The Standard Backpack
Regardless of character class or race, a backpack is presumed to contain the following gear inside it or attached to it externally via D-rings, and it is presumed that characters return to a village or town to restock their backpack between dungeon delves, or each time entering a new town — if traveling overland:
• 1 week's worth of iron rations
• 2 unused torches
• 1 spartan Duracloth blanket/tarp
• 1 change of clothing (trousers, jerkin, socks)
• camp gear (tin mess kit, blanket roll, canvas poncho)
• 40 ft. of balled twine
• 50' hemp rope (looped & tied to pack externally)
• a firestarter device (in a side pouch)
• 1 pint of strong spirits in a metallic flask
• a one-quart waterskin lashed the pack
The above is called a standard backpack. It's free. You start play with it and can spend your starting gold on things like armor and life insurance. The standard backpack can be shrugged off the shoulders and dropped using a single combat action. Characters who are attacked while carrying their backpack suffer, at minimmum, a penalty of 1 to both armor class and attack rolls because of their awkward burden. Therefore, PCs will shrug off the backpack when possible before combat erupts. When surprised while bearing the backpack, the PC must take a combat action to divest himself of the backpack, or else face the aforementioned penalties.
The weight of potions is negligible. It is presumed they come in thin metallic vials that can't easily break, unless otherwise specified, because of their value. There is adequate space in the standard backpack's pouches for five potion vials. Alternatively, a belt pouch may serve to carry these.
A character may wear his class's standard clothing and/or armor, i.e., his class harness, without undue encumberance. PCs are lightly encumbered when in armor and wearing the standard backpack, regardless of their Strength score.
Any PC in harness and wearing his backpack, and carrying 10+ pounds of loot has encumbrance worsened by one category; 25+ pounds of loot worsens encumbrance by two categories. Particularly strong characters may add an additional ten pounds per point of Strength attribute bonus. Thus, a STR 18 character wearing harness and pack would not become moderate encumbered until carrying 40 pounds of loot, and wouldn't become heavily encumbered until carrying 55 pounds of loot. Characters with any negative Strength modifier can only carry worn clothing and a pack; they aren't robust enough to wear armor effectively, and they cannot carry more than five pounds of loot.
A mage's belt pouch of spell components adds negligible weight and is ignored for the purposes of determining encumbrance. Likewise, a cleric's worn holy symbol add negligible weight, and if the fighter carries a map the same applies. A mage's spellbook does add to encumbrance. That extra flagon of wine the fighter carries adds to encumbrance. If the cleric bears a weighty statuette as a gift intended for a nearby shrine, that adds to encumbrance. Such items as these should be listed under Loot on the character sheet. Technically, they may be carried inside the backpack, but list them separately under Loot so that everyone means the same thing by the term standard backpack: "Oh shit, I lost my backpack and it also had my [insert Loot items] in it!"
Unencumbered characters are those wearing only normal clothing or class-normal armor and not bearing a standard backpack.
Lightly encumbered characters suffer -1 to attack rolls, Dexterity-based saving throws, and a +1 penalty to Armor class.
Moderately encumbered characters suffer -3 to attack rolls, Dexterity-based saving throws, and a +3 penalty to Armor class, and their movement is halved.
Heavily encumbered characters suffer -6 to attack rolls, Dexterity-based saving throws, and a +6 penalty to Armor class, and their movement is quartered.
Magic-Users can use up to light armor without loss of spellcasting. They cannot cast (usually) if using a shield, as many spells require both hands for somatic components.
