How much gold can a backpack carry before tearing or to heavy to carry?

[DarkCrisis]

This question has been plagueing me for a long time... I was DMing a game and the situation arose where the PC's came into a large sum of gold coins.....

The PC's had wandered into a Deep Dragons lair (in the Underdark) and cut a deal with him to use a magical teleporter he was guarding if they went and killed a rival of his (a mindflayer). Now in this Deep Dragons lair there was mountains of gold and magic items. I figurd the PCs wouldn't be dumb enough to try to take any cause the Deep Dragon would waste them with no problem... well they go perform the task and the Deep Dragon allows them access to the teleporter. Now the PCs got it into their heads to link hands and just as the one PC used the magic device that opens the teleporter the other PC at the end of the human chain grabs ontoa pile of gold and woosh they teleport away! (Quite ingenious I thought). Anyways they appear in an unused drow noble house in Menzo with gold coins bursting from the seams of this house... so the PCs fill there packs etc with gold then leave the rest for the drow. Included in the gold was a sword I hadn't intended for them to get (+4 Defending Scimitar) but to balance it out I had them find a nifty magic necklace in the pile as well which one PC immediately tried on... and died. (Necklace of Strangulation).... anyways so how much gold can a back pack carry in pounds and in value? like few thousand coins?

-Crisis

 

[Piratecat]

First of all, killing a PC with an instant death item does not balance giving out a sword that's too powerful. You've just hosed one of your own players in return for your own mistake. Not too cool, in my opinion. Not only that, you can't teleport a whole pile of treasure by grabbing a few coins.... not if you're going by the rules.

To answer your questions, 50 gp per pound. A well made backpack probably can hold 40-50 pounds. Thus, I'd guesstimate it could carry about 3000 gp before splitting.

 

[DarkCrisis]

True Pirate but fun was had by all... and thats the real point of the game.. he was eventually rezed.. after cutting his head off to get passed the necklace... and they were at a level where they should be wary of magic items they find.. a simple ID spell would have saved his life... and I really wouldnt call it a mistake... it was good game playing on both sides of the DM screen... they thought of something fun and crazy and they were rewarded with a pile of gold (used to buy more magic items) and a magic sword.... and a dragons wrath (if he ever finds them) and a PC death that was quickly corrected. I wasnt really trying to kill a PC out of anger or anything just throw in a curve to keep them on there toes.... but as I said good fun was had by all and that adventure is still talked about and laughed about around the gaming table...

-Crisis

 

[Davelozzi]

If you have access to the 2e PHB, take a look in there, it had better rules for carrying capacity of different containers (including backpacks) than the ones in 3e. IIRC, they gave weight limits as well as size limits, although I'd have to double check. At any rate, PC's suggestion of 40-50 lbs. sounds good to me.

 

[Umbran]

Sorry, DarkCrisis, but if you didn't want them to have that sword, you shouldn't have put it in the horde. If you put a gun on stage in Act I, you'd better be prepared for it to be used before Act II is done. I don't think the necklace is really a fair way to balance it. You really should take more care with your treasure generation.

As for the rest - while it was a fairly bright manuver, the teleporter should have had some weight limit. Teleporting a party is one thing. Teleporting a entire houseful of gold is another, and really a bit much.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Its not that I didnt want them to have it.. they earned it in a sense... They decided to play the odds for it (dice rolling was involved in the whole steal from the dragon thing) they lucked out and were rewarded... I could have been unfair and made it a +2 whatever but I new it was a grand weapon when i put it in the dragons cave and so they got it... i admit I threw in the necklace as a last moment thing but I figured they would ID it as they do everything (which they did with the sword) before trying it... the detected magic on it and it showed necromancy.. which the PC who had it thought it might have some type of healing effect(healing spells where considred necromancy type in 2nd ed I think was his line of thinking)... which it didnt... I was surprised he did put it on though...

And dont get me started on the Deck of Many Things they found later...yeesh... one guy lost his soul so the oterh PCs bought a ring of something (the one thats keeps you healthy.. no need to eat or drink) and sold him as a coat rack to a drow inn!

Like I said... it was all in fun =P

 

[Piratecat]

As long as everyone's having fun.

 

[LostSoul]

Anybody remember Three Kings? There's a point where one of the characters (Ice Cube's airport luggage guy) talks about the amount of weight the luggage can hold while they are putting gold in the bags.

That should give you some idea about the weight a backpack can carry.

 

[DungeonKeeperUK]

How much will it carry...

Personally I think 3000gp would be way out, just due to bulk rather than weight....
Well below is what I have always gone by for what you can carry in various stuff...

Backpack 400gp
Large Belt Pouch 200gp
Small Belt Pouch 75gp
Large Box 200gp
Small Box 50gp
Wooden Chest 15gp/gp of encumberence
Iron Chest 3gp/gp of encumberence
Large Sack 400gp
Small Sack 100gp
Large Saddlebag 1000gp
Small Saddlebag 250gp
Ship 900gp/hull point


make of it what you will

 

[Imperialus]

personally any PC dumb enough to simply put on a necklace that he just yanked from a pile of other treasure deserves what he gets. It's like this song me and my friends sing whenever we're at a bar and some drunk eats a peanut he finds on the floor.

The idea is two people sing with the second person repeating the line just sung untill the last line when the second person just drops out of his barstool and starts convulseing on the floor.

If you don't know what it is
If you don't know what it is
Don't you put it in your mouth
Don't you put it in your mouth
or you might get sick
(second person falls on the floor pretending to be sick)

I'm not normally a big fan of instant death traps but honestly that's like going up to an unexploded artillary shell and hitting it with a hammer.