Inventory
Your inventory consists of an accounting of your total wealth and a list of the possessions that you are carrying.
Character Wealth
All player characters of the same character level should have about the same total wealth. How that wealth is used can vary a lot, but tracking total gold helps ensure that loot is divided fairly and that power, as measured by wealth, is fairly equal among all PCs.
Wealth By Level (WBL)
For characters starting off at level 1, the wealth available is a function of your class. By second level, these differences even out, and characters should have about the same total wealth regardless of class. The following table lists the expected total wealth by level (WBL) that the game assumes a player character will possess.
Table: Character Wealth by Level PC Level* Wealth 2 500 gp 3 1,400 gp 4 3,000 gp 5 5,250 gp 6 8,000 gp 7 12,000 gp 8 16,500 gp 9 23,000 gp 10 31,000 gp 11 41,000 gp 12 54,000 gp 13 70,000 gp 14 92,500 gp 15 120,000 gp 16 150,000 gp 17 200,000 gp 18 270,000 gp 19 340,000 gp 20 440,000 gp * For 1st-level PCs, see the first table in Equipment.
Table: Character Wealth by Level lists the amount of treasure each PC is expected to have at a specific level. Note that this table assumes a standard fantasy game. Low-fantasy games might award only half this value, while high-fantasy games might double the value.
In general, the game master is responsible only for making sure that an adventuring group (or party) has enough wealth found in rewards, loot, and other sources that when evenly divided, each PC has approximately the expected wealth. However, it is up to the players as a group to divide treasure in a fair way. Equal shares is most common, and it is an almost universal practice that players keep the WBL guidelines in mind to shore up the poorer party members and that the richer ones give up part of their gains fairly.
That said, if player characters lose their money in one way or another — for example, gambling, living extravagantly, giving it away, or even paying for expensive raise dead spells — the other, perhaps more frugal, characters are not obligated to support their allies. Here, roleplay makes a difference, as well as the understanding that a poor PC is likely less capable to contribute to the team than a wealthy one.
Game masters may equalize wealth as they see fit. A king bestowing a reward for a successful quest may give more to one PC than another. A game master may give "cursed" items as rewards, selecting curses for excellent items that limit the use to a certain race or class, for or items that are cursed to "stick" to the first person to touch them.
Trivial Costs
When character wealth grows to a certain point, tiny expenses can be safely ignored. Divide WBL by 1,000 (round down). Expenses equal to or less than this amount can be ignored. Items must still be purchased and tracked on your inventory list for use. But the expense can be ignored. At third level, expenses costing 1 gp or less can be ignored; at seventh level, 12 gp; at 16th level, 150 gp.
Note that this rule is intended as a convenience to reduce bookkeeping, not a way to maximize wealth and options. Game masters, do not let this be abused, for example, by buying in bulk. The total cost is still applied for 100 cure light wounds potions, not the 25 gp cost individually. Similarly, the total cost is applied to a purchase of "one of each level 1 potion"! Use judgement and discretion in using this rule.
Personal Possessions
The items, magical and otherwise, that you carry personally, are often key to your survival. These carrying capacity rules determine how much your equipment slows you down. Encumbrance comes in two parts: encumbrance by armor and encumbrance by total weight.
Encumbrance by Armor: A character's armor determines his maximum Dexterity bonus to AC, armor check penalty, speed, and running speed. Unless your character is weak or carrying a lot of gear, that's all you need to know; the extra gear your character carries won't slow him down any more than the armor already does. Tracking this encumbrance by armor is required.
Encumbrance by Weight: If your character is weak or carrying a lot of gear, however, then you'll need to calculate encumbrance by weight. Doing so is most important when your character is trying to carry some heavy object. The game master may rule that tracking encumbrance by weight is optional(reserving the right to require it if they deem your inventory too large). Regardless, all characters need an inventory list (see below).
