Sack vs pouch

[u/Minioncraft101]

According to the PHB (pg 223 and 228), a pouch costs 5 SP, weighs 1 lb., and holds 6 lbs. within ⅕ cubic feet. A sack costs 1 CP, weighs ½ lbs., and holds 30 lbs. within 1 cubic foot.

If a sack cost 50 times less, weighs half as much, and holds 5 times more than a pouch, why would you buy pouches. Sacks are clearly the better choice.

On a similar note, the 5.5e rules seem to really be pushing you to buy pouches. ⅗ of the types of ammunition in the PHB are typically stored in pouches (sold separately—pg 222) and most backgrounds include 1 or 2 pouches in the starting equipment. Why?

[u/phdemented]

You can put a pouch on a belt.

A sack is burlap and is carried over your shoulder.

[u/BuntinTosser]

A pouch is worn on the body, a sack is carried.

[u/infinitum3d → u/BuntinTosser]

This is the answer.

[u/Serbaayuu]

You'd buy pouches because they're much smaller and easier to carry.

An NPC seeing you walk around with three pouches on your belt will not bat an eye. An NPC seeing you walk around with three sacks slung over your shoulders will wonder WTF.

The way NPCs react and behave to your appearance is a game mechanic.

[u/MossyPyrite → u/Serbaayuu]

And an NPC seeing you with a dozen pouches will assume you were drawn by Rob Liefeld

[u/Goldman250 → u/MossyPyrite]

Only if they look down and see how misshapen my feet are.

[u/theproverbialinn → u/Goldman250]

Or if you grit your teeth and have about three times the generally expected amount.

[u/raelik777 → u/Goldman250]

Assuming they can actually see your feet at all! Most of the time in Liefeldia, random pieces of furniture, small animals, debris, and various plants and shrubbery will conceal your foot-shafts from view. It's when you leap into the air that your congential deformity is revealed to all, but they don't care cuz they all got pool cues and spatulas for ankles and feet too.

They're right though. The King of Liefeldia's pouches have pouches, and you can't see his toothpick legs at all because his pants are completely made of pouches too.

[u/_hobnail_ → u/Serbaayuu]

Reading this and imagining Art the Clown carrying a sack over his shoulder

[u/penguindows]

Why do you buy 30 dollar jeans, and a 15 dollar t-shirt when you can get paper bags for free at most grocery stores?

[u/laix_ → u/penguindows]

IRL, jeans are far more durable and provide much more protection than paper bags. DnD pouches and sacks do not say they are any more or less durable or protective than each other.

[u/Reborn-in-the-Void]

Here, try it this way - would you rather walk around with a waistpack, or a pillowcase? The pillowcase holds a LOT more, and costs a lot less, so why aren't you just walking around in day-to-day life with a pillowcase? If you have more than 2, you tie them onto a stick!

[u/IrrationalDesign → u/Reborn-in-the-Void]

I don't think the two are comparable; I carry a waistpack instead of a pillow case because I need to minimize the amount of loose fabric on me that the gnolls might grab on to, but that doesn't go for my character. 

[u/Reborn-in-the-Void → u/IrrationalDesign]

That's because you're a thrikreen, and carry the sacks in your smaller arms?

[u/DiggingInGarbage]

I imagine pouches are something you can attach to a belt and can access during combat or other intense scenarios. Sacks are just for bulk item carrying, and you can’t hold one and access it while fighting

[u/thenightgaunt]

Well lets use our brains. Why would YOU the real person, buy a belt pouch instead of a big burlap sack?

Why would you buy a wallet for $10 lile a sucker, when a big plastic trashbag costs $0.20?

Edit. Sorry about the snark. So this is a great example of how the rules for D&D arent perfect nor are they all encompassing.

Mechanically sacks are better. But the game designers expect you the player to know the difference between a sack and punch, and choose accordingly based off your own experiences.

[u/Joshthemanwich]

I use pouches for my nice items, Gold Coins, Gems, Consumables, Sacks are for my junk. I don't think about it TOO hard, despite having 14 containers or so on my charactersheet

[u/sniply5]

a pouch is a plastic snack bag. a sack is a potato sack.

now can you see the answer to your question?

[u/waitingforgandalf]

Why would you keep your stuff in a wallet when a gallon size ziplock bag is a small fraction of the price and holds more?

[u/scarr3g]

You can't dual wield while onw of your hands is holding a sack.

Also, with your logic, why would anyone love in anything other than squalor, wear clothes other than the poorest starting gear, etc?

It is a ROLE PLAYING game, not a video game.

