{"id":1025,"date":"2025-07-06T17:02:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T00:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nortoncreekpress.com\/wordpress\/?p=1025"},"modified":"2025-07-06T17:02:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T00:02:41","slug":"give-them-enough-rope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nortoncreekpress.com\/wordpress\/give-them-enough-rope\/","title":{"rendered":"Give Them Enough Rope!"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Robert Plamondon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally published in Dragon Magazine #135, July, 1988.<\/em><\/p>\n

What Can You Do With Fifty Feet of Rope?<\/h2>\n

\"\"My characters have always used a lot of rope. They’ve used it to build\u00a0bridges, lower people into\u00a0chasms, climb mountains,\u00a0hog-tie orcs, tether mules, and create traps. The creative uses of rope are\u00a0nearly endless, but most game systems barely mention it. How much does it weigh? How much can it lift? Does it come in decorator colors?<\/p>\n

Once, in a Chaosium RuneQuest\u00ae campaign that involved looking for a lost city in a big swamp, my character wanted to bring lots and lots of rope\u2014about 1,000′ of it, in fact. RuneQuest gives the weight and breaking strength for rope (AD&D gives nothing but a price). According to the third-edition RuneQuest Gamemaster Book,<\/em>\u00a0a 30-meter rope that weighs 6 kg has a strength of 366 kg. Converting this to the D&D game’s standard 50′ rope, that would mean that a 50′ rope would weigh 6.7 lb. and be rated at 805 lb.<\/p>\n

That sounds good, except that there are lots of different sizes of rope, and adventurers have uses for many of them. In addition, a quick look at a table of rope strengths would seem to contradict RuneQuest’s numbers. According to\u00a0Mark\u2019s Handbook,<\/em>1<\/sup>\u00a0standard fiber rope sizes start at 3\/16\u201d and go up to 4\u201d. The weight of a 50′ manila rope varies in that range from 12\u00a0ounces\u00a0to 219\u00a0pounds!\u00a0And the breaking strength. varies from 450 lb. to a whopping 105,000 lb. The size closest to RuneQuest’s weight of 6.7 lb. per 50′ is 11\/16″ rope, which has a breaking strength of 4,400 lb.<\/p>\n

Fiber rope is usually made out of plant fibers; hemp, jute, and manila are the most common. These ropes are cheap, strong, and relatively durable. The biggest problems with rope are rotting and simple wear.<\/p>\n

The strength of rope is its breaking strength. You have to understand that a rope with a 1,000-lb. breaking point breaks if you try to lift 1,000 lb. with it. Now, suppose you try to lift 980 lb. with it. It’s just possible, if you apply force very\u00a0gently<\/em>\u00a0to the rope. Jerk on that rope with more than 20 lb. of force, and the rope breaks.<\/p>\n

In practice, ropes are used in situations in which jolts, weights that fall before they run out of slack, and other sudden loads are routine. To allow for this, ropes should only be subjected to forces at most only one-quarter of their breaking strength.<\/p>\n

Rope: Size, Weight, Strength, and Cost<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Properties of Manila Rope2<\/sup><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Diameter (inches)<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nPounds per 50\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nBreaking strength (lb.)<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nUseful strength (lb.)<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nCost per 50 feet<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0D&D\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nAD&D<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nRuneQuest<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3\/16<\/span><\/td>\n0.75<\/span><\/td>\n450<\/span><\/td>\n110<\/span><\/td>\n1 sp<\/span><\/td>\n2 cp<\/span><\/td>\n5 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1\/4<\/span><\/td>\n1<\/span><\/td>\n600<\/span><\/td>\n150<\/span><\/td>\n2 sp<\/span><\/td>\n3 cp<\/span><\/td>\n7 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3\/8<\/span><\/td>\n2<\/span><\/td>\n340<\/span><\/td>\n1,350<\/span><\/td>\n3 sp<\/span><\/td>\n6 cp<\/span><\/td>\n14 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1\/2<\/span><\/td>\n4<\/span><\/td>\n2,650<\/span><\/td>\n660<\/span><\/td>\n6 sp<\/span><\/td>\n12 cp<\/span><\/td>\n27 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11\/16<\/span><\/td>\n7<\/span><\/td>\n4,400<\/span><\/td>\n1,100<\/span><\/td>\n10 sp<\/span><\/td>\n20 cp<\/span><\/td>\n45 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3\/4<\/span><\/td>\n8<\/span><\/td>\n5,400<\/span><\/td>\n1,350<\/span><\/td>\n12 sp<\/span><\/td>\n25 cp<\/span><\/td>\n55 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/span><\/td>\n14<\/span><\/td>\n9,000<\/span><\/td>\n2,250<\/span><\/td>\n2 gp<\/span><\/td>\n4 sp<\/span><\/td>\n90 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1 1\/2<\/span><\/td>\n30<\/span><\/td>\n18,500<\/span><\/td>\n4,600<\/span><\/td>\n4 gp<\/span><\/td>\n8 sp<\/span><\/td>\n180 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/span><\/td>\n50<\/span><\/td>\n31,000<\/span><\/td>\n7,750<\/span><\/td>\n8 gp<\/span><\/td>\n15 sp<\/span><\/td>\n340 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/span><\/td>\n120<\/span><\/td>\n64,000<\/span><\/td>\n16,000<\/span><\/td>\n15 gp<\/span><\/td>\n30 sp<\/span><\/td>\n675 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/span><\/td>\n220<\/span><\/td>\n105,000<\/span><\/td>\n26,000<\/span><\/td>\n25 gp<\/span><\/td>\n50 sp<\/span><\/td>\n110 p<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Going back and applying that to our 11\/16″ rope, the 4,400-lb. breaking strength shrinks to a 1,100-lb. working strength. Furthermore, that strength is for manila<\/em>\u00a0rope, which isn’t available everywhere (for example, you can’t grow the plant in Europe). For agava or jute ropes, the value would be 825 lb. This is very close to RuneQuest value of 805 lb., so we know that Chaosium did its homework here.<\/p>\n

