How big is big?

CrimsonWineGlass said:
... but I can see where a 16 foot long piece of razor sharp adamantium might just cause problems in a tavern.

Adamantine...

Krafen said:
Goliath with Monkey Grip maybe?

Doesn't work. The Goliath's Powerful Build lets him wield weapons designed for a creature one size larger than he is (Large) without penalty. Monkey Grip lets him wield weapons designed for a creature one size larger than he is (Large) without increasing their designation (light, one-handed, two-handed) at a -2 penalty. Neither ability would affect a Huge weapon - a weapon designed for a creature two sizes larger than he is.

Although one question that hasn't been asked - is the OP playing 3E or 3.5? In 3.5, a Huge greatsword is a greatsword designed for use by a Huge creature (like a Cloud Giant). In 3E, a Huge greatsword is a greatsword designed for use by a Large creature (like an Ogre).

If they're playing 3E, the Huge greatsword could conceivably be only 8 or 9 feet long, rather than the 16 feet of 3.5 (which should be completely unwieldable by a Medium creature, pre-Epic...).

-Hyp.
 

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What we are dealing with is an ogre with monkey grip wearing leather armor, 34 strength. The campaign is based in a plains area, I shouldn't have any trouble swinging it. And my character can wield it. We aren't dealing with a halfling wizard, I made sure I kept to the rules. Thanks for the responses though.
 

CrimsonWineGlass said:
What we are dealing with is an ogre with monkey grip wearing leather armor, 34 strength.

Right - that works just fine.

It was the assumption of a Medium PC that was causing the concern :)

-Hyp.
 

CrimsonWineGlass said:
Recently, my DM and I got into an argument. I was playing a barbarian who used a huge sized greatsword and he stated that the greatsword was too large to fit into the tavern I wanted to enter. I didn't think it would be that big. This brings me to my question.

Just out of curiosity, how large is your character? I'm presuming he is large-sized with monkey grip because otherwise I can't see how it would be possible for him to wield such a weapon.

To more appropropriately answer your question, the greatsword picture in the 3.5 PH shows the Greatsword to have dimensions of about 2.5 to 3 inches wide at the blade and about 1 foot wide at the cross guard. The sword is about 6 feet long however. Using a generalized extrapolation that huge creatures are roughly 3 times as tall as medium creatures and their weapons are proportional, a huge greatsword would be about 8 to 9 inches wide, 3 feet wide at the cross guard, and 18 feet long. This last dimension is probably the dimension your DM is using to reason why the sword would not fit. You could probably bring it in lengthwise, but you'd be hard-pressed to swing it, so why bother? It would be pretty cumbersome to carry around period, much less manuever within confined quarters.
 

airwalkrr said:
Just out of curiosity, how large is your character? I'm presuming he is large-sized with monkey grip because otherwise I can't see how it would be possible for him to wield such a weapon.

An ogre - see CrimsonWineGlass's most recent post.

-Hyp.
 


A couple of things that may be prudent to remember are that size categories include a range of different sized creatures and items. Remember that a 5ft elf is considered to be medium sized in the same way that a 7ft half orc would be. Surely we can all agree that to the elf a 'medium' sized great sword might be shorter than a 'medium' sized great sword for the half orc.
Fans of history and avid patrons of musea and reenactments will know that the blade of a great sword is often less long than that of a bastard sword, the additional hand grip above the hilt accounting for the extra length of the weapon. D&D does not actively provide for the reason behind this feature on the weapon, but this is where the flair of role play comes into its own. (Rather than an overhand swing, your character might flip the sword horizontally, grab the upper grip, and stab the charging orc)
To that end, if your character is on the top end of the 'large' size category, and the huge great sword is at the lower end of the 'huge' size category, the weapon need not be inappropriately sized to take with you into a tavern with respect to your own considerable size. Of course, allowing an Ogre into a medium-sized tavern poses problems of its own, as some of my peers have mentioned. Moreover, it would not be unusual for a proprietor to insist on weapons being left at the door. (There is good fun to be had roleplaying with the coat check girl when she asks you to part with your +2 flaming dwarven ugrosh!)

Also note that great sword designs, including their length, may vary based on who created the weapon. A dwarven great sword might be more stout and wide than its elven counterpart.

I would suggest you make a decision in-tune with the campaign of which you are a part. If the weapon is going to be a recurring problem, sell it, tell stories of it, perhaps even emulate it by having a slightly smaller (one size category) copy made, and use that instead. The people around the table will respect you a lot more if you don't insist on carrying around an item blatantly obvious meant to overcompensate for other shortcomings. (your ogre's poor charisma score perhaps, or poor dental hygiene)

One of my characters faced this same problem once. It was overcome by role play and compromise, not a desperate grab at rules which do not readily exist (though illustrations exist, no specific rules are in place governing the length of a great sword).

D&D is about having fun, I suggest you do just that.
 

What we are dealing with is an ogre with monkey grip wearing leather armor, 34 strength. The campaign is based in a plains area, I shouldn't have any trouble swinging it. And my character can wield it. We aren't dealing with a halfling wizard, I made sure I kept to the rules. Thanks for the responses though.

It sounds like your DM is already more generous than I would be.

A) Why in the world would a human town allow an armed ogre to just walk around town?

B) How exactly would said ogre fit in the bar in the first place? You should have to crawl in on your hands and knees and sit without a chair at the table.

C) There is absolutely no way an 18' long sword could fit any any but the most massive of buildings. Buy yourself an 18' pole and go to your local watering hole, bet you can't fit the whole thing in there and you certainly can't without causing all sorts of chaos.
 


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