One of the most frequent things that adventurers forget about is scale - the difference in size between them and some of their opponents. Let’s face it, no sane medium-sized creature will ever willfully seek out and attack a creature that’s huge or larger except under very specific circumstances. In addition, chances are we’d flee from a huge creature as quickly as we could.
Take a look at the two pictures I took of some of the D&D Miniatures that I have that illustrates what I’m talking about perfectly.
(click thumbnails to enlarge)
From left to right we have:
- gargantuan black dragon
- huge aspect of bahamut
- large ogre skirmisher
- medium cleric of laogzed
- small dragonwrought kobold
- tiny quasit
I don’t have the colossal red dragon yet, but I will soon.
The largest animals that a human would semi-regularly encounter on Earth are elephants. Some whales can get to gargantuan size, but we rarely encounter these beasts, so I’m going to exclude them from the conversation. Even with elephants being gigantic, they’re far from aggressive and don’t prey on humans - they’re herbivores.
Some Real Threats
Let’s shift our focus to some animals that used to live on the earth that could get that size - dinosaurs. The classic super scary dino is of course the T-Rex, and that’s only listed as a huge creature. When we think to Jurassic Park, the humans in the movie didn’t even dream of fighting the thing - their entire interaction with the T-Rex if fleeing from it (and in some cases, getting eaten by it). And despite all this, humans weren’t even around when the dinosaurs were - so we never had to deal with them (thankfully).
I ask this in all seriousness - who in their right mind would ever try to attack a T-Rex in melee combat?
Bigger (usually) Equals Scarier
Adventurers in D&D are heroes. They’re not bound to the usual expectations of fear and discouragement. How much fun would it really be if you’re expected to flee every time something larger than you showed up? Yet, the rules clearly imply that we should be more afraid when we face larger creatures (even beyond role playing).
Take a look at the intimidate skill.
Special
You gain a +4 bonus on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are larger than your target. Conversely, you take a -4 penalty on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are smaller than your target.
One thing my gaming group can confirm is that I used to say “intimidate should have a size modifier”. If you look at intimidate from the 3.0 rules, you’ll see that they don’t take size into account at all - despite common sense implying the contrary. The formula is simple: the bigger something is than you, the scarier it is. Of course, other factors can mitigate this fear - such as your confidence in your abilities or your general knowledge of the target you’re up against.
I personally think it’s important to keep height and size in mind when you’re playing - both as a DM and as a PC. Voicing concerns and even fears is something that can greatly enhance a role playing experience. There’s no reason that someone should always be willing to fight to the death or rush headlong into impossible odds. To do otherwise, isn’t good role playing.
Where To Draw The Line
I’ve never played the D&D Miniatures game. Not sure if I ever will. I never played Warhammer and have no desire to paint my own models. I have, however, spent countless dollars buying minis. Not only do they look cool and I enjoy seeing so many classic D&D monsters in a 3D form, but they can add a new dimension to your encounters. I think it makes it easier to properly role play encounters and always reminds me of what it is that I’m up against.
I certainly don’t recommend everyone spend as much money on miniatures as I have. I do suggest, however, that people try to find some sort of sized-based model to use if possible. Many gaming shops have unfinished models that you can paint to your liking for very little money. If you’re like me, however, you may want to hit up eBay and pick up one of the lots of common minis.
All-in-all, there’s a lot of options, but if you’re still drawing your initials on a map scribbled on graph paper, you’re missing out on a more in depth experience.