Still, why settle for just one type of rope? The Properties of Rope Table applies to manila rope, which is the best sort. Agava or jute ropes are two-thirds as strong as manila.<\/p>\n

Thus, my character\u2019s 1,000-foot supply of rope would weight 134 lb. Is chose the 11\/16\u201d baseline, with a working strength of 825 lb. But suppose he\u2019s okay with a lower working strength? With 3\/8\u201d rope, his thousand-foot coil of rope weights only 40 pounds, with a working strength of 340 lb. (manila rope) or 228 lb. (jute). Tempting.<\/p>\n

A Thousand and One Uses<\/h2>\n

\u201cRope!\u201d he muttered. \u201cNo rope! And only last night you said to yourself: \u201cSam, what about a bit of rope? You\u2019ll want it, if you haven\u2019t got it: Well, I\u2019ll want it. I can\u2019t get it now.\u201d \u2014 Sam Gamgee<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Finally, what can you do with 50′ of rope? Here are a few ideas. Think about them\u2014and make up some new uses for this most useful piece of adventuring equipment.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. Tying horses to trees or posts.<\/li>\n
    2. Climbing and rappelling.<\/li>\n
    3. Lowering a lantern to see what’s at the bottom of a shaft.<\/li>\n
    4. Lowering a kobold to see if the monster at the bottom of the shaft is hungry.<\/li>\n
    5. Creating trip lines for traps.<\/li>\n
    6. Keeping prisoners out of trouble by tying them up.<\/li>\n
    7. Lashing together stretchers for wounded characters.<\/li>\n
    8. Creating handy bridges and rope walks.<\/li>\n
    9. Going after\u00a0big<\/em>\u00a0fish.<\/li>\n
    10. Winching doors and boulders out of the way.<\/li>\n
    11. Winching out supports to collapse roofs (this one’s fun at parties).<\/li>\n
    12. Providing support to keep from falling out of a tree after being chased up there by a monster.<\/li>\n
    13. Knitting sweaters for giants (using spears for knitting needles, of course).<\/li>\n
    14. Making hammocks if a large piece of cloth is available.<\/li>\n
    15. Making clotheslines so you can wash everyone’s smelly adventuring clothes.<\/li>\n
    16. Holding up large boulders until monsters walk under them (another favorite party trick).<\/li>\n
    17. Dragging things you don’t want to have near you (like cockatrice bodies or dead rust monsters).<\/li>\n
    18. Forming rope skeins for catapults.<\/li>\n
    19. Swinging Tarzan-like across rifts.<\/li>\n
    20. Hanging particularly obnoxious enemies.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      And, by the way, no, ropes are not<\/em> available in decorator colors except in Elven lands.<\/p>\n

      Footnotes<\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Lionel Simon, ed. Mark’s\u00a0Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Eighth Edition.<\/em>\u00a0McGraw-Hill Books (New York, 1978), pages 6-152 and 8-93.<\/li>\n
      2. Information for this table was taken from\u00a0Mark\u2019s Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers,<\/em>\u00a0page 8-93.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        by Robert Plamondon Originally published in Dragon Magazine #135, July, 1988. What Can You Do With Fifty Feet of Rope? My characters have always used a lot of rope. They’ve used it to build\u00a0bridges, lower people into\u00a0chasms, climb mountains,\u00a0hog-tie orcs, tether mules, and create traps. The creative uses of rope are\u00a0nearly endless, but most game … Continue reading “Give Them Enough Rope!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p71zFO-gx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":976,"url":"https:\/\/www.nortoncreekpress.com\/wordpress\/dont-drink-that-cocktail-throw-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":1025,"position":0},"title":"Don’t Drink That Cocktail\u2014Throw It!","author":"Robert Plamondon","date":"June 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This was my first-ever full-length paid article. 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