Huge Player Characters (5e Variant Rule)
Huge Player Characters[edit]
The races presented in the Player's Handbook are all Small or Medium sized, and the weapons and combat rules presented therein are designed around those sizes. Until official Huge-sized player races come out, the following rules can be used to better represent them in combat.
Weapons[edit]
Huge-sized creatures can use Huge-sized weapons (DMG p. 278). This significantly increases damage output, and might be considered disruptively overpowered for a player character. When using Medium-sized weapons, use the following rules for weapon properties:
- Huge creatures can't wield Hidden, Light, or Undersized weapons.
- Huge creatures struggle with weapons that aren't heavy, and have disadvantage on attack rolls with them.
- All melee weapons are treated as light weapons for the purpose of qualifying for two weapon fighting.
- Weapons with the "versatile" trait deal the damage given in parenthesis even if wielded in only one hand.
- Two-handed melee weapons can be wielded in one hand.
- Huge creatures add 5 feet to the reach of any melee attack.
Hybrid Huge Creatures[edit]
If your Huge PC race has a regular Large-sized humanoid upper torso, it might be worth explicitly stating that the race treats weapons as though it were a Large creature.
Optional Rule: Oversized Weapons[edit]
- Consider using the homebrew Oversized weapons variant rule.
- Two-handed melee weapons can be wielded in one hand even if they are oversized.
- Weapons sized for Huge creatures are large even by the standards of Large creatures and are double oversized (a greatsword sized for a huge giant deals 2d10 damage).
Optional Rule: Unarmed Strikes[edit]
- A Huge creature's unarmed strike might deal 1d6 bludgeoning damage (instead of 1).
Optional Rule: Unwieldy Weapons[edit]
Huge creatures are big enough to ignore the unwieldy variant rule unless a weapon is both unwieldy and oversized.
Carrying Capacity[edit]
Huge creatures have quadruple the carrying capacity.
Consumables[edit]
Huge creatures require sixteen times as much food and water per day.
Cover[edit]
It should be harder for a Huge creature to find cover (PHB p. 196). The DM will adjudicate this, but roughly speaking where a Medium creature would find total cover, a Huge creature might only receive half cover; where a Medium creature finds three-quarters or half cover, a Huge creature might find none.
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