Item Weights: Where are they from?

[Robin Damien]

Hello!

In the Fantasy Grounds version of the D&D 5e Player's Handbook, there are some items that have a weight of 0.01 or 0.02 lbs. that, in the hard-copy D&D 5e Player's Handbook and on D&D Beyond have a weight of -- (or nothing). I'm wondering where the weights of these items are coming from in the Fantasy Grounds version and why they would be different; is there some errata or something I'm missing?

There is similarly a few items from the Dungeon Master's Guide that are effected as well.

I tried looking it up in the forum, but I hadn't much luck.

Secondarily, while I have your attention, is there a difference between the Steam version of the Unearthed Arcana DLC and the Fantasy Ground Website version, other than the former is free and the latter is not?

Thank you for reading this and in advance for any assistance.

[Zacchaeus]

Welcome to FG.

Can you be more specific as to the items you are concerned about?

There isn’t really a Steam version of anything since it all comes from Smiteworks. So, no there is no difference in the UA module.

[Robin Damien]

Thank you for the welcome!

Most of the items are ones that have no weight elsewhere, like the ink pen in Fantasy Grounds' 5e PHB weigh 0.02 lbs. but in D&D Beyond they weigh nothing. Similarly for parchment, and other similar items, as well as some of the items that come from the Scholar or Priest's Pack (Small Knife and Alm's Box, for examples respectively).

I attached two sets of images but I'm not 100% sure I did so correctly.

30797
30798

30799
30800

In either case, thank you for the quick response and for answering the other question too!

[Zacchaeus]

I suspect that those are simply made up weights for Fantasy Grounds. I do this all the time for adventures since it is rare for items to be given a weight.

There could have been a technical reason why there are weights when the PHB was originally created (the tool used to create it maybe required weights or didn't accept a dash for no weight - but I can't really remember that far back). At any rate those aren't official or anything. But realistically everything has some kind of weight even a piece of paper.

[Nylanfs]

Probably stolen from 35e.

[Robin Damien]

Ah, so you suspect it was an artifact from when the program didn't accept '0'? I guess that makes sense.

Yeah, I get that things realistically should have a weight. Like it's weird to me that 'clerical vestments' didn't, so I always treated them as a 'robe', for example, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some official '50 weightless items = 1 lb.' like that existed in 3.5 that I was missing (or that I didn't just somehow have a bug going on).

Any homebrew things should probably not be in the official PHB stuff though? Even if it makes logical sense, but that's getting beyond my place or job to really comment on, I guess.

That said: Thank you both for your responses! May you both have a good holiday.

[esmdev]

Any homebrew things should probably not be in the official PHB stuff though? Even if it makes logical sense, but that's getting beyond my place or job to really comment on, I guess.

Just an FYI that all the official releases for 5E are reviewed and approved by WotC before they are released so it isn't exactly homebrew so much as an undocumented official optional.

[Zacchaeus]

Ah, so you suspect it was an artifact from when the program didn't accept '0'? I guess that makes sense.

Yeah, I get that things realistically should have a weight. Like it's weird to me that 'clerical vestments' didn't, so I always treated them as a 'robe', for example, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some official '50 weightless items = 1 lb.' like that existed in 3.5 that I was missing (or that I didn't just somehow have a bug going on).

One thing that I always have in mind when creating any module is "what would make the DMs job easier here?". So it may be just a little thing and it may also be that most DMs don't bother at all with weight and encumbrance but for those that do having everything have a weight is helpful.

[Nickademus]

It would be nice if it was noted when content that doesn't exist in the product being purchased is included, so that people know what is official and what is not in the module (hence the OP's original question).