A Large Creature in DnD 5e isn’t as uncommon of a sight as many people think.
The world of Dungeons and Dragons is full of creatures of different shapes and sizes. Some friendly – others not so much. Today we will focus on a very specific bunch of those creatures. Specifically, large creatures.
We’ll be learning more about large creatures, their size, and some examples of large creatures.
Let’s get right into it.
Table of Contents
What Determines a Large Creature in DnD 5e?
Creature size is very important in DnD 5e. It determines a lot of factors regarding its stats and capabilities. Here’s a basic rundown of what is affected.
First of all, creatures are divided by size. These sizes are: Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge, Gargantuan.
Each obviously varies in size. Starting from 2 and a half feet by 2 and a half feet for Tiny creatures – up to 20 by 20 feet for Gargantuan creatures, or even larger in some cases.
Finally, this size represents a certain amount of squares on the battle map.
Tiny creatures take up a quarter of a square, Small and Medium creatures both take up 1 square, Large creatures take up 4 squares, Huge creatures take up 9 squares and Gargantuan creatures take up 16 squares.
So to answer the main question of this article. A large creature takes up 4 squares on the battle map.
What Your Size Determines in DnD 5e
As we said earlier, size determines certain factors in DnD 5e. Mainly tied to stats and capabilities. So let’s take a look at that.
For starters, your size determines how many Hit Dice you get to roll. We talked about Hit Dice in a previous article, so go check that one out to know more about them.
Now, how does your size correlate to your hit dice? Well, this is how.
Each creature gets a certain amount and type of hit dice to roll, depending on their size category. This has to deal with the creating a creature mechanic in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. And the amount of hit dice you get is the following.
Tiny creatures roll a meager d4, Small creatures roll a d6, Medium creatures roll a d8, Large creatures roll a d10, Huge creatures roll a d12, and Gargantuan creatures roll d20s. The amount of hit dice is usually determined by level.
Another thing that is determined by your size is your Carrying Capacity and your ability to Push, Drag, and Lift objects.
Naturally, larger creatures have higher strength. And the specific math for this calculation is your strength score x 15 for your carry capacity. And your strength score x 30 for your pushing, dragging and lifting capabilities.
One more factor that your size determines is the damage you can do. Specifically, how many damage dice you get in a roll. Large creatures get double the dice, Huge creatures get triple the dice, and Gargantuan creatures get quadruple times the dice.
There are a few more things that we can talk about size. But we’ll leave that for another article. Let’s now instead list some large creatures.
Examples for These Kinds of Creatures
- Wolly Rhinoceros’
- An Accolade
- Acid Toads
- Airdrakes
- Air Elementals
- Axe Beaks
- Bone Devils
- Brown Bears
- Camels
- Centaurs
- Chimeras
- Clay Golems
- Constrictor Snake
- Dire Wolves
- Elks
- Gelatinous Cube
- “Giant” versions of smaller animals
- Gorgons
- Griffons
- Hippogryphs
- Manticores
- Lions
- Minotaurs
- Ogres
- Owlbears
- Pegasi
- Salamanders
- Trolls
- Young Dragons
Closing Remarks and Summary
To summarize what we’ve talked up to this point.
Size is an important characteristic to consider when creating a creature. It determines multiple factors, of which hit dice, carrying capacity, and damage dice are just a few to name.
Other than that, a creature’s size also determines how much space it will take up on the battle map. Obviously, the larger the creature – the more size it will take up on the battle map.
And that basically covers large creatures and what size determines. There are a lot of things that I chose to omit because I believed they will be more fitting for another article. Specifically what size can mean for you from a storytelling aspect, and how a Dungeon Master should calculate that into the whole story.
