Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Eoeoz 01-12-07, 03:02 PM	I was wondering if there is actually a limit to how much you can put in a backpack? I have looked all over the Player's Handbook and have found nothing except that small player's backpacks can only hold 1/4 the amount. Could anyone help me here?
Alex_ 01-12-07, 04:07 PM	Backpacks are like miniature bags of holding. They will hold any and all non-magical and non-monetary/expensive items you can manage to fit on your character sheets. I speak from experience.
Sphyre 01-12-07, 04:40 PM	Backpacks are like miniature bags of holding. They will hold any and all non-magical and non-monetary/expensive items you can manage to fit on your character sheets. I speak from experience. lol. Backpacks carry as much as a backpack would. There is no preset amount. Different backpacks in real life carry different amounts, as do backpacks in game. Just be reasonable with it. If you carry too much the backpack might break, as such that's upto the DM on how to adjucate how much is too much.
Fatalis_902 01-12-07, 05:02 PM	As a boy scout in real-life, I know how much a backpack can hold, to within certain limits. The way I see it, your average D&D backpack would hold(between main pouch, side pockets, and strapping something under it) a tent, bedroll, sack or ten(empty, of course), waterskin, a few sunrods, plenty of tindertwigs, a couple of torches, flint & steel, 3-5 days trail rations, and some other small stuff, like wands, scrolls, dorjes, or power stones.
Tusalu 01-12-07, 05:04 PM	Look in 3rd edition PHB.
High Octane 01-12-07, 05:28 PM	Common sense. Seriously I think if you are hitting packing question issues on carried gear, you have pretty much hit encumberance.
Brotter_Lutgehr 01-12-07, 09:01 PM	One time I was abusing the no-limit for backpacks and my barbarian's massive strenght/weretiger hybrid form bonus's to fit my parties gnome rogue and halfling bard in my backpack
12Shark 01-12-07, 09:20 PM	I think the assumption is that your character upgrades his backpack as their strength increases. Fighter: "Hmm... This backpack feels really light. I think it may be time to get a new one." *Fighter comes out with backpack 3x the size of his body*
Millennium 01-12-07, 09:50 PM	Heward's Handy Haversack is an absolute must for just about any adventurer.
Eoeoz 01-13-07, 06:55 AM	Thanks, just to sort an arguement really going in our group. I guess we can delete this thread now (Whoever does that) unless someone has anything else to add?
tharivol266 01-13-07, 10:21 PM	there was this one time that i managed to cram the carcasses of three large dragons in one normal backpack....
Tarquinius 01-13-07, 10:43 PM	Not all backpacks are made equal. If your DM is considering a limit then just have the weight and volume decided upon when you buy it. You can even adjust the price for size and durability. What if I want my backpack to have a layer of hard leather on the outside giving it (and effectively my back) an extra +2 to AC? Of course this means discussing the volume of everything you keep inside your backpack which can get tiring. Most DMs I know don't even make checks for any carried item anyway. My fighter got hit by two lines of cold on Tuesday (thank Pelor for Reflex saves) and there was no discussion of what effect something like that would have on anything I am wearing. Would it not freeze the water in my waterskin? How about my potions? If their contents behave physically like normal water then they should have frozen and broke the containers. If the DM doesn't care about anything but encumbrance, then neither should you. Trust me, your items will thank you for it.
BW0222 01-14-07, 02:24 PM	Eoeoz, It's always the DMs can on what will fit within a backpack. Typically, I use a rough combination of two rules -- weight and size. Weight basically says that a backpack can hold say 75lbs of moderate density items. Once you reach this limit, chances are that (even if the pack would support more weight), you've likely stuffed so much stuff into it that it can't physically hold that overall volume of things. This makes the assumption that you are holding a mixture of items of moderate density -- wood, leather, waterskins, etc. -- rather than 75lbs of coins or iron backs or 75lbs of cloth. Size says that a backpack holds say 2'x2'x1' of items. Things which are larger (in any dimension) than that can't fit in the backpack. I then list all the items in my pack out along with their weight. If an item physically won't fit within the pack, I store it elsewhere -- saddle bags, sling, strapped to the outside of the pack, etc. If the total weight of the pack exceeds say 75lbs, I generally assume I've got too much stuff to fit into the pack. In special cases, you might exclude particularly dense items (say gold bars) from the 75lbs "volume". I use a similiar thing with pouches (5lbs, 6" cube), shoulder shachel (25lbs, 2'x1'x1'), etc. However, as long as you are trying to be reasonable and keeping some eye on it, I'm not going to worry about details. 76lbs, 81lbs, fine. Maybe you are a good packer. A longspear or 200lbs worth of furs... sorry.
