Nightcrawler and purple worm carrying capacity

[jmax]

The carrying capacity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/carryingCapacity.htm) rules allow quadrupeds to carry 50% more weight than a biped of the same strength and size. That makes a good bit of sense, but I find it annoying that other numbers of legs are left out. In particular, what about nightcrawlers and purple worms? They can distribute carried weight much better than legged creatures can, but as far as I can tell they default to biped carrying capacity, which seems unreasonable.

Does anyone know of a rules printing anywhere that covers nullipeds?

There are also a few sexapeds, but I've been assuming they follow the same rules as quadrupeds. For some reason that doesn't bother me as much.

If this sounds slightly ridiculous, know that it's for a good cause - I'm trying to ensure I list accurate information on carrying capacity in my shapechange handbook (https://docs.google.com/document/d/127el4KqlL2ALu1chZ9WLPGFOu1InVTJ2pmxAmYAARbE). You know, just in case you have to move a small apartment complex :D

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeral_prefix#Table_of_number_prefixes_in_English

[Fizban]

There are a couple bipeds that explicitly use the quadruped multiplier, mostly because people want to ride velociraptors. The Thrum Worm in Races of Stone is a nulliped which explicitly carries "more," and checking the table reveals that it's using the same multiplier as a medium quadruped.

[Crake]

I would simply take "quadruped" and "biped" to mean "horizontal creatures" and "vertical creatures"

[hamishspence]

Arms & Equipment Guide makes a point of saying that you can't ride on the outside of a purple worm- you'd get swept away as it burrows through rock - you have to ride inside. Mind Flayers are the ones that do it - creating "cyst saddles" within the worm's mouth. Load- 1 Medium creature, plus that creature's carrying capacity.

Sandstorm, however has Ashworms "distant cousins of the purple worm" which burrow through sand, and have carrying capacity just slightly higher than that of a quadruped their size - 500 lb light load, Large, Str 21 (in between the 459 lb that's correct for Str 21, and the 519 lbs that's correct for Str 22).

I would agree that "long" creatures default to quadruped capacity unless specified otherwise.

[jmax]

Thanks everyone! I'll go with the "tall" vs. "long" distinction. It's derivable from stat-blocks (space vs. reach), so that makes it easy to be deterministic.

This seems to bear out with other long bipeds - giant eagle (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/eagleGiant.htm)'s light load (300 lbs) appears to be calculated under the assumption of being a "long" creature, again probably because it's meant to be ridden: 300 lbs = 100_(18 Str) * 2_(large) * 1.5_("quadruped")

I'll cite this thread in the handbook.