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The Bulk rules in this chapter are for Small and Medium creatures, as the items are made for creatures of those sizes. Large creatures can carry more, and smaller creatures can carry less, as noted on Table 6–19.

These rules for Bulk limits come up most often when a group tries to load up a mount or animal companion. The rules for items of different sizes tend to come into play when the characters defeat a big creature that has gear, since in most cases, the only creatures of other sizes are creatures under the GM’s control. In most cases, Small or Medium creatures can wield a Large weapon, though it’s unwieldy, giving them the clumsy 1 condition, and the larger size is canceled by the difficulty of swinging the weapon, so it grants no special benefit. Large armor is simply too large for Small and Medium creatures.

Bulk Conversions for Different Sizes

As shown in Table 6–19, Large or larger creatures are less encumbered by bulky items than Small or Medium creatures, while Tiny creatures become overburdened more quickly. A Large creature treats 10 items of 1 Bulk as 1 Bulk, a Huge creature treats 10 items of 2 Bulk as 1 Bulk, and so on. A Tiny creature treats 10 items of negligible Bulk as 1 Bulk. Negligible items work in a similar way—a Huge creature treats items of 1 Bulk as negligible, so it can carry any number of items of 1 Bulk. A Tiny creature doesn’t treat any items as having negligible Bulk.

Table 6–19: Bulk Conversions

Creature Size	Bulk Limit	Treats as Light	Treats as Negligible
Tiny	Half	—	none
Small or Medium	Standard	L	—
Large	x2	1 Bulk	L
Huge	x4	2 Bulk	1 Bulk
Gargantuan	x8	4 Bulk	2 Bulk

Items of Different Sizes

Creatures of sizes other than Small or Medium need items appropriate to their size. These items have different Bulk and possibly a different Price. Table 6–20 provides the Price and Bulk conversion for such items.

Table 6–20: Differently Sized Items

Creature Size	Price	Bulk	Light Becomes	Negligible Becomes
Tiny	Standard	Half*	—	—
Small or Medium	Standard	Standard	L	—
Large	x2	x2	1 Bulk	L
Huge	x4	x4	2 Bulk	1 Bulk
Gargantuan	x8	x8	4 Bulk	2 Bulk

^* An item that would have its Bulk reduced below 1 has light Bulk.

For example, a morningstar sized for a Medium creature has a Price of 1 gp and 1 Bulk, so one made for a Huge creature has a Price of 4 gp and 4 Bulk. One made for a Tiny creature still costs 1 gp (due to its intricacy) and has 1/2 Bulk, which rounds down to light Bulk.

Because the way that a creature treats Bulk and the Bulk of gear sized for it scale the same way, Tiny or Large (or larger) creatures can usually wear and carry about the same amount of appropriately sized gear as a Medium creature. 

Higher-level magic items that cost significantly more than 8 times the cost of a mundane item can use their listed Price regardless of size. Precious materials, however, have a Price based on the Bulk of the item, so multiply the Bulk value as described on Table 6–20, then use the formula in the precious material’s entry to determine the item’s Price.

Table 6–18: Barding

Light Barding	Price	AC Bonus	Dex Cap	Check Penalty	Speed Penalty	Bulk	Strength
Small or Medium	10 gp	+1	+5	-1	-5 ft.	2	+3
Large	20 gp	+1	+5	-1	-5 ft.	4	+3
Heavy Barding	Price	AC Bonus	Dex Cap	Check Penalty	Speed Penalty	Bulk	Strength
Small or Medium (level 2)	25 gp	+3	+3	-3	-10 ft.	4	+5
Large (level 3)	50 gp	+3	+3	-3	-10 ft.	8	+5