How do you fight gargantuan creatures? (GM Advice)


Advice


Currently I am playing with beginner box, so when me and my group are done with this we are moving to Core Rules. So in the meantime I am buying all I can for RoRL. So today finally I got a Rune Giant promo miniature, this thing is really big... So I was wondering How do you handle as a GM fighting giants and gargantuan creatures?


There are lots of things to remember.

Generally speaking you can forget cover and ranged attacks into melee rules when the party is fighting something 2 or more sizes bigger than their biggest member. They can shoot at something the size of a bus even if they have party members engaging it.

You'll usually have to work hard on reach issues. Reach is deceptively impactful when the party is maneuvering tactically. Keep track of opportunity attacks. I frequently have combat reflexes as a feat for monsters with reach.

AoE spells that hit even one part of the creature affect the creature, with a few exceptions.

Even for gargantuan creatures, by RAW there is no "front" or "back" of the creature. Although I will sometimes play such a creature as if there is just because it makes sense to me.

Confined spaces can really mess up a huge or larger creature. Give them room to move around too.

Even a gargantuan creature can take a five foot step.

Be cinematic to explain how a lowly halfling can hurt the monstrous critter whose kneecaps are above the halfling's eyebrows. The dragon leans down and the halfling pokes him in they ear or something.

Dark Archive

it's cool if a creature is able to take advantage of its size.
my first battle with a dragon started by it dropping its entire weight on the party (crush attack).
That scared the hell out of em, which is cool. The dragon could simply grab (bite) a party member, fly, breathe on it (no save, you're in its mouth!) and then drop it.

As long as the CR level of the creature is close to the party level, you can count on players to find ways to escape. Until they do, (and they WILL) hurt them as much as you can.

perhaps the rune giant would throw the players around - i.e. move them away quite a distance, and damage as if the projectile from the throw attack had hit the player instead of the player being the projectile.

use as many rules as written as you're comfortable with, and go hollywood on the rest. it's a frikkin rune giant! it's only going to BE as scary as it looks if it's seriously draining hitpoints.


very good tips, thank you.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

Things that big will have terrible touch AC's, so exploit that.


Immovable rods with wire or chains to trip and pin the thing down with.


Adamantine Dragon wrote:

Generally speaking you can forget cover and ranged attacks into melee rules when the party is fighting something 2 or more sizes bigger than their biggest member. They can shoot at something the size of a bus even if they have party members engaging it.

Actually no. This is already covered in the size rules.


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Actually, yes. Its in the Shooting or Throwing Into a Melee rules.
Second Paragraph: If your target (or the part of your target you're aiming at, if it's a big target) is at least 10 feet away from the nearest friendly character, you can avoid the –4 penalty, even if the creature you're aiming at is engaged in melee with a friendly character.


Yes, but thats something else from what AD said.

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