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Normally difficult terrain, not impassable. Large creatures are generally not actually 10ft cubes.
There is no prescribed circumstance penalty to anything, though as always ad hoc bonuses and penalties could be used by a GM if they believe it is appropriate to the specific case.
My party is in the Abomination Vaults on level 8. The druid has a large wolf companion and the party encountered several large creatures. Questions arose during the fights.
Is a normal size door difficult terrain for movement of large creature?
Is a 5' wide corridor difficult terrain for movement or impossible to move through?
When a large creature is fighting through a normal size doorway, does the large creature get a circumstance penalty?
When a large creature is fighting in a 5' corridor does it get a circumstance penalty?
Thank you.
Though the rules are not specifically for all creatures, I think the guidelines in Howl of the Wild for Large PCs work really well here:
"When moving through an area that is only 5 feet wide, a Large PC can move through the space but treats each square as difficult terrain. Moving through a narrower space that does not obstruct Small creatures requires Large PCs to Squeeze (Pathfinder Player Core 233)."
As Hammerjack says there are no clear cut penalties for fighting in tight quarters, it'd be up to your GM to decide if any apply.
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I'm currently running AV and one of my PCs is large. It works reasonably well to make such circumstances be difficult terrain. It slows them down, making their choices relevant, but doesn't stop the game.
One thing to absolutely pay attention to however, is that if you do it for the PCs or their allies, make sure you do it for the monsters in most cases. There are numerous large creatures that are found in spots where they would be moving in narrow areas. (like on stairs and such)
While monster rules and PC rules are not always equal. They should be generally similar when there is no specific reason for them to be different.
To add, there is the Squeeze exploration activity:
Exploration Move
Source Player Core pg. 233
Skill Acrobatics (Trained)
You contort yourself to squeeze through a space so small you can barely fit through. This action is for exceptionally small spaces; many tight spaces are difficult terrain that you can move through more quickly and without a check.Critical Success You squeeze through the tight space in 1 minute per 10 feet of squeezing.
Success You squeeze through in 1 minute per 5 feet.
Critical Failure You become stuck in the tight space. While you're stuck, you can spend 1 minute attempting another Acrobatics check at the same DC. Any result on that check other than a critical failure causes you to become unstuck.
This implies a space that generally too small for the creature to fit, an example being barely able to fit your shoulders. For a human, that might be a 2" x 2" space (actually it might be a bit smaller).
I imagine neither PCs or NPCs are generally in such spaces.
But large creatures are probably regularly going through spaces meant for medium creatures, and doing so is difficult terrain (each square costs 5 extra feet of movement). There are no other penalties specifically assigned.
It's not unreasonable at a certain point to start assigning penalties for most physical activities, but GMs just need to be sure to be fair to PCs and NPCs and apply the penalties fairly.
Thank you for your replies.
Difficult terrain sounds right for movement.
For those who have similar questions, my party has agreed to test the following for large creatures in confined areas.
-2 circumstance penalty when attacking in a 5' hallway
-4 circumstance penalty when attacking a target through a normal size doorway
Bear in mind, that being prone (lying on the floor) causes a -2 to attack rolls, so this penalty puts it on par with lying prone.
Personally I think that's too much.
If it were me making the decisions, I would have at most -1 for a large creature attacking in a 5ft hallway. As for attacking through a normal size doorway, I would suggest treating it as lesser cover (+2 to AC, reflex, and stealth).
While it may not feel like, -2 is actually a pretty big penalty/bonus in PF2.
That equivalent to a proficiency bump or two levels.
I recommend difficult terrain for movement, no attack penalties in hallways, and applying cover when attacking through a narrow doorway.
I myself am playing a Large awakened spider rogue with Light Step. It's great being able to ignore the difficult terrain of narrow doors, hallways, and the piles of bones of my past victims.
I recommend difficult terrain for movement, no attack penalties in hallways, and applying cover when attacking through a narrow doorway.
I myself am playing a Large awakened spider rogue with Light Step. It's great being able to ignore the difficult terrain of narrow doors, hallways, and the piles of bones of my past victims.
Honestly, this is probably how I'd run it too.
If Paizo had intended for large PCs (or NPCs) to regularly take attack penalties when in a 5ft hallway, I expect it would have come up at some point. Maybe it will in the future, but until then I wouldn't actually apply a penalty.
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I recommend difficult terrain for movement, no attack penalties in hallways, and applying cover when attacking through a narrow doorway.
I myself am playing a Large awakened spider rogue with Light Step. It's great being able to ignore the difficult terrain of narrow doors, hallways, and the piles of bones of my past victims.
Wanted to add that, in my games, attacking through a doorway is grounds for cover for Small and Medium characters as well--it's not a thing we do solely for Large characters.
RavingDork, what levels of cover do you apply?
Personally I don't think my group applies it often (but mostly because it's simply forgotten), but in my mind I would say:
Two combatant directly in front of door is no cover
1 combatant in the square adjacent to the door, both have lesser cover from each other
Both combatants in opposite squares adjacent to the door is probably standard cover. And could be upgraded using the take cover action to hunker themselves against the wall.
RavingDork, what levels of cover do you apply?
Personally I don't think my group applies it often (but mostly because it's simply forgotten), but in my mind I would say:
- Two combatant directly in front of door is no cover.
- One combatant in the square adjacent to the door, both have lesser cover from each other.
- Both combatants in opposite squares adjacent to the door is probably standard cover. And could be upgraded using the take cover action to hunker themselves against the wall.
That's pretty much how we do it too.