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Have you ever wondered how much your character can carry and how strength or size affect it? Does your DM ask you to keep track of weight? Here’s a simple breakdown for calculating carrying capacity, according to the Player’s Handbook (pg 176):
For carrying capacity, multiply your STR score by 15 lbs. If you have a STR score of 12, you can carry a maximum of 180bs (15×12). Creature size matters, some have modifiers: Tiny (x0.5), Large (x2), Huge (x4), and Gargantuan (x8).
Those’re the basics of the mechanics, but there’s slightly more to it.
Are there any other factors that can affect carrying capacity?
Table of Contents
Size
Size can either increase or decrease your carrying capacity. For creatures that are at least above medium size, double this capacity for each size above medium. For instance, if my character is huge and has a STR of 12, I would do the following computation:
12 STR x 15 x 4 = 720 lbs
However, if you are a tiny creature, you can’t carry as much. As a result, always halve your carrying capacity. For instance:
12 STR x 15 x ½ = 90 lbs
For easier reference, here is a table to show you various sizes and their carrying capacity multipliers:
| Size | Multiplier |
| Tiny | x½ |
| Small | None |
| Medium | None |
| Large | x2 |
| Huge | x4 |
| Gargantuan | x8 |
When Your Strength Score Changes
Carrying capacity is not static—it will change when your strength does. Keep this in mind, especially when encountering the oh-so-fun (and optional) encumbrance rule.
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How does Encumbrance work?
It depends on how much you are over capacity. The rules are actually quite strict if you decide to follow them, but I personally see them as a suggestion.
They go like so:
| Amount Carried | Hindrance |
| STR x 5 | Lightly Encumbered; -10 ft Speed |
| STR x 10 to 15 | Heavily Encumbered: 20 ft Speed; Disadvantage on any ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws related to STR, DEX, or CON. |
Note: these penalties still happen while you’re under max capacity.
How it works once you go over your total carrying capacity, it’s unclear. The rules only seem to think that people will be able to carry up to the max capacity, implying that you can’t move at all if you exceed the limit.
When using this variant rule, ignore the strength column on the armor table. Anyone can wear any armor regardless of strength, so long as they’re proficient. However, the weight is liable to set you back.
All of this is even more fun if you factor in the weight of coins! (/s) In case you’re wondering, 50 coins (any kind) is 1 lbs. Best bust out them platinums.
How Does Carrying Capacity Affect Push, Drag, or Lift?
Your carrying capacity will be used when attempting to push, drag, or lift an object. Simply double your carrying capacity to know how much you can do any of these actions.
For instance, your character has a carrying capacity of 90 lbs; you can push, pull, or lift objects of up to 180 lbs without strenuous effort.
If you push, pull, or lift something heavier than your carrying capacity, reduce your speed to 5ft. This writing implies that you can drag at normal speed, though it’s up to your DM whether it’s part of your action, movement, or bonus action.
Are There Easier Ways to Track What I’m Carrying?
If your DM tracks encumbrance, you might wonder how to keep track of everything. It is simple but tedious – all Rules-as-Written (RAW) items have their weights listed in their description, which can be found in the Player’s Handbook (PHB), Dungeon Master’s Guide, and other volumes.
A simple way to track this is using a digital spreadsheet. Apps like Microsoft Excel, Google sheets, or DnD Beyond can help with inventory management and weight. Much less messy than accounting for every pound on your character sheet.
How to Avoid Encumbrance and Carrying Too Much
While this doesn’t directly have to do with calculating your weight, you may be wondering how to carry more while weighing less. Impossible you say? Well, magic saves the day alongside old-timey approaches.
Mounts
Mounts can be bought from most cities and vary in their cost and ability. Generally, you don’t want to ride them into combat unless you have proficiency in Animal Handling, and they may not be the best to bring into dungeons or caves, as they can trigger traps or draw unwanted attention.
That said, here are your options:
| Animal | Cost | Speed | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camel | 50 gp | 50 ft | 480 lbs |
| Donkey or mule | 8 gp | 40 ft | 420 lbs |
| Elephant | 200 gp | 40 ft | 1,320 lbs |
| Horse, draft | 50 gp | 40 ft | 540 lbs |
| Horse, riding | 75 gp | 60 ft | 480 lbs |
| Mastiff | 25 gp | 40 ft | 195 lbs |
| Pony | 30 gp | 40 ft | 225 lbs |
| Warhorse | 400 gp | 60 ft | 540 lbs |
More information on mounts and vehicles can be found here.
Extradimensional Spaces
The fancy and most convenient way to carry extra stuff is by using extradimensional space items. There are likely more options, but the most common ones are:
- Bag of Holding (DMG pg 153): Always weighs 15 lbs, but can hold up to 500 lbs—up to 64 cubic feet. You could fill it with liquid if you wanted, but bear in mind it’s inside acts like a big compartment, so it’ll soak everything inside.
- Handy Haversack (DMG pg 174): Always weighs 5 lbs, this backpack has two side pouches (each hold 20 lbs, or 2 cubic feet) and a central pouch (holds 80 lbs or 8 cubic feet), each with their own extradimensional space. In total, can hold 120 lbs, or 12 cubic feet of materials. Not bad.
