At what point are weapons and items carried for quick access too much?

Question

I know in the game you can carry whatever you want as long as you have the str to do so. After dealing with one of my players trying to quick draw a grappling hook I started to wonder about how people carry things. Specifically their weapons or things they fight with or want to use quickly. Due to two weapon fighting its clear you should be able to carry two swords or other suitable weapons for it, a knife should also be possible. But what about a player who wants 4 swords on their waist, or 6? At what point should it be ruled NO or at least some kind of encumbrance? While this question could be asked for either dnd 3.x or pathfinder, since Im currently only playing pathfinder I would like it answered for this rule set.

Answer 1

The Point Where We've Gone Too Far

I think this question springs from the same ur-question that gives us "How many quivers can a character carry?", that is, a question of how the carrying capacity system works, and how item slots work.

The description for Encumbrance by Weight is as follows:

Encumbrance by Weight: If you want to determine whether your character's gear is heavy enough to slow him down more than his armor already does, total the weight of all the character's items, including armor, weapons, and gear. Compare this total to the character's Strength on Table: Carrying Capacity. Depending on the character's carrying capacity, he or she may be carrying a light, medium, or heavy load. Like armor, a character's load affects his maximum Dexterity bonus to AC, carries a check penalty (which works like an armor check penalty), reduces the character's speed, and affects how fast the character can run, as shown on Table: Encumbrance Effects. A medium or heavy load counts as medium or heavy armor for the purpose of abilities or skills that are restricted by armor. Carrying a light load does not encumber a character.

So, from here, we can see there are no rules governing what can and can't be held on the body, aside from how much the PC can carry based on their Strength.

This really comes down to GM fiat. They have the say in how many of handy haversacks someone could have slung over their shoulder, or how many longswords dangling from their waist.

Now, obviously, if they're saying they want to use 40 slotted magic items, that won't fly, but unfortunately, weapons are slot less.

Answer 2

I believe this would be up to the GM. Although normally we play items under 'Weapons' on the first page of the character sheet are in easy reach but 'Other Possessions' are stored.

Draw or Sheathe a Weapon Drawing a weapon so that you can use it in combat, or putting it away so that you have a free hand, requires a move action. This action also applies to weapon-like objects carried in easy reach, such as wands. If your weapon or weapon-like object is stored in a pack or otherwise out of easy reach, treat this action as retrieving a stored item.

Alternatively you could go old school and get the player to role play an in-character walk through of their equipment. This may help them see the physical difficulty in carrying such a large amount of equipment at the ready. Plus if you need to consult a list to find the item then it's not in easy reach.