A player wants a Large character...

One of my player likes more monstrous characters. Recently he downloaded a collection of Monster Races from DMs Guild. I am quite open to third party material, but this particular designer has given Large size to several of the races.

I am reluctant to go too far outside the design box of 5E (and its predecessor 4E to whose rules I revert for comfort's sake from time to time), in which no character race or class has the Large size.

What are the points for and against Large sized characters?

You'll have to make some dungeons larger than expected, which shouldn't be too hard but anything originally designed for Medium creatures, such as a doorway or outhouse, will be almost unusable for the Large PC.

The Large PC could make some encounters more fun, such as when the PCs try to peer over a wall to spy on the BBEG bathing at a hot spring.

A magic item (a ring perhaps) with the Enlarge/Reduce spell built into it (maybe just Reduce) could simplify having to plan for a Large character a lot.

Probably I just have a bad attitude, but I would be concerned about the potential for attempts at gaining mechanical advantages on sort of an ad hoc basis, as in, "But my character is large, so I should be able to blah, blah, blah." That would be ok if there were disadvantages that more or less balanced things out, but unless the player is particularly fair-minded, such disadvantages would have to be DM-imposed, which can be a drag.

Keep in mind that weapons for large creatures deal twice as much damage as those for regular characters. If that giant PC gets a large greatsword, then it deals 4d6+5 damage instead of 2d6+5. It's like getting most of the benefit from Power Attack, but without any cost or trade-off. (And they can still take that feat, if you allow feats in your game.)

The down side to being large is that you can't fit through small tunnels, or hide behind many obstacles; and they may not be accepted in many towns. If you aren't going to make the player sit out of the game, while everyone else goes through a small door - or stay outside of town, while everyone else goes in - then there's no real down side at all.

Harzel said:

Probably I just have a bad attitude, but I would be concerned about the potential for attempts at gaining mechanical advantages on sort of an ad hoc basis, as in, "But my character is large, so I should be able to blah, blah, blah." That would be ok if there were disadvantages that more or less balanced things out, but unless the player is particularly fair-minded, such disadvantages would have to be DM-imposed, which can be a drag.

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Generally, there are some disadvantages to being large.

1) Armor costs more because it takes more material and more time to make it.

2) Large characters are likely to be seen as bigger threats because of their size (regardless of whether they're more dangerous than their smaller party-mates); being focus-fired upon is something large characters should expect, and they don't necessarily get more Hit Points just for being large.

3) Related to point #2, large characters have more spaces adjacent to them, meaning more foes can engage them in melee combat. Which is a real possibility when the PCs' enemies think taking out the party's large member will even the odds.

4) Large creatures will receive less benefit than medium sized creatures from taking cover behind the same obstacles. A medium character protected by a low wall might have half cover, but a large character likely has little to no cover from it.

5) Large characters will need to squeeze or crawl through certain areas meant for medium characters, and that carries its own penalties.

6) Large characters are heavier and risk falling through things that can support the weight of a medium character.

A large character:

- Will be sleeping in the stables, not the inn.

- Will not be joining the rest of the party in most places in town. Going to the abbey to meet the abbot? Probably not. Visiting the sheriff in the guard building? Nope. Visiting the merchant guild leader so she can pay the characters? Nope. The player just has to sit there being bored.

- Will probably not be joining the rest of the party having a quiet drink. Even if they can get in the door, they will be smacking their head on light fittings, getting cramp for tiny chairs and tables, and getting frustrated eating and drinking from tiny plates and mugs.

- Will pay a lot more for all their clothing and gear. Fitting them with armour doesn't just involve bigger armour, it might also involve ladders or trestles to measure and fit the pieces. If I were the GM, I'd say at least 10× the price from medium-sized crafters (i.e. almost everyone they will be dealing with).

- Will have to put up with endless requests by the rest of the party to carry their stuff.

In terms of combat, we've had large PCs since the start of 5E. Moon druid brown bears are a fact of life.

In terms of non-combat, it is all role playing fodder - any problems are storytelling gold.

Is he compensating for something? (And I say "he" advisedly...)

The big thing is if they get yto use NP large weapons. A large greatsword for example is 4d6 damage a large greataxe is 2d12.

PC races in Volos guide do not get all the abilities of the monster thye are based on so I think an PC large critter doesn't get to use them either.

Other large critters should only be able to use M size weapons if they have a human or near human torso. Things like Centaurs count.

The question is do you want to change your style to such a pc. I learned the hard way back in 2nd ed. Darksun that large pcs dont work well. At the end of 3rd edition I did a planescape campaign where one of my players ran a ogremage, but I was ready for it this time.