Tarquinius 01-14-07, 03:52 PM	Well some stuff doesn't even go in the backpack but rather on the backpack or is attached to the character at a different point. A longspear would scrape against most ceilings if placed in a backpack point up and would probobly be strapped to the backpack's outside instead. The waterskin may go in the backpack but I have my character's waterskin and moneypouch at the same place, secured to the left side of his belt.
primemover003 01-15-07, 08:59 AM	According to the equipment section at Crystalkeep a medium sized backpack holds 1 cubic feet of goods and 60lbs of gear total.
High Octane 01-15-07, 05:03 PM	According to the equipment section at Crystalkeep a medium sized backpack holds 1 cubic feet of goods and 60lbs of gear total.Um, thats a touch small. I would say 3 cubic feet.
CryoSilver 01-15-07, 05:05 PM	3 cubic feet is actually quite a lot of space. I have an exceptionally large backpack for school, and it holds my laptop, several textbooks, gym clothes and assorted small stuff, and I ouldn't peg it at more than 2 ft^3. I also have an old army duffel, and that's more like 3 ft^3
Ravenscroft 01-15-07, 05:10 PM	3 cubic feet , is not the same as a 3'x3'x3' cube however. A cube with sides 1ft 5.3" is 03 cubic feet. (just to be pedantic) :D
CryoSilver 01-15-07, 05:11 PM	I know, but 3 cubic feet is still a lot of space.
High Octane 01-15-07, 05:14 PM	Well a backpack is certainly more than 1 cubic foot. Maybe 2 then?
Yokomohoyo 01-16-07, 04:59 AM	Well the way I figure it is that a players pack is about the size of a rucksack. In wich you can load up to 150lbs (speaking from personal expirience). 1 tent, 3 sets of bdu's, 2 pairs of boots, 3-5 days worth of MRE's (rations), 1 Bed roll with sack, 1 trenching tool, 1 ammo can (full), night vision equipment and it still had enough room for more junk I decided to take with me so a players pack would hold lots of junk.
big_bluto 01-16-07, 08:44 AM	Heward's Handy Haversack is an absolute must for just about any adventurer. Yep! That and a Quiver of Elhlonna, and a couple of belt pouches and you'll be able to manage pretty much everything. Anything that won't fit in either of them can be shrunk and enlarged when needed. (except for the parties half-orc, unless you really want to) :D
SunTzuWarmaster 01-16-07, 10:06 AM	Use a Neverwinter Nights backback, it can't carry any more than encumbrance, and no more than about 23 Greatswords.
High Octane 01-16-07, 12:48 PM	Use a Neverwinter Nights backback, it can't carry any more than encumbrance, and no more than about 23 Greatswords. Thats a ROFL.
primemover003 01-16-07, 03:36 PM	We're not talking modern hiking or military backpacks, we're talking a leather pack made in a medieval timeframe... 1 cubic foot is about the size of your upper back. Most likely belt pouches will be slung at hip level and a bedroll strung underneath the pack.
BW0222 01-16-07, 04:09 PM	Folks, Pure volume is a hard measurement. First, even if you set the volume of a pack -- several cubic feat at least -- you are going to drive yourself crazy determining the volume of items - torch, blanket, etc.? Second, volume in terms of cubic feet is a mess. Maybe if you went metric someone could deal with it, but gallons, quarts, etc. or cubic inches is just a nightmare. Third, it doesn't deal with the size issue. A 10' pole or a spear is likely only a fraction of a tiny cubic foot, yet it just isn't going to fit inside a pack back. Forth, it doesn't deal with issues such as packing. What is the volume of a box, bracers, etc? Can't you then pack items within the box or stuff the bracers full of socks? Honestly, set the size of the backpack at 2'x2'x1'. Anything which can fit in that size of an area can be placed into the backpack. Next, set a maximum weight -- say 75lbs. You can keep putting items in a backpack until that weight is met. Finally, get back to playing the game.
Tarquinius 01-16-07, 04:22 PM	We're not talking modern hiking or military backpacks, we're talking a leather pack made in a medieval timeframe... 1 cubic foot is about the size of your upper back. Most likely belt pouches will be slung at hip level and a bedroll strung underneath the pack. Yeah be we are not talking a normal medieval setting here either. Peolple 800 years ago didn't strut into caves full of monsters, kill them, and come out with piles of loot in various forms. D&D characters do. Backpacks for adventurers would have probobly been made larger and more durable to meet the demand with the most wealthy opting for portable holes and bags of holding.
primemover003 01-16-07, 04:28 PM	I'm just using the tables, I didn't make up the numbers. Look at the Going Metric part 4 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040406a) Rules of the Game article and you'll see the numbers for yourself.
