Rope vs. Chain

[TheEvil]

In a recent game, one PC was an ogre-sized creature. He carried 50 feet of chain (per PHB equipment list) instead of rope. In order to determine how much weight the rope could carry, he used the burst DC as the strength for maximum load so:
Hemp Rope: 600lbs
Silk Rope:700lbs
Chain: 920lbs

This doesn't seem to bad, but is there any place which actually says how much weight rope and chain can hold?

Another thing that came up was the fact that chain weighted 2lbs/10ft. Hemp rope weights 10lbs/50ft. That is right, they weigh the SAME amount!?!?

Anyone have any thoughts on what type of chain is being used? 2lbs for 10ft seems pretty light.

 

[Kodam]

Hi!

The only answer I can think of concerning the weight is, that the standard rope is quite thick and the chain is quite fine. Thick ropes also are quite cumbersome which might be final reason for setting the weight as it is done.

Kodam

 

[Kodam]

Hi!

The only answer I can think of concerning the weight is, that the standard rope is quite thick and the chain is quite fine. Thick ropes also are quite cumbersome which might be final reason for setting the weight as it is done.

Kodam

 

[frankthedm]

... is there any place which actually says how much weight rope and chain can hold?

The rules seem to run off and hide their in the sand on the subject unfortunately. The peanut gallery tries to justify ignoring how much rope and such can hold by whining rope should hold any amount under the heroic fantasy excuse.

Using the STR tables based on the rope's break DC is a decent solution.

 

[Stormrunner]

A few months ago I had to move some big cement slabs around as part of a landscaping project. They were way too heavy to move by hand, so we got a winch and a couple of 2000-pound-test Buckets-o-Chain from the hardware store.

Those buckets were HEAVY - 50 feet of chain per bucket = somewhere around 60-65 lbs (the buckets were plastic so only a few pounds). That's 12 lbs per 10' of chain.

Strength of chain is proportional to the area of the cross-section. (It also depends on what it's made from and the shape of the links, but if we assume the material and the shape are identical, then a chain 1/2 the thickness will have 1/4 the strength.) As it works out, weight scales likewise - a chain 1/2 the thickness but the same length will have 1/4 the weight.

The "rated" strength is less than the "burst" strength - a chain rated for 2000 lbs means it can safely lift a 2000 lb load, so it probably breaks at around 2200 or so. So if the "generic" chain has a break strength of 920 lbs it's probably "rated" for 850 or so. That's about 0.425 the strength, so 0.425 the weight = about 5 lbs per 10' length.

However, I suspect the weight for rope may be light as well. Hemp rope is noticeably heavier, bulkier, and stiffer than modern nylon rope.

 

[Greatwyrm]

Break DC aside, I'd hate to try to sneak around anywhere but a tapdancing convention if I was hauling around 50' of chain.