Add the following general rule: Increasing size increases speed

[deuxhero]

This has been a problem since at least 3.0. It's an easy thing to fix with one sentence in the size rules ("unless otherwise stated a creature that increases or decreases in size adds or subtracts x from their speed per size category")

[Wei Ji the Learner]

No.

[deuxhero]

Why not?

[NielsenE]

Because it generally messes with things from a balance perspective. If you get larger (have reach) and increased moved, it generates a really un-fun dynamic in a lot of battles. The existing larger = stronger/but less agile is more self-balancing. if you added speed, it becomes just about strictly better.

[roguerouge]

I've noticed that most long-distance runners are huge weightlifters. Offensive linemen frequently have the fastest 40 yard dashes. If that weren't true, I'd have objections to this new rule on simulation grounds.

[Mathmuse]

Here is a relevant Order of the Stick reference, fourth panel from the end: #453, Heck of a Fight.

[deuxhero]

@NielsenE

How so? Unless you really eclipsed the opposition and could fly (like dragons who can flyby breath strafing runs) tactical movement speed never meant that much.

@Mathmuse
Was considering adding something like "when Order of the Stick has mocked the oversight, it's safe to say it's fairly well known"

[Darigaaz the Igniter]

I think it should be a thing. Longer legs = longer stride = faster movement.

As an addendum, creatures larger than medium should be able to make more than a 5' step.

[The Mad Comrade]

Giants have base speeds of 40+. Titans have a base speed of 60'. All of them are bipedal humanoids.

[Meophist]

Well, logically speaking, larger beings should be able to move at a faster speed, but be less agile.

But Pathfinder doesn't really differentiate agility from speed too well.

[Fuzzypaws]

Darigaaz the Igniter wrote:

I think it should be a thing. Longer legs = longer stride = faster movement.

As an addendum, creatures larger than medium should be able to make more than a 5' step.

Came here to say this. If I grow to 4 times my size, my stride length is also multiplied by 4. I might potentially start slower relative to my size (though still faster than my real world size), but I would also have greater momentum, so for game simplification purposes it really would just work out to multiplying my speed by 4.

[Mathmuse]

Fuzzypaws wrote:

Darigaaz the Igniter wrote:

I think it should be a thing. Longer legs = longer stride = faster movement.

As an addendum, creatures larger than medium should be able to make more than a 5' step.

Came here to say this. If I grow to 4 times my size, my stride length is also multiplied by 4. I might potentially start slower relative to my size (though still faster than my real world size), but I would also have greater momentum, so for game simplification purposes it really would just work out to multiplying my speed by 4.

But the other side of the mathematics is the square-cube law, which says that weight goes up by the cube of the size ratio but structural strength goes up by the square. That is why ants can carry a leaf many times there size, squirrels can run up trees, elephants can't jump, and whales have to live in the sea to support their weight. For example, at twice normal size, body mass would be 8 times as great but lung surface area would be only 4 times as great. The twice-size person would always be short of breath.

In game terms, an enlargened person would be greatly encumbered by his own increased weight.

We presume that magic partially negates the square-cube law, the same way magic allows a dragon to fly with wings too small for its size. But magic does not scale up everything proportionally. A human growth to Gargantuan size will be shown as lumbering, no matter how agile that human was at Medium size.

The Mad Comrade wrote:

Giants have base speeds of 40+. Titans have a base speed of 60'. All of them are bipedal humanoids.

This is how much magic increases speed by size: Large (Frost Giant, Hill Giant, Stone Giant) 40 feet, Huge (Cloud Giant, Storm Giant) 50 feet, Gargantuan (Rune Giant) 50 feet, Colossal (Elysian Titan, Hekatonkheires Titan, Thanatotic Titan) 60 feet. Two titans have different speeds, one faster and one slower, so other factors affect speed, too.

[Tallow]

Consider a Rune Giant is Gargantuan. They take up a 4 x 4 space on the grid with a 20ft reach, threatening an 8 x 8 grid space. But that doesn't mean they have 20' long feet. So a 5ft step is still the same as they are moving farther to shift that entire 8 x 8 space than a human takes shifting a 3 x 3 space.

[Go4TheEyesBoo]

Studies show that speed scales more with body length than with size. And even that has limits due to the aforementioned square-cube law. Muscle cross section doesn't scale at the same rate as volume when scaling proportionally. So bigger things, although having longer strides, will have less available muscle strength to propel themselves (most of their strength will be applied merely supporting their own weight).

There's a number of other biomechanical issues that come into play at the larger sizes. Slower reaction time due to longer signalling pathways, blood pressure issues, respiration issues, heat dissipation issues, etc, etc. We handwave a great deal in the name of fantasy.

[Weather Report]

Depends on the creature, some might move slower.

[gustavo iglesias]

deuxhero wrote:

Why not?

Because mass

[gustavo iglesias]

Weather Report wrote:

Depends on the creature, some might move slower.

A huge gelatinous cube, fir example