Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana May 2018: Centaurs and Minotaurs

[Parmandur]

Personally, if auras was the only thing impacted by size, I would not hesitate to allow large characters.

Right, which is why Crawford said it wasn't the only reason, but one example of the multitude of consequences to Large PCs.

 

[Yaarel]

Agreed. The aura thing feels really nit-picky to me.

I consider myself fairly well-versed in both 5E and 3.5 rules. In 3.5, size had a big impact on stats, in addition to spacing on the grid. But in 5E, I'm struggling to find many numeric implications of size aside from carrying capacity, grappling, and shoving - all of which are fairly minor. Size dictates monster stats in some cases but that doesn't apply to PCs.

Am I missing something? It seems that size would be more for flavor than anything else with regards to PCs, and in the cases where it does have an impact, it seems like it would be fairly easy to "balance" when creating a PC race.

My sense of it too.

Can someone compile a list of the main difficulties that Large size causes in 5e?

I need to better understand what the problem seems to be.

 

[Yaarel]

Difficulties that Large size poses for player characters in D&D 5e. From most problematic to least.
• Increases area of an aura.
• Makes grappling less balanced.
• Incurs ‘squeezing’ in more areas in official adventures.
• Increases carrying capacity.
• Player characters can act as ‘mounts’.

... ?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

... ?

Significantly increased damage with weapon attacks.
. . .
Social issues in areas inhabited by 'normal sized' people.
Greater costs for equipment.

 

[Caliburn101]

Sorry, medium sized centaurs is laughably ridiculous.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I dont understand one thing: the centaur PC should be large because of its ''horse half'', right? Its not the human torso that would make it large, if I understang correctly. So, I think a good compromise would be to let the centaur occupy a ''Large'' space, but since the part that actually wields the weapons or grapple (I dont thing people would try to grapple or wield weapons with hooves), just specify in a specific trait that the centaur wield weapons and grapples as a medium creature. Problem solved.
So the Centaur would have larger blast/aura at the cost of having to squeeze in smaller places and being harder for him to take cover.

I'd let the extra equipment cost be a Dm fiat thing, like the druid's metal taboo.

For the minotaur, I'd give them a natural weapon that could deal the same as weapon+shield (since it doest require hands), so 1d8 should be plenty. Not as good as d10/d12 weapons, but lets you grapple while wielding horn and shield. I dont feel the necessity of having them large, but I'd give them the Long-Limbed trait from the Bugbear, to simulate the greater reach of a large creature, without having them actually large. They would carry as a large creature, attack on their turn as a large creature, without them being actually large.

 

[Parmandur]

Difficulties that Large size poses for player characters in D&D 5e. From most problematic to least.
• Increases area of an aura.
• Makes grappling less balanced.
• Incurs ‘squeezing’ in more areas in official adventures.
• Increases carrying capacity.
• Player characters can act as ‘mounts’.

... ?

Crawford mentioned in the video linked above that a number of spell effects that radiate out from the caster become geometrically different with a four square origin, and he used the Paladin Aura as an example.

He also used the example that a Large PC can block a wide corridor singlehandedly.

 

[Parmandur]

I dont understand one thing: the centaur PC should be large because of its ''horse half'', right? Its not the human torso that would make it large, if I understang correctly. So, I think a good compromise would be to let the centaur occupy a ''Large'' space, but since the part that actually wields the weapons or grapple (I dont thing people would try to grapple or wield weapons with hooves), just specify in a specific trait that the centaur wield weapons and grapples as a medium creature. Problem solved.
So the Centaur would have larger blast/aura at the cost of having to squeeze in smaller places and being harder for him to take cover.

I'd let the extra equipment cost be a Dm fiat thing, like the druid's metal taboo.

For the minotaur, I'd give them a natural weapon that could deal the same as weapon+shield (since it doest require hands), so 1d8 should be plenty. Not as good as d10/d12 weapons, but lets you grapple while wielding horn and shield. I dont feel the necessity of having them large, but I'd give them the Long-Limbed trait from the Bugbear, to simulate the greater reach of a large creature, without having them actually large. They would carry as a large creature, attack on their turn as a large creature, without them being actually large.

Ponies are Medium, and if a Medium mount is good enough for Ghengis Khan, it is good enough for a Centaur.

Seriously, anybody who objects to a Medium sized horse body, look up the Mongol horse breed: a Mongol horse fits well within the five foot square, and when combined with a Human torso would be eye to eye with the Goliath and Firbolg.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Ponies are Medium, and if a Medium mount is good enough for Ghengis Khan, it is good enough for a Centaur.

Seriously, anybody who objects to a Medium sized horse body, look up the Mongol horse breed: a Mongol horse fits well within the five foot square, and when combined with a Human torso would be eye to eye with the Goliath and Firbolg.

I agree with you. I dont understand why people want to argue that ''medium centaurs are ridiculous, they dont make sense'' when we play D&D. I mean, its not the first thing that would be farfetched in that game; medium dwarves, vancian magic, non-magic healing etc. We grown accustomed to them and after a time we can even argue that they make sense because X-Y-Z.

I feel that every time WotC comes up with a new thing its ''OMG, what are they thinking, that's stupid, broken, yada yada'' then, after a time, nobody really cares at their table. Last few months was Hexblade and Healing Spirit, before that it was the UA playtests (mainly Mystic and Lore Wizard). I remember when the all you would see on Reddit was Life cleric/Goodberries combo and how it utterly broke some games

I bet we'll have sooner or later medium Centaurs and Minotaurs, people will freak out and two months after people will forget.

 

[GlassJaw]

Significantly increased damage with weapon attacks.

Source? Do you mean because they can wield larger weapons? In the MM, the centaur has a pike, but there's nothing to imply it can use it one-handed. Am I missing something?