Quote Originally Posted by PhoenixPhyre View Post
And are frequently carrying heavy weights...while also dashing on uncertain footing, dodging blows, climbing with one hand and attacking with another, etc.

For me, personally, I'd just ditch the obsession with realism overall. Judge things like weight limits by how they affect the aesthetic you want to produce and the types of gameplay it supports. For instance, a logistics-heavy survival game needs very different weight limits than a heroic action game. None of this is about realism (except in very wide bounds) but about consonance between setting and gameplay.

My favorite example is that an average strength (STR 10) D&D 5e level 20 fighter can (given a single feat), in the span of 6 seconds do all of:
* run 30 feet with as many turns, pirouettes, and dodges as he wants
* make up to 8 independent, aimed shots at up to 8 targets within 120 feet with no penalties with a heavy crossbow up to 6x/day
* make up to 4 independent, aimed shots with a heavy crossbow the remaining rounds of the day.
* while carrying up to 150 pounds of gear

And can do this day in and day out, surviving on combat rations and a regular amount of water.
And if you use the optional starvation rules they can even skip food half of the days and be fine.