Are Small creatures at a disadvantage in battle?

[Dirigible]

It's been a fair while since I've actually engaged played much D&D (my attentions having been drawn by the spandex-clad temptations of Mutants and Masterminds), so I ask this question in all seriousness.

Are Small-sized characters significantly or noticeably worse off in combat (ranaged, melee and other) than Medium-sized ones? Do the smaller damage dice seriously affect their output of carnage (especially with the fact that a lot of Small races, including halflings, get a Str penalty)? Does the size AC and to hit bonus help even things up at all? If they are worse off, does the balance get restored at higher levels?

 

[Sejs]

Not what you want to hear, but.. depends on the battle.

On the whole the net adjustments for most small creatures comes out to be:

+1 AC, +2 if they're a race with a dex bonus.
-2 to damage due to smaller weapons, and the usual strength penalty.
No adjustment to hit; the size adjustment is negated by the str penalty.
Slower land speed.


That's it in a nutshell. Certain things can compensate for those shortcomings. Medium-sized mounts (dogs, etc) take care of the land speed issue. Ranged weapons, particularly crossbows, take care of some of the accuracy problems. Weapon Finesse could as well, but that requires lighter weapons again and costs a feat.

It's all in how you cut it. A halfling in full plate with a battle axe and a shield isn't playing to his strengths and is thus at a disadvantage over a larger creature. Compare to, say, a goblin archer scout mounted on a worg? Completely different story.

 

[Dirigible]

That makes sense.

What sort of feats or other character options are around that improve the combat abilities of the wee'uns?

 

[Jdvn1]

There are spells, classes, and feats to improve speed. Also, Small creatures tend to suck at grappling, so Escape Artist comes in handy.

 

[Arkhandus]

The Shadow Blade feat from Book of Nine Swords is handy. It applies Dexterity bonus to damage, and the only prerequisite IIRC is knowledge of one Shadow Hand stance. Generally that means taking 1 level in a martial adept class (crusader, swordsage, warblade) or taking the Martial Study feat and then the Martial Stance feat (the former is a prerequisite for the latter). Other Shadow Hand-related feats from that book can also help some. Similarly, I think the Desert Wind-related feats help boost damage output, AC, and I think movement speed (don't have the book myself, and I'm not borrowing a copy at present). Really, 1 level of Swordsage alone would be great for a wee'un. Some maneuvers from the Setting Sun discipline also help small folks deal with larger folks in a fight.

 

[frankthedm]

On the whole the net adjustments for most small creatures comes out to be:

+1 AC, +2 if they're a race with a dex bonus.
-2 to damage due to smaller weapons, and the usual strength penalty.
No adjustment to hit; the size adjustment is negated by the str penalty.
Slower land speed.


That's it in a nutshell.

You forgot
+4 to hide
-4 to open doors
- 4 in grapple from size.
smaller carry capacity
almost guaranteed to have to resell lots of stuff for your size.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

The same size penalty that applies to Grapple (-4) also applies to a lot of tactical options -- Bull Rush, Disarm, Sunder, Overrun, and Trip.

 

[Dirigible]

Hmm, that's true. Seems like the worst part of being a small melee fighter is that all the cool actions are prohibitively penalised.

 

[frankthedm]

Hmm, that's true. Seems like the worst part of being a small melee fighter is that all the cool actions are prohibitively penalised.

Realistically penalized. A small creature should have a bitch of a time knocking over or shoving around a significantly larger one.

 

[pawsplay]

The worst part about the grappling penalty is that there are also a lot more things out there that can swallow you whole.

It can be a real pain finding a holy avenger in your size.

Spelunking discussions always devolve to, "Well, can we fit Shorty through the hole?"