Microscopic Monsters

[the Jester]

Don't ask, but this is a real question I need to address.

Is there a size category below Fine? Can Fine creatures take a 5' step?

More to the point: can a creature that is super tiny- microscopic, in fact- take a 5' step by the RAW?

I know it sounds bizarre, but it's a question I need to answer for an upcoming potential... issue.

 

[Infiniti2000]

As you guess, there's no creature size below Fine nor above Colossal. If you want to make a category, then go ahead. The bonuses/penalties seem to be relatively well defined, so you should be able to make one. As far as microscopic goes, however, I think that's pushing it.

There's no limit to 5ft-step except for the speed. A creature with a speed of 5ft or less cannot take a 5ft-step. So, if you give a microscopic creature (by your own rule for the size category) a speed of 5ft or less, it cannot take a 5ft-step. I'd suggest giving it a speed of maybe 1ft.

 

[dcollins]

Is there a size category below Fine? Can Fine creatures take a 5' step?

Not in the core rules. d20-based Mutants & Masterminds invented a smaller size category called "Infinitesimal", which happens to be assigned an effective speed of 0.

Another core-rules example would be "cerebral parasites". In AD&D these were flea-sized psionic monsters. In current D&D Psionics Handbook they are re-assigned as a psionic disease. That's how I'd handle it: at best count as a disease, no effective movement.

 

[glass]

I believe Upper_Krust's Immortals' Handbook (should it ever arrive) has a system of applying SI prefixes to the D&D size categories.

So, a very small creature might be Micro-medium, while a large one might be Mega-gargantuan (Mega-fine). There is usually a thread about it in House Rules, it might be worth asking there.


glass.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I believe Upper_Krust's Immortals' Handbook (should it ever arrive) has a system of applying SI prefixes to the D&D size categories.

So, a very small creature might be Micro-medium, while a large one might be Mega-gargantuan (Mega-fine). There is usually a thread about it in House Rules, it might be worth asking there.

His rules actually mention this possibility, but dismiss it immediately -- he says the rules as-is wouldn't scale well to such sizes.

Making such creatures diseases ro hazards seems best to me.

 

[the Jester]

Hmmm...

Okay, let's look at it another way.

What if the creature had been shrunk from, say, Medium size?

I guess at this point, regardless of the RAW, I'm looking for reasonable interpretations... a reduce person on a human doesn't reduce its speed, does it? Would a 'super-mega-reduction' type spell? How to adjudicate such an issue??

 

[Len]

I guess at this point, regardless of the RAW, I'm looking for reasonable interpretations... a reduce person on a human doesn't reduce its speed, does it? Would a 'super-mega-reduction' type spell?

Yes, of course it would. How could a human run 10000 times his height in one round?

How you interpret this depends on the context. What is happening here?

If a creature is shrunk to microscopic size, it will essentially disappear from view. Whether or not it can still cast magic missile at the PCs is up to the DM.

If you have a whole herd of microscopic creatures, treat them as a disease or a hazard, as CRG said. If they're bigger than microscopic, make them a swarm.

If it's the PCs themselves who get shrunk, then they'll find themselves in a very different environment. Ordinary-size objects will become landscapes, and they will be fighting bacteria, mites and whatnot. And trying to avoid being stepped on by goblins.

 

[Rhun]

If it's the PCs themselves who get shrunk, then they'll find themselves in a very different environment. Ordinary-size objects will become landscapes, and they will be fighting bacteria, mites and whatnot. And trying to avoid being stepped on by goblins.

Actually, I seem to recall an old 1E adventure in a Dungeon Magazine where this very thing happend. The characters had to find ways to get down off of a table, had to fight insects and avoid getting crushed by goblins...I'll have to see if I can find the issue when I get home tonight.

 

[blargney the second]

I'm currently running the Chadranther's Bane adventure from an ancient Dungeon mag. In it, the PCs are shrunk to 1/50th their usual size.

I just bumped everything else UP six size categories and a few HD. Works like a charm! I've made some ad hoc rules for adjudicating it on the fly, and the adventure's been great so far.

-blarg

EDIT: With respect to movement speeds, I've kept their movement rate proportional to their size.