CARRYING
CAPACITY
Weight
If you want to determine whether your character's gear is heavy enough to
slow
him or her down (more than the armor already does), total the weight of all
his
or her armor, weapons, and gear. Compare this total to the character's Strength
on Table: Carrying Capacity.
If your character is wearing armor, use the worse figure (from armor or from
weight) for each category. Do not stack the penalties.
Lifting and Dragging
A character can lift up to the maximum load over his or her head.
A character can lift up to double the maximum load off the ground, but he
or she
can only stagger around with it. While overloaded in this way, the character
loses any Dexterity bonus to AC and can only move 5 feet per round (as a
full-round action).
A character can generally push or drag along the ground up to five times the
maximum load. Favorable conditions (smooth ground, dragging a slick object)
can
double these numbers, and bad circumstances (broken ground, pushing an object
that snags) can reduce them to one-half or less.
Bigger and Smaller Creatures
The figures on Table: Carrying Capacity are for Medium-size creatures. Larger
creatures can carry more weight depending on size category: Large (X2), Huge
(X4), Gargantuan (X8), and Colossal (X16). Smaller creatures can carry less
weight depending on size category: Small (3/4), Tiny (1/2), Diminutive (1/4),
and Fine (1/8).
Tremendous Strength
For Strength scores not listed, determine the carrying capacity this way.
Find
the Strength score between 20 and 29 that has the same ones digit as the
creature's Strength score. Multiply the figures by four if the creature's
Strength is in the 30s, 16 if it's in the 40s, 64 if it's in the 50s, and
so on.
Table: Carrying Capacity
Light Medium Heavy
Strength Load Load Load
-------- ----- ------ -----
1 STR up to 3 lb. 4-6 lb. 7-10 lb.
2 STR up to 6 lb. 7-13 lb. 14-20 lb.
3 STR up to 10 lb. 11-20 lb. 21-30 lb.
4 STR up to 13 lb. 14-26 lb. 27-40 lb.
5 STR up to 16 lb. 17-33 lb. 34-50 lb.
6 STR up to 20 lb. 21-40 lb. 41-60 lb.
7 STR up to 23 lb. 24-46 lb. 47-70 lb.
8 STR up to 26 lb. 27-53 lb. 54-80 lb.
9 STR up to 30 lb. 31-60 lb. 61-90 lb.
10 STR up to 33 lb. 34-66 lb. 67-100 lb.
11 STR up to 38 lb. 39-76 lb. 77-115 lb.
12 STR up to 43 lb. 44-86 lb. 87-130 lb.
13 STR up to 50 lb. 51-100 lb. 101-150 lb.
14 STR up to 58 lb. 59-116 lb. 117-175 lb.
15 STR up to 66 lb. 67-133 lb. 134-200 lb.
16 STR up to 76 lb. 77-153 lb. 154-230 lb.
17 STR up to 86 lb. 87-173 lb. 174-260 lb.
18 STR up to 100 lb. 101-200 lb. 201-300 lb.
19 STR up to 116 lb. 117-233 lb. 234-350 lb.
20 STR up to 133 lb. 134-266 lb. 267-400 lb.
21 STR up to 153 lb. 154-306 lb. 307-460 lb.
22 STR up to 173 lb. 174-346 lb. 347-520 lb.
23 STR up to 200 lb. 201-400 lb. 401-600 lb.
24 STR up to 233 lb. 234-466 lb. 467-700 lb.
25 STR up to 266 lb. 267-533 lb. 534-800 lb.
26 STR up to 306 lb. 307-617 lb. 614-920 lb.
27 STR up to 346 lb. 347-693 lb. 694-1,040 lb.
28 STR up to 400 lb. 401-800 lb. 801-1,200 lb.
29 STR up to 466 lb. 467-933 lb. 934-1,400 lb.
+ 10 STR X4 X4 X4
Quadrupeds can carry heavier loads than bipeds can. To determine a quadruped's
carrying capacity limits, use Table: Carrying Capacity, multiplying by the
appropriate modifier for the creature's size: Fine 1/4, Diminutive 1/2, Tiny
3/4, Small 1, Medium 1 1/2, Large 3, Huge 6, Gargantuan 12, and Colossal 24.
