Hemp rope VS silk rope
- Thread starter cjr88
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Argyle King
Legend
Without going into too much detail...
Silk rope tends to be stronger than hempen rope. The exact strength of a rope is going to depend upon a lot of different factors including (but not limited to) the method of producing the rope, how many strands are used to make the rope, and the overall thickness of the rope. Silk tends to roughly twice as strong as a similarly sized hempen rope. That being said, both materials have strengths and weaknesses.
One of the main weaknesses of silk rope is that it tends to be very susceptible to abrasion. It also loses strength with time; while that is true of most any material, silk rope degrades quicker than many other materials do.
Silk rope tends to be stronger than hempen rope. The exact strength of a rope is going to depend upon a lot of different factors including (but not limited to) the method of producing the rope, how many strands are used to make the rope, and the overall thickness of the rope. Silk tends to roughly twice as strong as a similarly sized hempen rope. That being said, both materials have strengths and weaknesses.
One of the main weaknesses of silk rope is that it tends to be very susceptible to abrasion. It also loses strength with time; while that is true of most any material, silk rope degrades quicker than many other materials do.
tuxgeo
Adventurer
The only advantage you can automatically count on is that it has lighter weight.
However, if the DM approves in your game, you could claim that silk rope makes less noise when it brushes against things; so if you tie a grappling hook to a silk rope and throw it to catch on a roof, the rope makes less noise tightening against the roof and walls than a hempen rope would. And maybe you can throw the hook farther because of the lighter weight. (Both of those advantages would need DM approval, though.)
However, if the DM approves in your game, you could claim that silk rope makes less noise when it brushes against things; so if you tie a grappling hook to a silk rope and throw it to catch on a roof, the rope makes less noise tightening against the roof and walls than a hempen rope would. And maybe you can throw the hook farther because of the lighter weight. (Both of those advantages would need DM approval, though.)
Argyle King
Legend
While it's not a D&D book, GURPS Low-Tech (for GURPS 4th Edition) seems to mostly agree with that.
It lists the strength of a 1" thick and 10 yard long hempen rope as being enough to support 2000 pounds. However, it also mentions that the 2000 figure assumes a relatively stationary load, and that the strength for a more stressful purpose would reliably be about half of that; so 1000.
A silk rope of the same size weighs less and has stats of 5000 and 2500 respectively.
It's a pretty useful book -even if you don't play GURPS. It's well researched and goes into quite a bit of detail about all manner of technologies which would be relevant to adventuring. It's available in both hard back and pdf. http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/low-tech/
Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
Silk rope has a higher sexiness factor. After all, what succubus ties up its prey with hempen rope?
Balesir
Adventurer
Super Pony
Studded Muffin
Hemp derived rope can rot out sooner than silk rope in moist climes (or at sea), unless treated with tar or some other equivalent substance (making it even heavier). If you are rocking out in an alpine scenario, then it's probably not worth mentioning. But if you are hanging out in a foetid jungle, I'd go for silk rope. Unless you've got a tropical hemp-like rope (like abaca fiber rope)...then it's probably moot yet again, besides weight.
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