Monster Size

One occasionally mentioned aspect of monsters is their size. Technically, all creatures have a size in TOMAGOMB. It is not often referenced, but the sizes are as follows:


 * Tiny
 * Small
 * Normal/Medium/Average
 * Big
 * Massive

Most bonuses and penalties that can accrue from sizes are derived in context of one thing's size to another's. For instance, halflings, gnomes and bedkips are small size. An opponent of Average size would get a +4 bonus in opposed grapple checks against them, a Big creature would have +8 and a Massive creature +12. If a Massive creature were grappling a Big creature, though, it would only get a +4 bonus in the faceoff.

One of the only other direct game effects of size is the difficulty to use Stealth. Creatures of small size often have a bonus to Stealth, but not always (bear in mind that high Dexterity counts as a minor bonus since it is the governing stat of Stealth). A creature's racial description takes many factors into account when determining their abilities, so for the player and monster races you see presented these bonuses and penalties are usually accounted for.

Tiny creatures almost always have a Stealth bonus, generally on the order of 30% or more. Small creatures tend to have a 15% bonus (most player races that are small have already factored in a 10 to 15% stealth bonus in their description; if not, consider that the race does not value stealth). Average creatures by default get no bonus or penalty. Big creatures suffer a -1/5th skill penalty to Stealth, while Massive creatures suffer a -3/5ths skill penalty to Stealth (stealthy Massive creatures are rare and terrifying). Since no player races are Tiny, Big or Massive, this is not a big consideration for players. As a DM, you won't normally choose for your Big or Massive creatures to be stealthy, so it is usually left out of the entry.

When a creature changes size larger or smaller, though, certain game effects take place. Once again, it is a question of how many size changes they go through to determine the overall effect. Changing one size larger gives +2 Str, -2 Dex and has bonuses and penalties as noted above. Changing 2 sizes larger grants an overall +6 Str, -4 Dex. Changing 3 sizes larger gives a total +12 Str, -6 Dex, and finally changing 4 sizes larger (from Tiny to Massive) grants +20 Str, -8 Dex. These changes can never bring a creature's Str or Dex below 1.

The same pattern applies in reverse. One size smaller grants -2 Str, +2 Dex. 2 sizes smaller grants -6 Str, +4 Dex. 3 sizes smaller grants -12 Str, +6 Dex, and 4 sizes smaller (from Massive to Tiny) gives -20 Str, +8 Dex. Again, these changes can never bring a creature's Str or Dex below 1.

If it becomes necessary to figure encumberance, assume that a Big creature can carry 4 times as much as an Average sized one, while a Massive creature can carry 16 times as much (or more by GM discretion). Small creatures carry about the same amount as Average ones (they often have a racial deficit to Str to illustrate the difference), while Tiny creatures can only carry 1/4th as much as an average sized creature (if they're lucky; the GM may advance this to 1/16th the amount or less depending on circumstances).

While the argument could be made that size changes could affect HP, this would lead to messy rules complications and unnecessary bookkeeping. For this reason, I have chosen to keep things simple. Rules could also be implemented that involved percentages or fractions for stat gain and loss, but I don't want more of those in the system than is needed.