "carry the stuff". Sam has two great heroic moments in the story. The first is when he charges Shelob to recover the body of Frodo and wounds her, but the second and arguably greater one is when he drops all of his other burdens, and puts Frodo on his back and carries him the rest of the way to Mt. Doom knowing that they'll starve to death even if they make it.

 

[Koloth]

All this encumbrance talks sure highlights the advantage the Dwarves used to have(still have?). Naked or shambling mound of gear, they move 20 ft.

The different speed thing is a separate issue. A lightly loaded human with a feat/trait that adds 5+ feet to the basic speed, so 35 vs an encumbered halfling with a speed of 15.(depends on game system). Worse if the human is a monk that has the monk speed increase. At some point, walking too slow can be just as uncomfortable as walking too fast.

 

[doctorhook]

The game is so heavily stacked in favor of dex that I don't want to penalize non-dex characters for purposes of "realism".

Definitely a weakness of modern D&D. By a series of mechanical quirks, Dex is simply better than other abilities: Great defense, great offense, great non-combat utility, all from one convenient number. You move fast, fight from range, and there’s no friendly-fire to worry about.

You’re right not to penalize Dex characters for the sake of realism in 5E, but 5E really should’ve found a way to nerf Dex a bit.

 

[HywelPhillips]

I think realistic encumbrance rules work in campaigns specifically focussed on travelling, endurance and scarce resource tracking. If you've got interesting game choices to make. But even Tolkien writing an epic journey against all the odds waved his hands with lembas and allowed it to fade into the background. The One Ring's fatigue rules are a good attempt at this feeling - especially as it tends to make people travel without heavy armour, which suits the setting.

Most of the time detailed encumbrance tracking is plain no-fun. Slot based encumbrance is fast and preserves making interesting decisions.

But for the most part "you have a mule and the mule carries the rations and bedrolls and tents" so the heroes can get on with being heroic is the way to go IMO.