RPG Evolution: Weight, What?

"Every ounce counts."
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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.
 

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Michael Tresca

Michael Tresca

I love tracking weight and supplies, because I love that D&D started as a wargame, and I remember the quote: “amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics”.

My favorite book about war … “The Things They Carried”.

My favorite veteran co-worker … logistics officer; he had done infantry and artillery, but logistics was his true calling and where he ended up.

My favorite part of “RECON”, the RPG of the Vietnam War? The GM advice that if it’s not on the character sheet, they left it behind. Specifically, if nobody has a P-76 can opener, and they have canned rations, they need to get creative.

So, yes, I count arrows and rations.

And I think a Bag of Holding, Portable Hole, the Create Food & Water spell, and the Sending spell (D&D radio) are key technologies.
 

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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.
I don't, actually--mostly because I don't want to deal with the question of whether it's worse to have unhappy players or a ridiculous story. Besides, my group tends to take Leomund's Tiny Hut as soon as they can, thereby guaranteeing themselves uninterrupted long rests.
 

One strength of a lot of VTTs like FoundryVTT is that they'll autocalculate weight. It's very nice, because with IRL tables we never bothered. I've just had to make sure the players are actually setting the items in their VTT sheet inventory to "carried," cuz the default is "not carried" 😆!
 

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 did leave Bill at the entrance to Moria (he managed to flee successfully). And, yes, they did divide up Bill's load, but it is also explicit that they left things there that they though they could do without - particularly the cold weather stuff they had packed for the mountain passes. So they had less baggage overall as they made their way through Moria.
 

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.
Well of course, he was the favorite DMNPC.

I remember having the lead figure of him with Sam and Frodo from Grenadier I believe.
 

Resource management was key in original D&D, and I liked it. Choices were important, what to take and what not to. The choice between eating and treasure was fun too (for the DM). It did make first level magic users useful after they cast their one spell for the day. Who needs a pack mule when you have a two legged one :D
 


I don't, actually--mostly because I don't want to deal with the question of whether it's worse to have unhappy players or a ridiculous story. Besides, my group tends to take Leomund's Tiny Hut as soon as they can, thereby guaranteeing themselves uninterrupted long rests.
Leomund’s Secure Shelter is one of my favorite spells. Like an RV or a mini version of Daern’s Instant Fortress.
 

Fighting with huge packs seems like it would be a pain. And if you've got anything you want in combat packed in your backpack, it'd be at least a full action, maybe 2 to get it out.

Now is that fun? Maybe for some groups. I'm on the fence. Not for heroic exploration and encounters like D&D. But for other games, could be it's own mini-game. Definitely trying to figure out either how to carry or how to stash found coins could be a set of adventures on their own. But again - for 5e style play? Nah. We're too busy trying to figure out how to get a pet owlbear.
 


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