Reach

[corwyn]

How do we determine reach for, say, giants using giant-sized weapons? A size +3 giant with a club is reach 1-4, size +4 is reach 1-6. Is there a formula? We're about to fight =3 giants with halberds.

[Kallatari]

I'm not aware of any formal rules for this, but the simplest quick method is to find the Reach of the weapon for a human on the Size and Speed/Range Table (SSRT) and then move up (or down) a number of steps on the table equal to the SM of the wielder.

So, if a broadsword has Reach 1, which means 1 yard, looking up 1 yard in the SSRT gives the equivalent of SM -2. So an ogre (SM+1) with a broadsword would have a Reach of (SM -2 +1 = SM-1, which gives) 1.5 yards, a hill giant (SM +2) with a broadsword would have a Reach of (SM -2 + 2 = SM 0, which gives) 2 yards, and a mountain giant (SM +4) would have a Reach of (SM -2 + 4 = SM +2, which gives) 5 yards. A halfling (SM -1) with a halfling-sized broadsword would have a Reach of (SM -2 - 1 = SM -3, which gives) 2 feet.

This quick method does not account for the nuances of some weapons being slightly longer or slightly shorter than 1 yard, as for granularity purposes of human-scale combat they're all classified as Reach 1. (As your options are limited to C, 1, 2, 3.) So feel free to increase or decrease Reach slightly. For example, you might want to assume a shortsword is only 0.75 yards instead of 1 yard (despite having Reach 1), and thus that SM +4 mountain giant with a short sword would be at 0.75 x 5 yards = 3.75 yards with a giant-sized shortsword, compared to its 5-yard broadsword. There's nothing here to help you decide what is longer or shorter, so you'll either have to ignore this nuance, or just go with your gut.

You'll also probably end up with fractions at some point (e.g., Reach of 1.5 yards for an ogre-sized broadsword, or the halfling-sized broadsword with a reach of 2 feet). You'll have to decide how to round those.


All of this assumes that giant-sized (or smaller-sized) weapons keep the same proportions as for a human wielder. There are technically some realistic physics issues here, but not more so than having giants in the first place. It's best to just assume they're proportional and go with it.

[Kallatari]

I just realized I assumed in my previous post you were talking about proportionately sized weapons for a giant.

If you were talking about a giant wielding a human-sized halberd, then just find out the Reach of their unarmed attack. that becomes their "0" Reach (what a human would count as "C"), then just add the flat Reach of the human halberd to that reach.

So if your giant has an unarmed Reach of, let's say 2 yards, a halberd is Reach 2, 3*, therefore that same giant wielding the halberd would have a Reach of (2 + 2 = 4, and 3 + 2 = 5) 4, 5*.

Note that eventually a giant will be of a size that they can't wield a human-sized halberd with two hands... might be best for them to use it as a funny one-handed axe/mace instead.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by corwyn

How do we determine reach for, say, giants using giant-sized weapons? A size +3 giant with a club is reach 1-4, size +4 is reach 1-6. Is there a formula? We're about to fight =3 giants with halberds.

First check Basic Set, p. 402. That's got reach vs size modifier.

I believe giant weapons and weapons for Giants is in Low-Tech Companion 2.

[Anders]

I would normally agree with Doug, but DFRPG is not GURPS. While the answer would probably come close to whatever the DFRPG game comes up with, referencing another game is bad practice.

[Anthony]

The rule on B402 is basically 'add height/3 to reach, rounding down', but that's for normal size weapons. For giant size weapons wielded by giants, just multiply reach (and static damage bonuses) by relative scale; to determine minimum range, count it as being the smallest value that is larger than one reach less. Thus, for SM +3 (7 yards, or about 3.5x) you wind up with range 1-4 for a club, and for a halberd you'll wind up with a minimum reach of 5 (1 more than max for a reach 1 weapon) and a maximum reach of 11 (dueling halberds will result in reach 1-7).

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by Anders

I would normally agree with Doug, but DFRPG is not GURPS. While the answer would probably come close to whatever the DFRPG game comes up with, referencing another game is bad practice.

It's common practice, even for the current author set, when the published DFRPG rules are silent on something ... and I think they are silent on this. The only thing you'd want to tack on at the end would be "avoid needless complexity, round to the nearest awesome, and don't forget to loot bodies."

[adm]

Boxed Set Monsters Book, Page 8, Boxed text.

Size Modifier and Reach

Monsters with SM greater than 0 typically have longer reach. This is given in all relevant monster write-ups. Measure the full reach of limbs, tails, stingers, etc. from the counter’s edge. Bites can only attack foes in the head hex or an adjacent hex, and effectively have reach C, 1.