Height and weight for PCs

[Conrad]

Is there an official source for gauging the height and weight of PCs from their SIZ? I'm converting some alien races from a sourcebook and would like some guidelines as too how their weight and height translate into Legend. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by Conrad

[Stoatbringer]

Why are you still using Legend when a more detailed system is around? Mythras is an updated version of Legend, and has a good height and weight table on page 9. It differentiates body types into lithe, medium, and heavy.   

[soltakss]

The problem with SIZ charts is that they don't normally take different body shaped into consideration. Although the Mythras charts has different weight ranges, it has a single height range.That is fine if you assume that SIZ=Height and that weight depends on other factors.

Dwarves have low height and high weight, so you could model this with height based on SIZ and weight using Heavy, but I am not sure how well this works.

One of the old BRP games (Stormbringer or Ringworld maybe) had different values for body build, probably similar to the Mythras chart.

[Conrad]

Thanks for your helpful replies, gentlemen. 

[Mjollnir]

I think it's a little odd in Mythras that Size is a function of height, but only for PCs. So I redefined it in my game to be a universal measure of mass.

Size

A character's Size rating is a function of his body mass. At character creation the player may choose his character's Size rating, and being either larger or smaller has different benefits and hindrances. A human character's Strength rating cannot exceed his Size rating by more than 3 points.

 

Size, Strength and Feats of Agility - A character's Size can affect his ability to perform feats of athleticism (such as climbing, jumping and running) and acrobatics (like gymnastics and tumbling). For every 3 points a character's Size exceeds his Strength, the difficulty of skill tests requiring bodily agility made one grade harder. If the character's Strength is greater than his Size, such difficulties are one grade easier.

Size.....Weight
1.........up to 10 lbs
2.........11 - 20 lbs
3.........21 - 30 lbs
4.........31 - 40 lbs
5.........41 - 50 lbs
6.........51 - 65 lbs
7.........66 - 80 lbs
8.........81 - 95 lbs
9.........96 - 110 lbs
10.......111 - 125 lbs
11.......126 - 140 lbs
12.......142 - 155 lbs
13.......156 - 170 lbs
14.......171 - 190 lbs
15.......191 - 210 lbs
16.......211 - 240 lbs
17.......241 - 270 lbs
18.......271 - 300 lbs
19.......301 - 340 lbs
20.......341 - 380 lbs
21.......381 - 420 lbs
22.......421 - 460 lbs
23.......461 - 500 lbs
24.......501 - 550 lbs
25.......551 - 600 lbs

 

[Raleel]

5 hours ago, Mjollnir said:

I think it's a little odd in Mythras that Size is a function of height, but only for PCs. So I redefined it in my game to be a universal measure of mass

It’s not only for PCs, but the height chart is for humanoids. The note is in the back with the creature weight chart.

I suspect that they left out height because comparing the height of a giant octopus to a giant snake to a giant crab to a giant preying mantis might not get you a consistent system. What is the height unit you are using on the octopus? Do you include the tentacles? The snake lies flat and isn’t very tall, but is very long. The crab and the mantis both have similar body types, but the mantis stands up on his hind legs more, though not as erect as a humanoid.

[SDLeary]

On 12/17/2017 at 2:47 AM, soltakss said:

The problem with SIZ charts is that they don't normally take different body shaped into consideration. Although the Mythras charts has different weight ranges, it has a single height range.That is fine if you assume that SIZ=Height and that weight depends on other factors.

Dwarves have low height and high weight, so you could model this with height based on SIZ and weight using Heavy, but I am not sure how well this works.

One of the old BRP games (Stormbringer or Ringworld maybe) had different values for body build, probably similar to the Mythras chart.

It was Stormbringer; very similar to the ones in Mythras. Ringworld had modifications at character creation to various stats based upon homeworld gravity.

SDLeary

[Prinz Slasar]

Regarding Dwarves and their SIZ: In MYTHRAS 3rd Edition [since 2018] there is an update to make Dwarf SIZ more suitable.

So the "Dwarf Problem" isn't anymore.

And the posting above is right: MYTHRAS is the better, modern LEGEND. 

Edited February 26, 2020 by prinz.slasar

[DamageDae]

I’ve been getting my head around the SIZ attribute.

From the various sources I’ve looked at (forums, height and weight charts of rpgs and actual people, et cetera) I gather that Siz equates to a characters approximate weight in Stone [Thats what we use to measure human weight in England, 1 Stone = 14 lbs]. 

The books (CoC and the “Basic” RP system it’s based on) both state it’s more a measure of mass than height, with the finer points left up to the player to decide.

So by that logic SIZ 11 can be anywhere from 10 Stone 0 Pounds and 1 Ounce up to 11 Stone 0 Pounds and 0 Ounces. This correlates with the "Medium" Kg column on the chart Stoatbringer posted above.

I quite like that, but to help get my head around the proportions of it I’ve found the NHS BMI chart as a helpful graph to get an idea of a characters build based on the weight and chosen height.

This can give a good idea of how thin or heavy a character may be if you decide they are a certain height. Of course the BMI itself marks no difference between muscle and fat mass, listing only “Overweight, Obese, and Very Obese” for anyone with more than an average build. The chart makes a point of noting that it is not built to accommodate “atheletes” and names its categories assuming all exess weight is stored fat. Which led me to take a look into what kind of weight ranges athletes actually have.

Without getting into too much detail, from what I can find, it is possible for a person to still be healthy and have excess muscle mass that can take them up to as far as (in the most extreme case of competitive body-builders at maximum pump - such as a 6’ tall 21 Stone behemoth) the borderline between the Obese and Very Obese categories.

Most Boxers height and weight ratios put them between “Overweight” and the “Overweight” / “Obese” border with the higher weight categories shorter members being of the stockier physiques, this seems to be about the limit for muscle development without chemical assistance.

 

This scale seems to work pretty well for proportioning most people, though Tyson Fury kind of tops it out as last year he weighed in at 19.5 stone, but he’s 6’9”, so as a champion super heavyweight I think he’s allowed a SIZ 20…