| Strength Score | Light Load | Medium Load | Heavy Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 lbs. or less | 4–6 lbs. | 7–10 lbs. |
| 2 | 6 lbs. or less | 7–13 lbs. | 14–20 lbs. |
| 3 | 10 lbs. or less | 11–20 lbs. | 21–30 lbs. |
| 4 | 13 lbs. or less | 14–26 lbs. | 27–40 lbs. |
| 5 | 16 lbs. or less | 17–33 lbs. | 34–50 lbs. |
| 6 | 20 lbs. or less | 21–40 lbs. | 41–60 lbs. |
| 7 | 23 lbs. or less | 24–46 lbs. | 47–70 lbs. |
| 8 | 26 lbs. or less | 27–53 lbs. | 54–80 lbs. |
| 9 | 30 lbs. or less | 31–60 lbs. | 61–90 lbs. |
| 10 | 33 lbs. or less | 34–66 lbs. | 67–100 lbs. |
| 11 | 38 lbs. or less | 39–76 lbs. | 77–115 lbs. |
| 12 | 43 lbs. or less | 44–86 lbs. | 87–130 lbs. |
| 13 | 50 lbs. or less | 51–100 lbs. | 101–150 lbs. |
| 14 | 58 lbs. or less | 59–116 lbs. | 117–175 lbs. |
| 15 | 66 lbs. or less | 67–133 lbs. | 134–200 lbs. |
| 16 | 76 lbs. or less | 77–153 lbs. | 154–230 lbs. |
| 17 | 86 lbs. or less | 87–173 lbs. | 174–260 lbs. |
| 18 | 100 lbs. or less | 101–200 lbs. | 201–300 lbs. |
| 19 | 116 lbs. or less | 117–233 lbs. | 234–350 lbs. |
| 20 | 133 lbs. or less | 134–266 lbs. | 267–400 lbs. |
| 21 | 153 lbs. or less | 154–306 lbs. | 307–460 lbs. |
| 22 | 173 lbs. or less | 174–346 lbs. | 347–520 lbs. |
| 23 | 200 lbs. or less | 201–400 lbs. | 401–600 lbs. |
| 24 | 233 lbs. or less | 234–466 lbs. | 467–700 lbs. |
| 25 | 266 lbs. or less | 267–533 lbs. | 534–800 lbs. |
| 26 | 306 lbs. or less | 307–613 lbs. | 614–920 lbs. |
| 27 | 346 lbs. or less | 347–693 lbs. | 694–1,040 lbs. |
| 28 | 400 lbs. or less | 401–800 lbs. | 801–1,200 lbs. |
| 29 | 466 lbs. or less | 467–933 lbs. | 934–1,400 lbs. |
| +10 | ×4 | ×4 | ×4 |
If you want to determine whether your character's gear is heavy enough to slow him down more than his armor already does, total the weight of all the character's items, including armor, weapons, and gear. Compare this total to the character's Strength on Table: Carrying Capacity. Depending on the character's carrying capacity, he or she may be carrying a light, medium, or heavy load. Like armor, a character's load affects his maximum Dexterity bonus to AC, carries a check penalty (which works like an armor check penalty), reduces the character's speed, and affects how fast the character can run, as shown on Table: Encumbrance Effects. A medium or heavy load counts as medium or heavy armor for the purpose of abilities or skills that are restricted by armor. Carrying a light load does not encumber a character.
If your character is wearing armor, use the worse figure (from armor or from load) for each category. Do not stack the penalties.
| Load | Max Dex | Check Penalty | Speed | Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (30 ft.) | (20 ft.) | ||||
| Medium | +3 | –3 | 20 ft. | 15 ft. | ×4 |
| Heavy | +1 | –6 | 20 ft. | 15 ft. | ×3 |
Lifting and Dragging: A character can lift as much as his maximum load over his head. A character's maximum load is the highest amount of weight listed for a character's Strength in the heavy load column of Table: Carrying Capacity.
A character can lift as much as double his 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 move only 5 feet per round (as a full-round action).
A character can generally push or drag along the ground as much as five times his maximum load. Favorable conditions can double these numbers, and bad circumstances can reduce them by half or more.
Bigger and Smaller Creatures: The figures on Table: Carrying Capacity are for Medium bipedal creatures. A larger bipedal creature can carry more weight depending on its size category, as follows: Large ×2, Huge ×4, Gargantuan ×8, Colossal ×16. A smaller creature can carry less weight depending on its size category, as follows: Small ×3/4, Tiny ×1/2, Diminutive ×1/4, Fine ×1/8.
Quadrupeds can carry heavier loads than bipeds can. Multiply the values corresponding to the creature's Strength score from Table: Carrying Capacity by the appropriate modifier, as follows: Fine ×1/4, Diminutive ×1/2, Tiny ×3/4, Small ×1, Medium ×1-1/2, Large ×3, Huge ×6, Gargantuan ×12, Colossal ×24.
Tremendous Strength: For Strength scores not shown on Table: Carrying Capacity, find the Strength score between 20 and 29 that has the same number in the “ones” digit as the creature's Strength score does and multiply the numbers in that row by 4 for every 10 points the creature's Strength is above the score for that row.
Armor and Encumbrance for Other Base Speeds
The table below provides reduced speed figures for all base speeds from 5 feet to 120 feet (in 5-foot increments).
| Base Speed | Reduced Speed |
|---|---|
| 5 ft. | 5 ft. |
| 10 ft.–15 ft. | 10 ft. |
| 20 ft. | 15 ft. |
| 25 ft.–30 ft. | 20 ft. |
| 35 ft. | 25 ft. |
| 40 ft.–45 ft. | 30 ft. |
| 50 ft. | 35 ft. |
| 55 ft.–60 ft. | 40 ft. |
| 65 ft. | 45 ft. |
| 70 ft.–75 ft. | 50 ft. |
| 80 ft. | 55 ft. |
| 85 ft.–90 ft. | 60 ft. |
| 95 ft. | 65 ft. |
| 100 ft.–105 ft. | 70 ft. |
| 110 ft. | 75 ft. |
| 115 ft.–120 ft. | 80 ft. |
Inventory List
On your character sheet, your inventory list includes all your adventuring gear and items you carry on your person. Each item takes up one line on your list. If your game master requests, or if it strikes your own fancy, track encumbrance by weight, listing each item's weight in pounds. Finally, for each item, also list the value in gold pieces. A handy totals line at the bottom of your list can be used to sum total pounds and gold.
Also on your inventory, please list possessions you are not carrying, as well as any the remaindered cost of consumable items as well as expenses of lasting value. For some characters, expenses of lasting value may include charitable donations; salaries of hirelings; guild, cult, or other membership dues; recurring expenses, and so on.
Using the trivial costs rule above, you can ignore the gold cost of inexpensive items, but you must still track items that you carry on your person, to note availability when adventuring.