The last article established that four "stone" is a "talent." Of course, there are also 8 stones in a hundredweight. Dividing through by the four stones in a talent makes a hundredweight of two talents. Due to the ambiguity between an imperial hundredweight and a US customary hundredweight, let's name our unit of 100 a "centner."
This, the stone, the talent, and the centner, plus the regularly derived and well-known ton and quarter-ton, make a fairly comprehensive system for larger weights, with predictable relationships (halving or quartering) between them.
Weight is usually described roughly in tons, quarter tons, stones, pounds, or ounces (1 tn = 4 qtn = 160 st = 2000 co lb), depending on the context and order of magnitude. Each unit of measurement has its own connotations.
- A weight enumerated in tons or quarter tons is apparently too heavy for anyone of less than superheroic strength to lift. A dairy cow weighs three quarter-tons. An adult african elephant weighs between 3 and 7 tons. A blue whale weighs 180 tons.
- A weight enumerated in talents is heavy enough that a person of average strength would generally prefer to ask for help moving it. A stout laborer can carry one talent by himself in both arms with affecting this movement speed. Incidentally, a talent carried by two people comes out to one stone per hand.
- A weight enumerated in stones is heavy enough to be cumbersome, but not so heavy that it can't be lifted by one person.
- A weight enumerated in pounds or ounces is basically just flavor text, provided to help you visualizing the scene. The difference of one pound probably won't make any difference in regards to the game system. If your encumbrance system is that granular, it would probably be too nitpicky to actually use.
1 ton = 20 cwt = 40 tlt = 160 st = 4000 mk (= 2240 lbs avoirdupois, 1000 kg)
1 quarter-ton = 5 cwt = 10 tlt = 40 st = 1000 mk (= 560 lbs avoirdupois, 250 kg)
1 centner = 2 tlt = 8 stn = 100 co lb = 200 mk (=112 lbs avoirdupois, 50 kg)
1 talent = 4 st = 50 co lb = 100 mks = 800 ozt (= 56 lbs avoirdupois, 25 kg)
1 stone = 25 mk = 200 ozt = 1000 pc* (= 224 oz avoirdupois, 6.25 kg)
*pc stands for "pieces," a coin of standard weight.
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