Table: Carrying Loads
Max Check ----- Speed -------
Load Dex Penalty (30 ft.) (20 ft) Run
---- --- ------- -------- ------- ---
Medium +3 -3 20 ft. 15 ft. x4
Heavy +1 -6 20ft. 15 ft. x3
MOVEMENT
There are three movement scales in the game:
* Tactical, for combat, measured in feet per round.
* Local, for exploring an area, measured in feet per minute.
* Overland, for getting from place to place, measured in miles per hour or
day.
Modes of Movement
While moving at the different movement scales, creatures generally walk, hustle,
or run.
Table: Movement and Distance
------ Base Speed -------
15 ft. 20 ft. 30 ft. 40 ft.
----- ------ ------ ------
One Round (Tactical)
Walk 15 ft. 20 ft. 30 ft. 40 ft.
Hustle 30 ft. 40 ft. 60 ft. 80 ft.
Run (X3) 45 ft. 60 ft. 90 ft. 120 ft.
Run (X4) 60 ft. 80 ft. 120 ft. 160 ft.
One Minute (Local)
Walk 150 ft. 200 ft. 300 ft. 400 ft.
Hustle 300 ft. 400 ft. 600 ft. 800 ft.
Run (X3) 450 ft. 600 ft. 900 ft. 1,200 ft.
Run (X4) 600 ft. 800 ft. 1,200 ft. 1,600 ft.
One Hour (Overland)
Walk 1 1/2 miles 2 miles 3 miles 4 miles
Hustle 3 miles 4 miles 6 miles 8 miles
Run - - - -
One Day (Overland)
Walk 12 miles 16 miles 24 miles 32 miles
Hustle - - - -
Run - - - -
Table: Hampered Movement
Condition Example Movement Penalty
--------- ------- ----------------
Obstruction
Moderate Undergrowth X 3/4
Heavy Thick undergrowth X 1/2
Surface
Bad Steep slope or mud X 1/2
Very bad Deep snow X 1/4
Poor visibility Darkness or fog (*) X 1/2
(*)Includes any effects that create a "fog".
Walk: A walk represents unhurried but purposeful movement at three miles per
hour for an unencumbered human.
Hustle: A hustle is a jog that is movement at about six miles per hour for
an
unencumbered human. The double move action represents a hustle.
Run (X3): Moving three times your character's standard speed is a running
pace
for a character in heavy armor.
Run (X4): Moving four times your character's standard speed is a running pace
for a character in light, medium, or no armor.
Hampered Movement: Obstructions, bad surface conditions, or poor visibility
can
hamper movement. The DM determines the category that a specific condition
falls
into (see Table: Hampered Movement). When movement is hampered, multiply the
standard distance by the movement penalty (a fraction) to determine the distance
covered.
If more than one condition applies, multiply the normal distance covered by
all
movement penalty fractions that apply.
Tactical Movement
Use tactical speed for combat.
Some creatures have other modes of movement.
Burrow
The creature can tunnel through dirt, but not through rock unless the
descriptive text says otherwise. Creatures cannot use the run action while
burrowing.
Climb
A creature with a climb speed has the Climb skill at no cost and gains a +8
racial bonus to all Climb checks. The creature must make a Climb check to
climb
any wall or slope with a DC of more than 0, but it always can choose to take
10,
even if rushed or threatened while climbing. The creature climbs at the listed
speed while climbing. If it chooses an accelerated climb, it moves at double
the
listed climb speed (or its normal land speed, whichever is less) and makes
a
single Climb check at a -5 penalty. Creatures cannot use the run action while
climbing.
Fly
The creature can fly at the listed speed if carrying no more than a medium
load.
All fly speeds include a parenthetical note indicating maneuverability, as
follows.
Perfect: The creature can perform almost any aerial maneuver it wishes.
