Encumberance Penalties [Archive] - Wizards Community

Encumberance Penalties [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
tuberov
03-10-07, 09:52 AM Where do I find rules about encumberance penalties for strength-based checks? My DM is ruling that strength-based skill checks are subject to these penalties on top of armor check. If I go by what he's ruled once already, it's a -1 penalty to the skill check for every 5lbs. of equipment you wear, giving me a -14 to my jump checks as of now (which would suck for my leap attack feat that I want to get). We're not even going to get into him totally killing power attack and leap attack.
SALDAR
03-10-07, 11:36 AM The -1 per 5 lbs of equipment was a 3.0 thing. It was dropped in 3.5.
Someone
03-10-07, 12:23 PM Encumbrance by weight does not stack with that from armor. You take the worse of the two. For example, you might only be wearing a chain shirt (light armor), but if your strength is really low or you're carrying a lot of other stuff, it would count as a medium (or heavy) load, which has a lower max Dex and worse armor check penalty than the armor itself.

There's a section in the SRD called "carrying and exploration" that covers it. I can't recall what page it would be in the PHB/DMG.
tuberov
03-10-07, 04:06 PM Unfortunately the DM uses the rules as a guideline, not as concrete rules. Take for example power attack, as I mentioned in the first post that the DM gutted it. He's only allowing power attack to work up to a -5 from my attack (meaning my base attack bonus could be +10 but I would only be able to use 5 of it for the power attack feat). Also, he's not allowing the doubling of the power attack damage for two-handed weapons, making it a 1 - 1 ratio, citing that there is no difference in using a weapon one-handed or two-handed when it comes to doing damage (which I know is complete bull).

As another example, he's gutting out leap attack as well. Firstly, he's not going by Wizards' errata that it doubles the damage from power attack (x2 for a one-handed weapon, x4 for a two-handed weapon). He's going by the feat as written but adjusting it, saying that the power attack damage won't be multiplied, but instead the weapons damage. So if I'm using a long sword taking a -5 with the power attack and using leap attack, I would do 2d8 weapon damage plus 5 for the power attack feat. Of course, that's assuming I can make the jump check to use leap attack.
Nom
03-10-07, 10:06 PM Your issue has nothing to do with rules and everything to do with your DM's house-rules. As such, if you have questions about this it's probably better directed to the "What's a player to do?" forum.

With the group's agreement, your DM is entitled to house rule, but I'd caution that a large number of house-rules modifying standard rules is often a sign that the DM didn't have a good handle on the way the original rules actually work in play.
paladin2019
03-10-07, 10:53 PM 1) When did Power Attack change to allow more than a 5 point shift? Is this a 3.5ism that I didn't catch? And if you are still playing 3E, there is no double Str bonus on a two-handed power attack, just the normal 1.5x.

2) D&D math: doubling a double = triple. The concept is that doubling mathematically means +base damage, not 2 x damage.

3) In 3E, the only -1/5 lbs penalty was swimming (and this was the only penalty to swimming). Jump used the worst of the Armor Check Penalty or the encumbrance equivalent, just like every other movement skill affected by these penalties. 3.5 doesn't change much, except simplifying the swim penalty to twice the armor/encumbrance penalty instead of weight based. If your DM is applying the weight penalty and the armor/encumbrance penalty, :eek:!
tuberov
03-11-07, 02:59 PM Well, looking at power attack now, it mentions nothing of there being a maximum to the number that you take off your attack other than the limit of not being able to exceed your base attack bonus.

The whole issue with the doubling/tripling/quadrupling of damage isn't as much the issue as the fact that it's being applied to the weapon's damage (in my case, an elven courtblade) and not the the damage from the power attack feat (as it should be applied).

