Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Etnas_Vassal Aug 25, 2014 15:59:14	I was putting together my ranger's equipment, and as I was calculating his encumberance and deciding where all his adventuring gear would be stowed I came across an alarming boo-boo. I have yet to do the math on the other packs, but the "Dungeoneer's Pack" and the "Explorer's Pack" start with too much stuff to fit in the backpack! They both come with 10 days worth of rations, 10 torches, and other assorted goodies. Just the rations (2 lbs each= 20 lbs) and torches (1 lb each= 10 lbs) reach the weight limit of the backpack (30 lbs).   Now, I know that the rope and bedroll can be strapped to the outside, but what about things like the hammer, crowbar, mess kit, tinderbox, etc., etc.? I guess I could just leave some stuff behind, but that seems like a bad idea. Less rations means shorter adventures away from civilization. Less torches means the dungeon had better not go very deep. Plus, I got these items as part of the pack. It kind of seems a waste to throw them away.   As I was typing I came up with a related question- does stuff strapped to the outside of a backpack count toward the weight limit? You'd have to figure that those straps would give out at some point...   Apologies if this has been brought up before, but I searched and couldn't find this question anywhere else.
#2 Kalani Aug 25, 2014 17:06:17	Etnas_Vassal wrote:
#3 Mad_Jack Aug 25, 2014 19:44:13	Bear in mind that the one thing D&D has never been in all it's years is an accurate simulation of reality... It tends to quickly break down if you examine it too closely - nevermind the weight of the torches, consider that they're each a two-or-three-foot-long piece of wood wrapped in cloth and soaked in pitch, and ten of them won't fit in your backpack without sticking out the top. Quite frankly, there hasn't been a single equipment chart in any edition that accurately portrayed the realistic weight of any of the weapons, armor and equipment in the game.     As mentioned, not all of the items in an explorer's or dungeoneer's pack are going to be stored in the actual backpack - belt pouches, small pouches on the outside of the backpack, strapped to the sides, etc... The torches are probably going to be wrapped in a bundle of waterproof oilcloth and strapped to the bottom of your pack.  Most DM's aren't going to require you to have an itemized list of where each and every bit of gear is stowed, nevermind keep track of how much weight the storage straps on the bottom of your pack can hold without snapping.    In previous editions, a lot of DMs used the weight of just the character's armor and weapons to determine their encumbrance, rather than their entire equipment list, unless the characters were carrying absurd amounts of gear or treasure (in which case it was determined by whichever was heavier)...