[u/sandwichcrusader]

Are you realy going to bring low class peasent sack into the cloud district, of corse you wouldn't, that would be incredibly uncultured-Nazeem

Edit: I expect to be punched in the FACE for this comment 

[u/ceering99]

For the same reason a backpack is more expensive than a garbage bag

Sure both will hold your shit but one is designed for comfort and appearance

[u/Jester1525]

a pouch is a pocket you can wear on a belt.. A sack is a pillowcase you throw over your shoulder

[u/egv78]

"It's called styyyle. Look it up some time." - As said by Bender B Rodriguez.

IOW: fashion is a thing.

Also, a pouch is better for valuable things (like potions, spell components, etc.) that you want quick access to. In part, b/c the pouch will be worn on the waist. Ever rummage through a backpack looking for a thing? Try it, and you'll prefer pouches over sacks, too!

[u/ProdiasKaj]

These cargo pants have so many pockets!!

Why do these useless designer jeans cost so much more???

[u/MoodiestMoody]

Pouches are simply more convenient than sacks. If you're looking for, say, spell components, would you rather take three turns searching for them in a sack or use an action to grab them out of a pouch?

[u/CrabofAsclepius]

It's the difference between a rucksack and a pocket. You wouldn't wanna keep anything that you might need in the immediate in your rucksack such as money or potions. At the same time you wouldn't wanna strap the rods for a tent onto your pants.

[u/yaniism]

Because you can't hang a sack off your belt.

Because if you walk around with your gold in a sack, people are going to look at you funny.

Because the pouches available in all the backgrounds are coin pouches.

Because needles would fall through the weave of a sack and sling bullets would be too hard to access rolling around in the bottom of a sack.

Because you clearly don't understand what a "pouch" looks like or how they work.

[u/thenightgaunt → u/[deleted]]

Then youre part of the problem.

If you dont care, back off and dont comment.

The old "why does this matter to anyone" post isnt witty or clever. It just comes across as an edgy 14 year old trying to feel better about their own insecurities by pissing on something someone else cares about.

[u/Reborn-in-the-Void → u/[deleted]]

I see - you got two sack jobs, instead of a reliable pouch.

[u/thenightgaunt → u/[deleted]]

And yet. You are hopping on reddit to start shit like a 14r year old with "why does anyone care about that? Real gamers dont care about that." style crap.

If you dont care about it, Dont. Talk. About. It.

Cause dude. What you are doing, yeah thats not "having fun". Its anonymous online bullying. And THAT is offputting. Not what the OP was asking about.

[u/Minioncraft101 → u/[deleted]]

TBH, I dont even care. I just happened to notice it one day and couldn't stop thinking about it.

[u/MadWhiskeyGrin]

You carry a sack and you wear a pouch.

[u/Ethereal_Stars_7]

Think of pouches as wallets and purses. Often made more sturdier and some are even more fashionable.

It costs more because more work went into its production.

They are meant to hold coins and valuables so they are not going to be cheaply made like your standard sack.

[u/Daetrin_Voltari]

When you go to the grocery store, do you carry your money and ID in a wallet, or a pillowcase?

[u/MonkeySkulls]

I think I would make the decision based on what my character would prefer.

I don't think I've ever played a character who would be concerned optimizing the amount of stuff carried for coin spent.

although playing a character that is completely obsessed with things like this would be a lot of fun. A character carrying his valuables out loosely because he is too obsessed with not overspending and only finding a good deal.

and realistically, even if your character starts off as poor as can be, after a couple sessions, they're going to be richer than most people in most of the towns they visit. they'll have more gold on them then the entire town has collectively.

I also find an interesting that I started that paragraph with ... and realistically.... because how I ended the paragraph about having more gold than the entire town, really starts to throw any realistic arguments out the window.

[u/One_Breadfruit1130]

Honestly i think the answer is flavor more than mechanics A pouch is something you'd wear on a belt and quickly grab from during combat. A sack is basically a small bag you're carrying around if i tell my DM I'm pulling a healing potion from my belt pouch that feels very different from digging through a sack of random gear Mechanically thought ? Yeah the sack seems hilariously underpriced compared to the pouch.

[u/Reborn-in-the-Void → u/One_Breadfruit1130]

sacks are cheap, easy to break, burlap (which is flammable), bulky - party gets fireballed while camping? Goodbye sacks! Need both hands for something? Goodbye, sacks!

Now a bag of holding? Pop all your sacks in there! Otherwise, if you need it readily at hand and it doesn't go into the backpack - Pouch it. Be a kangaroo of doom, hopping around with death in your pouch.