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View Full Version : Rules Q&A What is the carrying capacity of a swarm?



Jowgen
2019-01-03, 12:40 PM
Question as per title, applicable to swarms of all sizes, flying and land-bound alike.

MaxiDuRaritry
2019-01-03, 12:43 PM
Question as per title, applicable to swarms of all sizes, flying and land-bound alike.I'd say use the Str score of a single member of the swarm, using the size of the swarm as a whole instead of a single member.

As far as I know, there are no special rules for it. The above is the closest you'll get, because it uses the rules for a normal creature.

RoboEmperor
2019-01-03, 12:45 PM
their STR as carrying capacity x size modifier

Example: Bat Swarm
1. Creatures can only fly in a light load.
2. STR 3 has a light load of 10lbs or less
3. Diminuitive reduces the load by 1/4. So 2.5lbs for the entire swarm.

Doesn't matter that a bat has STR 1 therefore a carrying load of 3 x 1/4 = 3/4lbs each, or that there are 5,000 bats in a swarm. The stat block says a swarm of bats has only a STR of 3.

Bronk
2019-01-03, 02:35 PM
I agree for the bat swarm.

For land-bound swarms, I'd use the swarm strength, then adjust upwards if the base animal counts as a quadruped (having 4 or more legs).