then how come my 30 lb backpack is 5 lb

@NathanSantee You’re right, I misread that. Still, having stats tells you that it weighs 1 lb. empty, 2 lbs. full. If playing with encumbrance (which personally I strongly recommend against, but nevertheless), that’s important information to know. And the drawing thing is still part of it.

are you saying a full backpack weighs 35 pounds?

@NathanSantee That is what Player’s Handbook seems to be saying, yeah.

then why would i use a backpack if all it dose it make me carry 5 lbs less

@NathanSantee Because otherwise you have to carry things in your hands, and then you can’t wield a weapon. Maybe you can avoid that by like tying things to your body somehow, but rope has a weight too, and if you get too ridiculous your DM is probably going to give you disadvantage on a lot of movement-related stuff.

@NathanSantee for the same reasons you use a backpack (or a quiver) in real life.

Backpacks (and quivers) have weight in real life. We still use them because it's a ton easier to throw thirty pounds of stuff in a bag and carry the bag than to try to carry five days of rations, a rope, a tent, a few knives, some cookware, a quill and ink, a candle, some flint, etc etc in my pockets and hands.

I'm confused. I have 11 strength so I can hold 55 lbs +30 in the backpack+480 on the riding horse. is this right?

@NathanSantee You can carry 55 lbs. total. That includes the backpack and anything in it. The horse can carry 480 lbs, and of course anything the horse is carrying, you aren’t and therefore you don’t have to worry about it.

So I can have whatever in my hands+what I'm wearing+30 lbs in my backpack+6 lbs in my coin pouch as long+2 of any case as long as the total lbs isn't more than 5 x strength lbs?

@NathanSantee Yes. Total carrying capacity is a matter of adding it all up.

But then I couldn't carry all my starting gear. I started with B A B B. • (a) chain mail or (b) leather, longbow, and 20 arrows • (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons • (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) two handaxes • (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack. And how can I use the bow with out the quiver.

@NathanSantee You can carry it; when the weight is more than 5x Strength, then you just move a bit more slowly, since you are encumbered. Is that your actual question? Do you have the Players Handbook or the Basic Rules handy to refer to? PS: I am aware that a filled pack at the beginning means that one is overburdened. I suggest that you sell off some of the stuff in that pack if you want to lighten your load. I did that in our most recent campaign, and I had a 14 strength for my Ranger.

@NathanSantee Is your DM using the variant Encumbrance rules? (Basic Rules, page 60). The basic carrying capacity is 15 times your strength.

Yes but I interpreted it as 5 x strength + containers.

@NathanSantee That's not what the rules say. Please edit that last comment into your question, per HeyICanChan's comment.

Maybe take this to chat?

@guildsbounty I think we need to link to the question about encumbrance that was already asked and answered. I'll go and find it.

I playing with my 2 brothers and that is it. This is our first campaign the way we are doing it I DM the first section the my younger sibling dose the second and the youngest dose the third and so on. We are about to start the fourth and I just learned what weight dose. We are using the Encumbrance rules because the outer one let you have everything unless you were using lots of hunters traps or something like that.

@NathanSantee You seem to be misunderstanding how Encumbrance works. You don't have an video-game-style inventory that holds [STRx15] lbs of gear. You have a character who is strong enough to comfortably carry [STRx15] lbs. You need containers because trying to carry around [STRx15] lbs of random stuff in your bare hands is an exercise in futility.

so how much can i carry with out containers

There are not hard and fast rules on that....but not much. Your armor goes on your body, not in a container...your weapons strap to your belt, not in a container. You might be able to wrap a coil of rope around your torso....but otherwise? Well....you have two hands. How much stuff can you carry in two hands?

Just think about it realistically....if you were going on a hike...how much hiking gear could you carry without having a backpack to put it in?

a martial weapon and a shield

two handaxes

an explorer’s pack

equip the armor bow and pack

so what about the handaxe and the arrows?

I could tuck the axes in my wast band but what about the arrows?

Arrows generally need a container to live in...otherwise, what are you going to do with 20 sticks with feathers on one end and points on the other. Personally, as a DM, I rule that if you get arrows or bolts with your Class gear, they come with something to carry them in...but that's a personal ruling.

So, if I were running your game, I would rule that your 20 arrows came with a quiver to carry them in...

If you don't have a quiver, then they have to go in your pack. Here's the difference in how this works....

On your turn...you get an Action, Movement, (if you have something to do with it) a Bonus Action, and you may interact with one item for free (drawing a weapon, pulling a potion out of your pack, etc. If you want to interact with a second item, that will take up your Action)

If you have a quiver...then when you take the Attack action, you can draw an arrow from the quiver for free. If you are pulling them out of your pack, then you have to expend your 'interact with an item' to get the arrow.

is putting the thing away free?

No....but dropping it on the ground is.

and picking up is the interact action right

yup

i think i get it now

can my horse become encumbered?

yes.

It has a carry capacity just like you do. Strength x 15, multiplied by 2 because it's a Large creature

So, a Riding Horse can carry 480 lbs.

Bear in mind...if the horse is carrying you....the weight of your character and all the stuff your character is carrying counts against how much extra weight the horse can carry.

I thought it was 5 x strength

is it 15?

Ah....you're using the optional rules...

can he hold 480 or 160

The 'core' rules are simply that you can carry Strx15. Period. The optional Encumberance rule is that you can carry less than Strx5 comfortably, between that and Strx10 if you're okay with moving 10' slower, or more than that if you're okay with moving 20' slower and having Disadvantage on....basically everything.

So the horse is useless then?

So, if you are using the optional rules....it looks like the horse can only move at full speed if it is carrying 160lbs or less. Which is dumb. And a DM should override because it would make the horse useless.

who weighs less than 160

So, this is the beauty of D&D. When a rule is stupid...change it.

(well, if you're the DM)

So, here's an alternative for you....

Rather than using the Encumbrance rules...focus on what makes sense, and how much weight containers can hold.

ok

can i let the horse eat grass instead of bringing 100 lbs of feed?

There's no rule for it...but that makes sense to me. As long as you're somewhere there is plentiful grass, and you give your horse time to eat.

Oh, I'll also mention this, for thinking long-term. Wagons and carts are really heavy....but they allow an animal to pull a total of 5x their normal carry capacity. So if you ever get to the point where you need to haul lots of stuff, that's the way to go. (Or a bunch of donkeys. They only cost 8gp each)

ya but then you don't get combat advantages

Note that earlier editions had a simple fix for the horse issue: the listed values are for medium creatures, and double that for large creatures, such as the horse, which would put it in the range of an actual horse's carrying limits which are about 1/5 of its body weight.

@NathanSantee Looks like you may be trying to solve a problem we aren't picking up on. Do you have a goal for your questions about containers or are you just confused by the rules? If the latter, hopefully we can provide help in narrowing down what questions you should ask.

How is it unclear? Is a backpack not an "other container"?