Space/Reach question

[Dimwhit]

My Druid is shaped into a Large Earth Elemental. 10x10 with a 5' reach. But Large Earth Elementals are 16' tall. Could I hit something 20' off the ground? In essence, that would make my space 10x10x15 tall. Is there something in the books about this? I know what my logic would tell me, but some DMs don't care about logic. Especially since D&D breaks logic with their rules all the time.

 

[Felnar]

My Druid is shaped into a Large Earth Elemental. 10x10 with a 5' reach.

large earth elementals have 10' reach

 

[Corsair]

The rules don't handle 3D combat well.

 

[delericho]

For simplicity, I rule that all sizes are actually cubes, rather than squares. That way, it's really clear what you can and can't hit. However, there's nothing actually in the rules to support that assertion.

 

[Dimwhit]

For simplicity, I rule that all sizes are actually cubes, rather than squares. That way, it's really clear what you can and can't hit. However, there's nothing actually in the rules to support that assertion.

That's always been our default. But when you have a 10' cube creature that's actually 16' tall, it just doesn't make sense.

 

[werk]

That's always been our default. But when you have a 10' cube creature that's actually 16' tall, it just doesn't make sense.

If Chewbacca lived on Endor then my client is innocent...



As stated previously, the game doesn't handle 3-d very well, it's based on squares rather than cubes. You have to make some allowances to make it work, most notably, discrepancies between space and height. You have to hand-wave height in order for space to work, especially do to variability in height stats. Cubes aren't accurate, but they work.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

But when you have a 10' cube creature that's actually 16' tall, it just doesn't make sense.

Why not?

I've got a 6'3" tall character that only takes up a 5' cube ...

 

[Dimwhit]

Why not?

I've got a 6'3" tall character that only takes up a 5' cube ...

Because that's only an extra foot. When we're talking about 5' increments for creature size, and the creature is a full 5' taller than his spacing, it's more than reasonable to assume he occupies that extra 5' space where, you know, his chest, arms, and head are. It's much different that a 6' tall human.

In this case, it's moot, because I'm a moron and hadn't been playing the elemental with a 10' reach, which he has. Thanks to Felnar for that bit of stupidity on my part.

 

[hafrogman]

Technically, vertical reach is covered under the jump rules. But in the end you're probably not going to like it much, since it provides a single number for all creatures of the same size catagory.

 

[frankthedm]

Technically, vertical reach is covered under the jump rules. But in the end you're probably not going to like it much, since it provides a single number for all creatures of the same size catagory.

The vertical reaches are reasonable, the elementals tend to be far too tall across the board. Having its height also be its vertical reach is quite reasonable if the DM decides that the MM height represents the elemental taking a 10 at the base, 16' high stalagmite shape.

The maximum vertical reach (height the creature can reach without jumping) for an average creature of a given size is shown on the table below. (As a Medium creature, a typical human can reach 8 feet without jumping.) Quadrupedal creatures don’t have the same vertical reach as a bipedal creature; treat them as being one size category smaller.

Creature Size Vertical Reach
Colossal 128 ft.
Gargantuan 64 ft.
Huge 32 ft.
Large 16 ft.
Medium 8 ft.
Small 4 ft.
Tiny 2 ft.
Diminutive 1 ft.
Fine 1/2 ft.