All house rules were agreed on before the game started but this is something that he has just suddenly changed as until he ruled this, as beforehand the power attack feat was being used correctly (getting double the damage from the number we took off from our attacks for using two-handed weapons). Now he's up and changed it.
benihana
03-11-07, 08:30 PM If the houserules are annoying everybody, simply ignore them. By that, I mean, when you make your strength checks, make them the way all the players agree. Roll your damage and add it up the way all the players agree. Make him to translate the numbers into to his own rules, and he'll figure out how unfun he's making the game for you.
Garonak
03-12-07, 09:07 AM And I thought my dm was strict/unreasonable...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
tuberov 03-10-07, 09:52 AM	Where do I find rules about encumberance penalties for strength-based checks? My DM is ruling that strength-based skill checks are subject to these penalties on top of armor check. If I go by what he's ruled once already, it's a -1 penalty to the skill check for every 5lbs. of equipment you wear, giving me a -14 to my jump checks as of now (which would suck for my leap attack feat that I want to get). We're not even going to get into him totally killing power attack and leap attack.
SALDAR 03-10-07, 11:36 AM	The -1 per 5 lbs of equipment was a 3.0 thing. It was dropped in 3.5.
Someone 03-10-07, 12:23 PM	Encumbrance by weight does not stack with that from armor. You take the worse of the two. For example, you might only be wearing a chain shirt (light armor), but if your strength is really low or you're carrying a lot of other stuff, it would count as a medium (or heavy) load, which has a lower max Dex and worse armor check penalty than the armor itself. There's a section in the SRD called "carrying and exploration" that covers it. I can't recall what page it would be in the PHB/DMG.
tuberov 03-10-07, 04:06 PM	Unfortunately the DM uses the rules as a guideline, not as concrete rules. Take for example power attack, as I mentioned in the first post that the DM gutted it. He's only allowing power attack to work up to a -5 from my attack (meaning my base attack bonus could be +10 but I would only be able to use 5 of it for the power attack feat). Also, he's not allowing the doubling of the power attack damage for two-handed weapons, making it a 1 - 1 ratio, citing that there is no difference in using a weapon one-handed or two-handed when it comes to doing damage (which I know is complete bull). As another example, he's gutting out leap attack as well. Firstly, he's not going by Wizards' errata that it doubles the damage from power attack (x2 for a one-handed weapon, x4 for a two-handed weapon). He's going by the feat as written but adjusting it, saying that the power attack damage won't be multiplied, but instead the weapons damage. So if I'm using a long sword taking a -5 with the power attack and using leap attack, I would do 2d8 weapon damage plus 5 for the power attack feat. Of course, that's assuming I can make the jump check to use leap attack.
Nom 03-10-07, 10:06 PM	Your issue has nothing to do with rules and everything to do with your DM's house-rules. As such, if you have questions about this it's probably better directed to the "What's a player to do?" forum. With the group's agreement, your DM is entitled to house rule, but I'd caution that a large number of house-rules modifying standard rules is often a sign that the DM didn't have a good handle on the way the original rules actually work in play.
paladin2019 03-10-07, 10:53 PM	1) When did Power Attack change to allow more than a 5 point shift? Is this a 3.5ism that I didn't catch? And if you are still playing 3E, there is no double Str bonus on a two-handed power attack, just the normal 1.5x. 2) D&D math: doubling a double = triple. The concept is that doubling mathematically means +base damage, not 2 x damage. 3) In 3E, the only -1/5 lbs penalty was swimming (and this was the only penalty to swimming). Jump used the worst of the Armor Check Penalty or the encumbrance equivalent, just like every other movement skill affected by these penalties. 3.5 doesn't change much, except simplifying the swim penalty to twice the armor/encumbrance penalty instead of weight based. If your DM is applying the weight penalty and the armor/encumbrance penalty, :eek:!
tuberov 03-11-07, 02:59 PM	Well, looking at power attack now, it mentions nothing of there being a maximum to the number that you take off your attack other than the limit of not being able to exceed your base attack bonus. The whole issue with the doubling/tripling/quadrupling of damage isn't as much the issue as the fact that it's being applied to the weapon's damage (in my case, an elven courtblade) and not the the damage from the power attack feat (as it should be applied). All house rules were agreed on before the game started but this is something that he has just suddenly changed as until he ruled this, as beforehand the power attack feat was being used correctly (getting double the damage from the number we took off from our attacks for using two-handed weapons). Now he's up and changed it.
benihana 03-11-07, 08:30 PM	If the houserules are annoying everybody, simply ignore them. By that, I mean, when you make your strength checks, make them the way all the players agree. Roll your damage and add it up the way all the players agree. Make him to translate the numbers into to his own rules, and he'll figure out how unfun he's making the game for you.
Garonak 03-12-07, 09:07 AM	And I thought my dm was strict/unreasonable...