Variant: Stone Encumbrance Rules

This system serves as an alternative to the Encumbrance variant found in the Player's Handbook.

It is meant to simulate encumbrance that is lighter on record-keeping than simply adding up the individual weight of each item you are carrying. It is an abstraction of both weight and bulk, and therefore its verisimilitude will not necessarily hold up under close inspection.

It is based upon the modern definition of a Stone as being equivalent to 14 lbs (about 6.4 kilograms). This is intended to provide a larger unit of mass than the pound, and to give the game a flavourful description for weight. In general, a character can carry more with this system than when using the variant in the PHB.

If you use this variant, you can ignore the Strength requirements for armour found in the PHB.

Lifting and Carrying

Carrying Capacity. You character's Carrying Capacity is a number of Stone equal to one-and-a-half times your Strength score, rounded up. This is the weight, in Stone, that you can carry.

If you carry a number of Stone in excess of 1/2 of your Strength score, rounded up, you are encumbered, which means your speed drops by 10 feet.

If you carry weight in excess of a number of Stone equal to your Strength score, you are heavily encumbered, which means your speed drops by 20 feet and you have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws that use Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution.

Push, Drag, or Lift. You can push, drag, or lift a weight in Stone up to twice your carrying capacity (or 3 times your Strength score). While pushing or dragging weight in excess of your carrying capacity, your speed drops to 5 feet.

Size and Strength. Larger creatures can bear more weight, whereas Tiny creatures can carry less.

A large, huge, and gargantuan creature's carrying capacity is equal to 2.5, 4.5 and 8 times its Strength score in number of Stone, respectively.

A Tiny creature's carrying capacity is equal to 1/2 of its Strength score in number of Stone.

The Weight of Items in Stone

To calculate how many Stone an item counts as, use the following rules.

Items are divided into the following categories: Coins and Gems, Armour and Weapons, Tiny, Pocket-size, Medium, and Hefty.

Coins and Gems Every 1,000 coins and every 200 gems count as 1 Stone. Coins and gems are counted separately.

Example: 900 coins and 140 gems count as 0 Stone.

Armour and Weapons. Light armour and Shields count as 1 Stone. Medium armour counts as 2 Stone, except Hide which counts as 1 Stone. Heavy armour counts as 3 Stone, except Ring Mail which counts as 2 Stone.

Weapons use the rules described in this variant.

Tiny. A tiny item is small and light enough that one can easily carry several in one hand. Tiny items do not count towards encumbrance, with the exception of coins and gems.

Examples: a 4 oz. vial, a bell, sheets of parchment, a sprig of mistletoe

Pocket. A Pocket-size item fits into a pocket, hangs lightly from a backpack or your belt, or can easily be held in one hand. Every 20 Pocket items count as 1 Stone. Numbers of Pocket items less than 20 do not count towards encumbrance.

Examples: potions, thieves' tools, a torch, 20 arrows, a dagger

Medium. A Medium-sized item is too large to fit comfortably in one hand, often requires two hands when being used, or is more than half as long as a person. Every 4 Medium items count as 1 Stone. Numbers of Medium items less than 4 do not count towards encumbrance.

Examples: backpack, a set of clothes, a waterskin, a longsword, woodcarver's tools

Hefty. A Hefty-sized item fits bulkily under one arm, contains several heavy metal parts, or is weapon-like and considerably longer than a person. A hefty item counts as 1 Stone.

Examples: two-person tent, 10 feet of chain, a climber's kit, 50 feet of hempen rope, pike

Beyond Hefty. Items that are beyond Hefty are anything that must be carried in two arms, are very long and unwieldy, or larger. You can use the following chart to estimate the weight of larger objects and creatures. Alternatively, simply divide an objects weight in pounds by 14 and round off to the nearest whole number.

Examples: 10-foot ladder, chest, small or larger creatures, statues, suits of armour, a coffin

Beyond Hefty
Object Stone
A chest, 10-foot ladder 2
Halfling, portable ram 3
barrel (empty), 1-foot wide boulder 5
human, dwarf 12
half-orc 15
dragonborn 17
barrel (full of liquid) 29
human statue (marble) 31

|5-foot wide boulder| 670 | |body of a Frost Giant|1,088| |The Tarrasque|9,290 |

Category Guidelines

If in doubt about which category an item belongs to, use the following chart:

.
Weight in lbs. Size Category
Less than 1/4 Tiny
1/4 to 1 1/2 Pocket
2 to 7 Medium
8 to 20 Hefty
Carrying Capacities of Mounts, Animals, Magic Items, and Spells
Beast Carrying Capacity [in Stone]
Camel 40
Donkey or Mule 35
Elephant 99
Horse, draft 45
Horse, riding 40
Mastiff 20
Pony 23
Warhorse 45
mage hand Pocket or Medium items
tenser's floating disk 36*
bag of holding 36*
heward's handy haversack 6, 1, and 1**

*within the guidelines of the item

**6 in the central pouch, 1 in each side pouch.

For items stored in a cart or wagon that a creature is pulling, simply multiply these values by 5.


Variant: Stop, Drop, & Fight

Normally, a creature can take the Use an Object action in combat to, for example, don or doff a shield. If your group feels that there should be an easy way to free themselves of encumbering gear in combat, you can consider using this variant.

Drop Items As a bonus action, you may drop any number of items that you are carrying on to the ground within 5 feet of you, unless that item is firmly attached to you in some way. With the exception of backpacks and similarly shoulder-slung items, you may not remove worn items in this manner.

Alternatively, your group may decide that this interaction should be free, as dropping one's gear onto the ground carries with it the risk of losing it. Or perhaps your group may decide that dropping one's gear should require the Use an Object action.

Of course, you can always remove cumbersome gear before a fight; if you are aware that a fight is about to take place that is.

Variant: Creature Size and Encumbrance

If your group wishes to do so, you may track encumbrance for mounts and draft animals as well.

Size Encumbered while carrying a number of Stone in excess of Heavily Encumbered while carrying a number of Stone in excess of
Large 1.5 x Str score 2 x Str score
Huge 2 x Str score 4 x Str score
Gargantuan 4 x Str score 6 x Str score

Simply multiply any of these values by 5 to find the creature's Encumbrance values while pulling a cart or wagon.