Good: The creature is very agile in the air (like a housefly or hummingbird),
but cannot change direction as readily as those with perfect maneuverability.
Average: The creature can fly as adroitly as a small bird.
Poor: The creature flies as well as a very large bird.
Clumsy: The creature can barely fly at all.
Creatures can use the run action while flying, provided they fly in a straight
line.
Most flying creatures have to slow down at least a little to make a turn,
and
many are limited to fairly wide turns and must maintain a minimum forward
speed.
Each flying creature has a maneuverability rating that defines how it moves
when
flying.
Table: Flight Maneuverability
Type: Perfect Good Average Poor Clumsy
----- ------- ---- ------- ---- ------
Example: (Will-o’-wisp) (Beholder) (Gargoyle) (Wyvern) (Manticore)
Minimum Forward Speed None None Half Half Half
Hover Yes Yes No No No
Fly Backward Yes Yes No No No
Reverse Free –5 ft. — — —
Turn Any 90º/5 ft. 45º/5 ft. 45º/5 ft. 45º/10 ft.
Turn in Place Any +90º/–5 ft. +45º/–5 ft. No
No
Maximum Turn Any Any 90º 45º 45º
Up Angle Any Any 60º 45º 45º
Up Speed Full Half Half Half Half
Down Angle Any Any Any 45º 45º
Down Speed Double Double Double Double Double
Between Down and Up 0 0 5 ft. 10 ft. 20 ft.
Minimum Forward Speed: If a flying creature fails to maintain its minimum
forward speed, it must land at the end of its movement. If it is too high
above
the ground to land, it falls straight down, descending 150 feet in the first
round of falling. If this distance brings it to the ground, it takes falling
damage. If the fall doesn’t bring the creature to the ground, it
must spend its
next turn recovering from the stall. It must succeed at a Reflex saving throw
(DC 20) to recover. Otherwise it falls another 300 feet. If it hits the ground,
it takes falling damage. Otherwise, it has another chance to recover on its
next
turn.
Hover: The ability to stay in one place while airborne.
Fly Backward: The ability to fly backward.
Reverse: A creature with good maneuverability uses up 5 feet of its speed
to
start flying backward.
Turn: How much the creature can turn after covering the stated distance.
Turn in Place: A creature with good or average maneuverability can “spend”
some
of its speed to turn in place.
Maximum Turn: How much the creature can turn in any one space.
Up Angle: The angle at which the creature can climb.
Up Speed: How fast the creature can climb.
Down Angle: The angle at which the creature can descend.
Down Speed: A flying creature can fly down at twice its normal flying speed.
Between Down & Up: An average, poor, or clumsy flier must fly level for
a
minimum distance after descending and before climbing. Any flier can begin
descending after a climb without an intervening distance.
Swim
A creature with a swim speed can move through water at the listed speed without
making Swim checks. It gains a +8 racial bonus to any Swim check to perform
some
special action or avoid a hazard. The creature always can choose to take 10,
even if rushed or threatened when swimming. Creatures can use the run action
while swimming, provided they swim in a straight line.
Local Movement
Characters exploring an area use local movement, measured in minutes.
Walk: A character can walk without a problem on the local scale.
Hustle: A character can hustle without a problem on the local scale. See
Overland Movement, below, for movement measured in hours.
Run: A character with a Constitution score of 9 or higher can run for a minute
without a problem. Generally, a character can run for about a minute or two
before having to rest for a minute.
Overland Movement
Characters covering long distances cross-country use overland movement. Overland
movement is measured in hours or days. A day represents 8 hours of actual
travel
time. For rowed watercraft, a day represents 10 hours of rowing. For a sailing
ship, it represents 24 hours.
Walk: Your character can walk 8 hours in a day of travel without a problem.
Hustle: Your character can hustle for 1 hour without a problem. Hustling for
a
second hour in between sleep cycles causes your character 1 point of subdual
damage, and each additional hour causes twice the damage taken during the
previous hour.
Run: A character can't run for an extended period of time. Attempts to run
and
rest in cycles effectively work out to a hustle.
