Adventurers live by what they can carry.
A rope, a torch, a shield, a sack of coin, or a spare blade may be the difference between survival and death. But every burden has a cost.
Iron & Myth uses slots to track encumbrance.
A character may carry a number of Ready Slots equal to their STR ability die. (8, 10, or 12)
Ready Slots represent gear worn, held, sheathed, strapped, or immediately accessible.
If a character can draw it, use it, drink it, light it, or drop it quickly, it is Ready.
Gear packed away in a backpack, sack, saddlebag, cart, or chest is not Ready.
A Ranger with STR Ability die d10 has 10 ready slots.
The Ranger carries:
Item | Slots |
|---|---|
Medium leather armor | 2 |
Shortsword | 1 |
Shield | 1 |
Shortbow | 2 |
Handaxe | 1 |
Torch | 1 |
Quiver of arrows | 1 |
Total | 9 |
The Ranger has used 9 of 10 Ready Slots, leaving 1 Ready Slots free.
The Ranger also carries a backpack with 10 packed slots.
Items in the backpack are not Ready. Retrieving an item from the backpack requires an Action.
Ready gear includes anything worn, carried, or easily reached, such as:
armor
weapons
shields
tools
torches
potions
rope
pouches
carried treasure
anything strapped to the body
Armor, weapons, and shields always count against Ready Slots.
If it is on your body and ready to use, it takes space.
A character cannot carry more gear, unless using a backpack or sack.
A backpack provides 10 packed slots.
Items in a backpack are not Ready.
Retrieving an item from a backpack requires an Action.
A backpack may be dropped whenever the character could reasonably do so.
A dropped backpack remains where it falls. Recovering it may require movement, time, or risk.
The Referee may call for a STR or DEX check when a backpack would clearly interfere with movement, such as climbing, swimming, crawling, squeezing, balancing, leaping, fleeing, or resisting forced movement.
A sack holds 5 packed slots.
An empty sack takes no slot. Most adventurers carry at least one sack for treasure, salvage, and whatever else they find in the dark.
Items in a sack are not Ready.
A sack usually requires one hand to carry unless it is tied, dragged, slung over a shoulder, or secured to something else.
Retrieving an item from a sack requires an Action.
A full sack is awkward in danger. The Referee may rule that a character carrying a full sack is Burdened, especially while fighting, climbing, fleeing, crawling, balancing, or moving through tight spaces.
A sack can always be dropped for free when the character could reasonably do so.
What you carry out matters as much as what you carry in.
Encumbrance is judged fiction first, slots second.
Size | Slots | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Tiny | 0 | coin, gem, chalk, needle, single sheet, small charm |
Small | 1 | dagger, torch, flask, potion, ration, tool, scroll case |
Medium | 2 | sword, mace, bow, crossbow, rope, bedroll |
Large | 3 | great weapon, bulky tool, armor, heavy bundle |
Oversized | Referee | chest, ladder, corpse, barrel, statue |
If an item is awkward, fragile, noisy, wet, cursed, dangerous, or difficult to manage, the Referee may treat it as larger.
Small items may be bundled together at the Referee’s discretion.
Weapon Type | Slots |
|---|---|
Light weapon | 1 |
One-handed weapon | 2 |
Bow or crossbow | 2 |
Heavy or two-handed weapon | 3 |
Armor Type | Slots |
|---|---|
Light armor | 1 |
Medium armor | 2 |
Heavy armor | 3 |
Item | Slots |
|---|---|
Shield | 1 |
Each character has 1 coin pouch that takes no slot.
A coin pouch holds 1 Usage Die of coins.
Additional coin pouches take 1 slot each and each holds 1 Usage Die of coins.
Loose coin, bulky relics, trade goods, and plunder may require slots or containers at the Referee’s discretion.
Treasure should matter.
Small amounts of coin or jewelry may be ignored.
Large hauls should force choices.
A character may attempt to carry more than their normal capacity if the load is reasonable.
When a character carries more than their allowed slots, they become Burdened.
A Burdened character is overloaded, slowed, and physically strained.
While Burdened, a character:
suffers 1 Bane on STR and DEX checks involving movement, balance, climbing, swimming, stealth, endurance, or escape
cannot Dash
cannot move quietly unless the Referee rules the situation allows it
may be unable to climb, swim, crawl, squeeze, or flee if the load makes such movement unreasonable
The Referee may call for checks when a Burdened character travels long distances, crosses dangerous terrain, fights while overloaded, or attempts urgent movement.
If a character remains burden for an extended period of time, the Referee may apply Exhaustion and/or Drained condition based on the situation.
Burden ends when the character drops, stores, hands off, or loses enough gear to return within their normal capacity.
Treasure takes space.
Coins, gems, relics, weapons, armor, trade goods, and recovered valuables should be assigned slots when their weight, bulk, or awkwardness matters.
Individual treasures, such as gems, relics, idols, art objects, weapons, or other valuables, are measured by size (tiny 0, small 1, medium 2, large 3, or oversized).
Coin treasure is measured in Wealth Dice, not exact totals.
Each Wealth Die of coin takes 1 slot.
The question is not always:
How much is it worth?
The question is often:
How much can you carry?
Example
Treasure | Slots |
|---|---|
20 × d12 Silver | 20 slots |
8 × d12 Gold | 8 slots |
Both represent immense wealth.
Both must be carried out alive.
Players must decide what to take, what to leave behind, and what to hide for later.
A character may carry another creature if:
the creature is their size or smaller
they have both hands mostly free
they are not wearing a backpack or carrying another container
the load is reasonable within the fiction
While carrying a creature, the character is Burdened.
Carrying a creature usually requires both hands.
The Referee may allow a very small creature to be carried with one arm.
Dragging a creature is easier than carrying one, but slower and noisier.
A character may drag a creature if they have at least one hand free and the creature is not too large to move.
While dragging a creature, the character is Burdened.
Dragging may be impossible across rough terrain, up ladders, through deep water, or while fleeing immediate danger.
The Referee may impose further limits based on terrain, danger, distance, armor, injury, or the size of the creature.
Mounts, carts, and hirelings can carry extra gear.
Gear carried by a mount, cart, or hireling is not in the character’s inventory.
However, it is not immediately available unless the mount, cart, or hireling is nearby and accessible.
Supply lines are useful, but vulnerable.
Saddlebags hold 20 packed slots, usually 10 slots per side.
Items in saddlebags are not Ready unless the character is beside the mount and able to access them.
Retrieving an item from saddlebags usually requires an Action.
Saddlebags must be carried by a mount, mule, pack animal, or similar creature.
If the mount flees, falls, is slain, stolen, or separated from the party, anything stored in the saddlebags goes with it.
Mounts make long journeys possible.
They also give the Referee something valuable to threaten.
Do not count every button, spoon, or scrap of cloth.
Encumbrance matters when gear creates a meaningful choice.
Ask:
Is the character carrying too much?
Is the item Ready or packed away?
Would the gear interfere with movement?
Does the treasure slow the party?
What must be dropped to survive?
The goal is not accounting.
The goal is pressure, choice, and consequence.
Carry Method | Slots | Ready? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Ready Gear | STR score | Yes | Worn, held, sheathed, strapped, or accessible |
Backpack | 10 | No | Requires an Action to retrieve items |
Sack | 5 | No | Usually requires one hand to carry |
Saddlebags (10 per side) | 20 | No | Carried by a mount or pack animal |
A character may carry:
Ready Slots equal to 10 + STR Mod (min 7 / max 13)
+10 packed slots in a backpack
Ready gear is useful now.
Packed gear is useful later.
Too much gear makes you Burdened.