On Weights and Measures

28 Nov, 2024

Opening Arguments

I've not been doing enough of it lately but I enjoy hiking and camping. One of the biggest points of discussion in the hiking/camping/through-hiking/bushcraft community is one of the most obvious: "what's in your pack?" Given your own knowledge and fitness, you want to be the most prepared for the most hazards with the least mass possible within your budget - one common saying is that every ounce you save is another hundred dollars. I find all these tradeoffs very compelling. Should I carry extra food for my 3 day hike in case of trouble? How many batteries do I need, or should I rely on solar and hope that the weather agrees? Do I want to carry a couple beers for a treat? Is it likely to get cold enough that I want a heavy blanket? Will I need to process firewood where I'm headed, or is my camp stove going to cut it?

Among other things, one of the subjects a game is about includes what the designers think is important to include in the rules. The still-unnamed OSR heartbreaker I'm subjecting all of you to includes a bunch of rules about weight, encumbrance, valuables, and trade. The questions I asked above are the kinds of conversations I want people to have when they embark on a quest, and this has been borne out in play for me - one of the tensest sessions I ever took part in had no rolls and no combat, just the party trying to figure out how to haul a literal dragon's hoard back to base without anyone noticing.

So, once logistics has value, weight has value (to me, the designer). It should spark conversation and plans. One of the enduring myths about OSR gaming is the saying "the answer is not on your character sheet" but if your character sheet says you have a hammer then by the gods you're going to start thinking about nails, and if the opposite happens and you find a nail-based puzzle then you're going to wonder what you've got that might be used as a hammer. Therefore, it's important to know a few things: How much you can carry and how much value you get out of weight.

Currency

There are dozens of currencies circulating in the world – newly-minted Carcosan silver shillings, the gold discs carried on a string by Pelost sailors, Sertanee filigreed scrimshaw, the odd bits of beautiful green stone that Stygian traders sometimes bargain with – and as a result people in most places outside of the most ancient and diehard Imperial core cities are really only ever exchanging goods by weight and value. In game, this means there is one exchange rate people are concerned with: a measure of silver, equal to a half pound of silver. For reference to readers in the United States, this is the weight of a roll of quarters. Most goods are purchased with their equivalent weight in silver. People typically do not accept barter for goods except for treasure, debt, and commodities.

A measure is equal to eight shillings of silver, so there’s 16 shillings to a pound (the more pedantic among the Carcosan sages love to explain that the word comes from an older Hyad word which actually means “the twentieth part of one pound” but that’s linguistics for you). As far as adventurers are concerned, this means that 8 silver coins is worth one measure. Hacksilver is a common trade tool, with the weight required for a transaction simply hacked off a larger piece of jewelry or the like.

Shillings are also called “pennies,” “pieces,” “coins,” “spondoolies,” and innumerable other nicknames. They are simply abbreviated as “p.”

Gold is worth double the value of silver, while bronze is worth four times its weight in silver. Copper is worth half the value of silver, while tin is worth three times its weight.

Treasure

While it’s easy enough to turn nuggets of silver into goods and services, once it’s worked and beautified and studded with attractive stones it becomes treasure and gains a value greater than the sum of its parts. People like nice stuff and are usually willing to trade some of their goods and labor for art and curios. Jewelry is especially valuable in this bronze-iron age transition period as it confers status on the wearer – rings and necklaces are often given out as rewards for great deeds, long friendship, and exceptional work, so trading someone something they can wear openly is a sort of endorsement.

As a note, most treasure is valued “in the eye of the beholder.” That is, the value is not only variable, but varies by individual: a necklace worth 2d6 dice of silver might entice one sage to work on a project worth 10 measures of their time while another might say it’s worth 4 to them. Don’t keep your experts waiting though, word will get around if you comparison shop for too long.

Rings, arm-rings, necklaces, earrings, hair accessories, and the like are typically worth two dice of goods and services; the referee will make a call which size dice to roll based on the item (anywhere from d4s to d12s). Bronze jewelry is without exception highly prized.

• Note that rings and arm-rings are typically traded rather than sold. It’s considered gauche, not to mention bad luck, to sell these objects denoting affection and trust. All the rest may be sold to the right buyer, who will ensure they get their end – roll the dice with Disadvantage to calculate their sale value.

Slasher's note

I have more rules for other treasures but you get the idea here; I'm trying to create both an economy of weight and of value. Remember, "value" refers to more than the sale price of an item (which includes the material cost, distance of shipping, the price of labor, and other easy to measure factors) but also a fuzzier assessment of how much pleasure an item adds to the owner's life. This is why red cars sell for a little more money! The red makes the car feel better. By the same token, rings have value in this setting that extends beyond the stuff that goes into them.

Encumbrance

Finally we're down to it: how much stuff can you carry? A character’s general fitness has an effect on this but for the most part encumbrance is a choice you’re making as a player, not a barrier to wearing heavy armor.

It is assumed that adventurers have a general level of fitness and awareness of how to distribute their gear effectively. This is taken account in how much weight can be carried.

Unemcumbered: No penalties whatsoever.

Light Load: Enough to notice. If you’re carrying this for the better part of the day, -1 HP per HD during recovery. This cannot reduce your hit points, only prevent you from recovering fully. Actions which require endurance (distance running, swimming, climbing, chopping down a tree) are difficult. This is the normal load that a soldier might carry.

Heavy Load: All of the problems of a Light Load, and

• your overland speed is reduced by half.
• You have a 50% chance to fail casting a spell.
• Actions which require endurance are close to impossible but might be checked with Disadvantage.

Extreme Load: Not meant for carrying long distances. All of the problems of a Heavy Load, plus

• If you have to carry this long term, lose one Strain for every day you carry this kind of load.
• Reduce your battle speed by one square.
• You almost always need one hand free to tug, rebalance, and generally offset this kind of load.

Common sense and discussion should resolve which to apply if you’re in doubt, and of course the referee will determine when something simply can’t be moved by muscle power alone.

And the Little Guys?

It is assumed characters with Gnomish and Gremlin heritage are using appropriately sized gear and this should be taken as a relative measurement. When one of them has to drag a Sasquatch out of a burning building, well, that's the referee's call on how that works.

Give Me a Point of Comparison, Please

For reference, an adventurer's free starting gear (a dagger, a bedroll, a backpack, a tinderbox, a full waterskin, a mess kit, 5 days of rations, and the clothes on their back) weighs 32 pounds. Add a shield, a spear, and a heavy leather breastplate and now we're looking at 51 pounds of tack - the fittest fighters in your group are walking around just fine but the scrawny cultist and asthmatic noble are having some trouble.

Other Trade

Rest assured, there are some rules around commodities, the cost of services, and pack animals.

Other Important Measurements

"Battle speed" is measured in squares, which I intend as something variable. Most people can move 5 in a turn. A square is more or less a couple yards, or a couple meters, whatever you need, but if you want to stage a fight inside a small room (say, my 10x15 kitchen) then squares magically change size.

An overland hex is 5 miles on a side, and therefore 10 miles across. A party can move from one to the next in one day, further along roads, less through rough terrain. Pack animals and other conveniences change this calculus.