Terrain: The terrain through which a character travels affects how much distance
the character can cover in an hour or a day.
Forced March: In a day of normal walking, a character walks for 8 hours. The
character spend the rest of daylight time making and breaking camp, resting,
and
eating.
A character can walk for more than 8 hours in a day by making a forced march.
For each hour of marching beyond 8 hours, the character makes a Constitution
check (DC 10 + 1 per extra hour). If the check fails, the character takes
1d6
points of subdual damage. A character can't recover this subdual damage normally
until the character halts and rests for at least 4 hours. It's possible for
a
character to march into unconsciousness by pushing himself or herself too
hard.
Mounted Movement: A horse bearing a rider can move at a hustle. The damage
it
takes, however, is normal damage, not subdual damage. It can also be
force-marched, but its Constitution checks automatically fail, and, again,
the
damage it takes is normal damage.
See Table: Mounts and Vehicles for mounted speeds and speeds for vehicles
pulled
by draft animals.
Waterborne Movement: See Table: Mounts and Vehicles for speeds for water
vehicles.
Table: Terrain and Overland Movement
Terrain Highway Road Trackless
------- ------- ---- ---------
Plains X1 X1 X1
Scrub, rough X1 X1 X3/4
Forest X1 X1 X1/2
Jungle X1 X3/4 X1/4
Swamp X1 X3/4 X1/2
Hills X1 X3/4 X1/2
Mountains X3/4 X1/2 X1/4
Sandy desert X1 - X1/2
Table: Mounts and Vehicles
Mount/Vehicle Per Hour Per Day
------------- -------- -------
Mount (carrying load)
Light horse or light warhorse 6 miles 48 miles
Light horse (101-300 lb.) 4 miles 32 miles
Light warhorse (134-400 lb.) 4 miles 32 miles
Heavy horse 5 miles 40 miles
Heavy horse (134-400 lb.) 3 1/2 miles 28 miles
Heavy warhorse 4 miles 32 miles
Heavy warhorse (174-520 lb.) 3 miles 24 miles
Pony or warpony 4 miles 32 miles
Pony (44-130 lb.) 3 miles 24 miles
Warpony (51-150 lb.) 3 miles 24 miles
Donkey or mule 3 miles 24 miles
Mule (94-280 lb.) 2 miles 16 miles
Cart or wagon 2 miles 16 miles
Ship
Raft or barge (poled or towed)* 1/2 mile 5 miles
Keelboat (rowed)* 1 mile 10 miles
Rowboat 1 1/2 miles 15 miles
Sailing ship (sailed) 2 miles 48 miles
Warship (sailed and rowed) 2 1/2 miles 60 miles
Longship (sailed and rowed) 3 miles 72 miles
Galley (rowed and sailed) 4 miles 96 miles
*Rafts, barges, and keelboats are used on
lakes and rivers. If going downstream,
add the speed of the current (typically 3 mph) to the speed of the vehicle.
In
addition to 10 hours of being rowed, the vehicle can also float an additional
14
hours, if someone can guide it, so add an additional 42 miles to the daily
distance traveled. These vehicles can't be rowed against any significant
current, but they can be pulled upstream by draft animals on the shores.
VISION
Characters need a way to see in the dark. See Table: Light Sources for the
radius that a light source illuminates and how long it lasts.
Characters with low-light vision can see objects twice as far away as the
given
radius.
Table: Light Sources
Object Light Duration
------ ----- --------
Candle 5 ft. 1 hr.
Lamp, common 15 ft. 6 hr./pint
Lantern, bullseye 60-ft. cone* 6 hr./pint
Lantern, hooded 30 ft. 6 hr./pint
Sunrod 30 ft. 6 hr.
Torch 20 ft. 1 hr.
*A cone 60 feet long and 20 feet wide at the far end.
ENCOUNTERS
When an encounter between the PCs and an NPC or creature is imminent, follow
these steps:
1. Determine vision conditions and terrain. Choose from the choices on Table:
Spotting Distance.