- Portable Hole (DMG pg 185): Less convenient for retrieving things, the portable hole’s advantage is that it weighs nothing. The description doesn’t explicitly state the volume it can hold, but the math (6 ft diameter; 10 ft deep) implies that it can hold a volume of 282.74 cubic feet. In terms of carrying capacity, this is by far the best item. Weighs nothing and has no weight limit explicitly stated. Fill it with a tube of gold and diamonds—all is fair game.
- Genie’s Vessel (Warlock Subclass, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, pg 73): Less common than the above three, but the last extradimensional object I’ll be touching on. This is a class feature you get immediately with the genie patron, you can jump in there once per long rest to deposit or retrieve stuff. It has much greater uses than that, but this is one option. How much can it hold? Again, no explicit weight limit, but it is a 40 ft diameter cylinder, 20 ft tall; the math says that’s a whopping 25132.74 cubic feet, and no weight limit.
As always, you should know that these benefits do come with some costs. If you ever place an item like the above four inside of an extradimensional space, watch out! It’s the D&D equivalent to a nuke—both items are destroyed and any creature within 10 feet is sent to a random location on the astral plane. No save, just gone.
In case you’re unfamiliar, the astral plane is like a void inhabited by departed souls with nowhere to go, so… not somewhere you generally want to be. The ticket is one-way, and time passes faster there—every second in the astral plane is roughly 4 days in the real world.
As a Redditor rephrased this comedy skit:
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Magic
While there are many spells that can likely help with this, I’m sure I’ll overlook many possible applications. Let’s stick with the most obvious examples:
- Floating Disk: For 1 hour, conjure a 3 ft diameter platform that hovers 3 ft from the ground and can hold up to 500 lbs—all for the rock bottom price of a 1st-level spell slot! Convenient for stopping yourself from being crushed by a statue, too. Be mindful that some DMs rule that it doesn’t hover over liquids, but only solid ground. Be sure to read the fine print.
- Find Steed: An intelligent, telepathically bonded pack animal of your choosing that can also fight in combat and understand language? Yes, please. Only for Paladins, it’s pretty great for all the reasons mentioned in the Mounts section. Not so great for tight spaces.
- Conjure Animals: One of my favorite spells, it can wreak mayhem and serve as a multitool. In this context, you can conjure a number of strong animals to carry things for you, and even fight if the need arises. 3rd-level spell slot, lasts for an hour; and your options are quite broad (from eight 0.25CR beasts to one 2CR beast), that means you can call forth eight riding horses for an hour—per the chart above, that’s 480 lbs each, totalling 3840 lbs. Alternatively, conjure two giant eagles, who also carry 480 lbs each (16 STRx15x2 (large)), likely being able to carry a party of four.
- Telekinesis: 5th-level spell slot and it only lasts 10 minutes, but you can carry up to 1000 lbs. You’d need a vessel to contain all the things you’re wanting to carry, but that could be a fellow Player Character (PC) who is holding it all or a giant vat, if you came across one.
- Levitate: 2nd-level spell, 10 minute length—but hey, 500 lbs. Again, it can only affect one object or creature, so you need some sort of vessel.
You could also argue Arcane Hand or Enlarge/Reduce might be useful, but the severe limitation on time (1 min) makes them hardly seem worth a 5th-level or 2nd-level spell slot, respectively.
Summary
Carrying capacity is easy:
- Multiply your strength score (STR) by 15 lbs for medium creatures.
- Creature size matters:
- Tiny: STR x 15 x 0.5
- Large: STR x 15 x 2
- Huge: STR x 15 x 4
- Gargantuan: STR x 15 x 8
- Push, Pull, Drag (PHB, pg 176): Double your carrying capacity; that’s your limit. Anything heavier than your base carrying capacity will lower your speed by 5ft.
- Encumbrance (Variant rule): STR score x 5, and you are mildly encumbered. Hold (STR x10 to x15), and you’re heavily encumbered. See the table in the section How Does Encumbrance Work?—it’s not fun, in my opinion. The upside is it removes strength requirements for heavy armor!
- You can avoid carrying weight by using a variety of
- Mounts: Generally used outside of dungeons, you can leave them at the gate and ferry loot to put on their back. Probably want some saddle bags, but there’s a chart above that outlines their relative costs and strengths.
- Extradimensional Magical Items: The Bag of Holding, Handy Haversack, Portable Hole, and warlock’s Genie’s Vessel can all be used to carry extra things, each with different volume and weight limits. I recommend the Portable Hole for sheer volume, and because it always weighs nothing. Be mindful to avoid putting them inside another extradimensional space, and do not stab or tear them.
- Spells: Floating Disk, Find Steed, Conjure Animals, Telekinesis, and Levitate can be used to varying effectiveness when hauling a giant stash. Arcane Hand and Enlarge/Reduce could also be used, but they’re not worth it for the length of the spell.
As a DM, consider not tracking carrying capacity for an easier time for you and your players! After all, this is a game—not weight accounting. Unless they’re particularly hardcore, players may not enjoy having to continually tabulate their weight.
Best to reserve these rules for when you have a party who takes everything, nailed down or otherwise.
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