Yokomohoyo 01-17-07, 01:15 AM	We're not talking modern hiking or military backpacks, we're talking a leather pack made in a medieval timeframe... 1 cubic foot is about the size of your upper back. Most likely belt pouches will be slung at hip level and a bedroll strung underneath the pack. So your talking about a pack wich is made of a harder matiral than nylon and roughly the same size? I dont quite see the diffrence... A ruck isn't really as big as you would think... heres a link to the size of an averge ruck(click me) (http://www.uscav.com/Productinfo.aspx?productID=9625&TabID=1&CatID=2) and here's the one that pbh says for the adventurer (Click me) (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm)... theirs really not much of a discription on the pack from D&D but heck ^_^
Ravenscroft 01-17-07, 09:27 AM	but gallons, quarts, etc. or cubic inches is just a nightmare. Not if it is what you studied in school. :D I learnt Imperial Measurements in school before Australia went Metric in 1965. They are still more familiar to me after 40 years , because i have been using them in RPGs for at least 25 years.
CryoSilver 01-17-07, 09:31 AM	I'm personally a big fan of just saying "You can put 100 lbs of stuff in your pack" and leaving it at that.
Puca 01-17-07, 10:28 AM	This Rules of the Game article (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040406a) is about converting to metric, but it incidentally has the English units for backpacks and pretty much any other container. Edit: I must have skipped over primemovers link to the same page. Sorry.
big_bluto 01-17-07, 10:40 AM	Some imagination, and a bit of common sense seems to be the thing. I tend to pack bings of stuff into a magical backpack, but ensure I've got the strength to carry it if the magic goes. And no 10ft poles - they just make it difficult walking through the forest! ;)
Krusk 01-17-07, 03:55 PM	Ive got real world backpacks with internal and external frames. The external ones are the ones i would assume a DND character has access too. In my 1985 external frame pack I can cram about 65lbs of gear inside it. Outside i can cram comfortably another 50lb of gear. If im streatching and just clipping things to it to get as much weight as i can, i can cram upwards of 100lbs on the outside. I could probably only do any backpacking with about 100lbs tops, and the most ive ever tried -against my own will, jackass got dehydrated- was 75lbs. In DND world things are not nearly as studry as my modern day 1985 backpack, and id say they could cram 100lb tops onto an external frame backpack. Including clipping things to the side and whatever. Thats why most of my characters carry lots of burlap sacks, and a big belt with pouches. Anything i need handy goes into a pouch, anything i need to keep grouped goes in the sac and is tried to the belt.
Pandaemoni 01-17-07, 04:13 PM	In my 1985 external frame pack I can cram about 65lbs of gear inside it. That seems like a lot of weight given that a Heward's Handy Haversack can only hold 100 pounds. Magic extradimenional spaces only net you an extra 35 pounds?
Zemyla 01-17-07, 06:15 PM	That seems like a lot of weight given that a Heward's Handy Haversack can only hold 100 pounds. Magic extradimenional spaces only net you an extra 35 pounds? It also has the "weighs only 5 pounds no matter what's in it" and "you find whatever you need right on the top" features. That's what is keeping the carrying capacity down.
Pandaemoni 01-17-07, 06:22 PM	It also has the "weighs only 5 pounds no matter what's in it" and "you find whatever you need right on the top" features. That's what is keeping the carrying capacity down. Well, that's a theory... It also has 12 cubic feet of space inside it, I imagine most backpacks have 2 or 3 cubic feet.
primemover003 01-17-07, 08:38 PM	As Puca and I have both linked to the Rules of the Game article, WotC says it's 1 cubic foot and 60lbs of gear.
Krusk 01-17-07, 11:42 PM	That seems like a lot of weight given that a Heward's Handy Haversack can only hold 100 pounds. Magic extradimenional spaces only net you an extra 35 pounds? Apparently so. Yes, but the haversack also makes the things you carry essentially weightless, whereas carrying a 65lb pack is not recomended for anyone under ~175lb. A small child can carry a haversack.
Pandaemoni 01-18-07, 12:34 AM	Apparently so. Yes, but the haversack also makes the things you carry essentially weightless, whereas carrying a 65lb pack is not recomended for anyone under ~175lb. A small child can carry a haversack. If a backpack can hold 60 pounds in 1 cubic foot of space, why does the Haversack need 12 cubic feet of space at all, given its 100 pound limit? Is some DM paying their player characters in foam packing peanuts?
Krusk 01-18-07, 12:42 PM	i didnt say in one cubic foot. i said in my external frame. Which has 2.X cubic feet. X=dont remember. But also, This probably means someone at DND headquarters didnt think it would ever come up, so he never asked how much could be crammed into a backpack by an experienced packer. He probably said "60 is a good round number, 100 for magic, time to write the entry on 10 foot pole." also, 12 cubic feet means you can stick as many 10 foot poles as you like in it until you reach 100 lbs. Which would be the best loot ever BTW. bag filled with long sticks.
DoctorRomulus 01-18-07, 01:02 PM	Back Of Holding !!!! :d :d