Post/Author/DateTime	Post
dengarbountyhunter 02-04-07, 03:02 PM	Okay, a battle grid is pretty neat: you get to see clearly what happens to each creature as if flying from above, in two dimensions. But what about that third one, the one that I would be glad if it was taken into account in the rulebooks? For example.... -How can a 6'2'' half-orc fit into a 5'x5'x5' box? Or is his space really 5x5x10? -What is the VERTICAL reach (not for Jump checks, for combat) of a Medium creature? -How do you know if that pegasus-riding paladin is within reach of the landbound goblins or not? And, most importantly, can he poke them with his lance? -Are a coiled Large size monstrous snake and an ogre of the same height for combat purposes? -And what do these rules become for underwater combat?!? I'm not really asking for answers to these particular questions, just for clarifications on the way the Third Dimension works in D&D.
Xeviat-DM 02-04-07, 03:07 PM	I've always made it simple; a character's vertical space is the same as their horrizontal space if they are a tall creature, or it is the same as a creature one size smaller if they are a long creature. Their vertical reach is the same as their regular reach. So a human's fighting space is 5' by 5' by 5', and their reach is 5' (which means they control a 15' cube on the battle field). Yes, there are issues: this doesn't make sense what so ever for small creatures, but it would be odd for them to have a different size and reach (it would be okay to limit their vertical reach like we do with long creatures). A horse would have a 10' by 10' by 5' space, and their reach is 5', so they'd control a 20' by 20' by 10' ft. cube. I'm not sure if this is supported, but this is how I've ran things.
mvincent 02-04-07, 03:42 PM	-How can a 6'2'' half-orc fit into a 5'x5'x5' box? Or is his space really 5x5x10?The space he occupies for combat purposes is 5'x5'x5', but in reality he doesn't fill that area, and he may also have some bits sticking out of that area. -What is the VERTICAL reach (not for Jump checks, for combat) of a Medium creature?Per the Vertical Reach table (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/jump.htm): 8'. But this is for jumping purposes and such. For attacking purposes just use the creature's standard area/reach (espically since D&D combat is considered to be somewhat abstracted). -How do you know if that pegasus-riding paladin is within reach of the landbound goblins or not? And, most importantly, can he poke them with his lance?Use the same method you use for ground combat, but envision the grid as being vertical rather than horizontal. A medium creature threatens adjacent squares (cubes) above it. A paladin on a pegasus is considered to occupy the mounts 10'x10'x10' area, and threatens 10' outside of that with a lance. The paladin can attack medium (or smaller) creatures on the ground if the pegasus is flying at an altitude of 10' or less. -Are a coiled Large size monstrous snake and an ogre of the same height for combat purposes? From the rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/jump.htm): "Quadrupedal creatures don’t have the same vertical reach as a bipedal creature; treat them as being one size category smaller. " Snakes fall into the same 'long' (rather than 'tall') category as quadrupeds. -And what do these rules become for underwater combat?Generally the same (the reach for jumping purposes mostly becomes moot though). I'm not really asking for answers to these particular questions, just for clarifications on the way the Third Dimension works in D&D.As mentioned: generally use the creature's standard area/reach (but on a different axis) for simplicity. Note that when flying (or swimming) you can often rotate yourself along any axis anyway.