2. If line of sight or illumination defines the distance at which the encounter
occurs (as often happens indoors), start the encounter there. Otherwise, roll
for spotting distance on Table: Spotting Distance.
3. All creatures involved make Spot checks. Success means that creature sees
the
other creature or group. See Table: Spotting Difficulty for modifiers on these
checks.
4. If neither side succeeds, all creatures spot each other at one-half the
rolled range.
The circumstances that can affect the DC of a Spot check are as follows:
Size: Add +4 to the base DC of 20 for each size category the creature being
spotted is smaller than Medium-size or -4 for each size category larger. You
can
make exceptions for creatures with unusual shapes, such as a Large snake that's
low to the ground and thus as hard to see as a Small creature.
Contrast: How starkly the creature's coloring stands out against the
surroundings. It's easy to spot a brightly colored couatl in a dark jungle
and
hard to see winter wolves in the snow.
Stillness: It's harder to see creatures that are not moving.
Six or More Creatures: Groups of creatures are easier to spot, even if the
creatures are smaller than Medium-size.
Moonlight: Nighttime, but with moonlight (or similar light).
Starlight: Nighttime with no moon but a clear, starry sky (or similar light).
Total Darkness: Overcast at night, or otherwise lightless.
Hiding and Spotting
If creatures are trying not to be seen, it's usually harder to spot them,
but
creatures that are keeping low to avoid being spotted also are less likely
to
notice other creatures.
If creatures are hiding, they can only move at half their normal overland
speed.
They also suffer a -2 penalty on their Spot checks to notice other creatures
because they are staying low.
Instead of a base DC of 20 for others to spot them at the standard spotting
distance, the DC is 25 + the hider's Hide skill modifier. The modifiers from
Table 3-2: Spotting Difficulty still apply, except for the size modifier (which
is already part of the character's skill modifier). A character whose Hide
ranks, Dexterity modifier, and armor check penalty total -6 or lower is actually
has a lower DC than if he or she weren't hiding. In such cases, simply calculate
the Spot DC as if the character weren't hiding (according to Table: Spotting
Difficulty). If a creature gets a special bonus to Hide because of camouflage,
special coloring, and so on, use that bonus rather than the contrast bonus
from
Table: Spotting Difficulty.
Additionally, the other creatures do not automatically spot hiding creatures
at
one-half the encounter distance. Instead, that is the distance at which the
other creatures can make Spot checks to notice the hiding creatures. These
are
normal Spot checks opposed by the hiders' Hide checks.
Table: Spotting Distance
Terrain Distance
------- --------
Smoke or heavy fog 2d4 x 5 ft. (avg. 25 ft.)
Jungle or dense forest 2d4 x 10 ft. (50 ft.)
Light forest 3d6 x 10 ft. (105 ft.)
Scrub, brush or bush 6d6 x 10 ft. (210 ft.)
Grassland, little cover 6d6 x 20 ft. (420 ft.)
Total darkness Limit of sight
Indoors (lit) Line of sight
Table: Spotting Difficulty
Circumstances DC
------------- --
Base 20*
Size +/-4 per size category
Contrast +/-5 or more
Stillness (not moving) +5
Six or more creatures -2
Moonlight** +5
Starlight† +10
Total darkness Impossible††
*x25 if one side is hiding, and ignore size modifiers (see text).
**+5 bonus on Spot check if the spotter has low-light vision or if he or she
has
darkvision that extends far enough.
†x+5 bonus on Spot check if the spotter has low-light vision or
+10 if he or she
has darkvision that extends far enough.
††Unless the spotter has darkvision that extends far enough.
Missed Encounters
The rules for spotting creatures assume that both sides will eventuallynotice
each other, and they simply establish the distance at which they do so. But
sometimes you want to take into account the possibility that the two groups
will
miss each other entirely.
To handle these possibilities, simply let there be a 50% chance that the other
creatures encountered and the PCs don't get any closer but rather pass by
each
other, such as when one group is moving north and the other east. (Creatures
following the PCs' trail, of course, always close with them.)
