Newbie encumbrance
 

I made an Erudite Paladin (ridiculous I know, though I can tolerate an inferior character just to be different) who is presently level 11 and more or less constantly encumbered despite carrying very little save his equipment, bandages, and arrows. Could anyone suggest some strength items or perhaps even weight reducing containers that could be readily acquired by a character between levels 10-15 or so?

Quickest and cheapest way would be to spring for a few large sewing kits instead of back packs if you haven't already. They don't have any weight reduction, however, they are 0.4 vs 3.0 for a standard pack and as a slight bonus hold giant items instead of large and are still 8 slot.

4 of those vs 4 backpacks saves you over 10 right there and only cost 1 or 2p each if I remember correctly.

Not much else springs to mind that can be camped at that level other than getting in a HighPass orc group and maybe getting a shralok pack.

Right, thank you for the tips.

Exactly what Arrisard said!

Or if you prefer the purchasing approach, you could make the long trip to Crushbone and sell CB belts for a bit of plat. Eventually, that should lead you to Unrest which has drops like a strength ring, some very good strength/dex boots, and a lot of other stuff that a weakling Pally can make some plat off of. =P

most of the basic stat Jewel crafted rings/ears can be acquired on the cheap. maybe even wrists/neck/face

It may take you a while to save the $$ for this, but it's one of the only redeeming factors in making an Erudite Paladin (other than for uniqueness and that they look kinda cool):

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=1140

Oh wow, I'll definitely keep an eye out for that one (when I've got some coins, that is to say).

It's usually pretty cheap (relatively) because there aren't too many Erudite Pallies running around...Probably 1-3k (The spread is so wide because they usually aren't on market), possibly less from a motivated seller.

You might also take a look at the equipment you are already wearing. Some tank twinks like to use bronze armor, which is quite heavy. A complete suit of medium-size bronze armor weighs in at 79.3 stones! If you were wearing even a few pieces of bronze, I could understand why your wimpy girlie-man body is having problems with encumbrance, but don't worry .. Don't hesitate to ask group mates for STR buffs =)

There are some decent, cheap Weight Reducing (WR) bags out there. Shralok Bags routinesly (25% WR 8-slot) sell for 250pp in EC.