When combat begins, the Director should position miniatures or tokens on a gridded map to represent the environment, the heroes, their foes, and any other creatures in the battle.
How Big is a Square?
It’s helpful to know how big a square is for abilities and features that heroes and NPCs can use outside of combat. By default, a square is 5 feet on all sides. But the Director can change this measurement to 2 yards, 2 meters, 1 meter, or any other measurement you prefer, as long as that scale stays consistent throughout your game.
Size and Space
A creature’s size indicates how many squares they occupy during combat, which defines the creature’s space. If a creature’s size is 1, they occupy a space of 1 square. If a creature is larger than 1 square, their size equals the number of squares they take up in length, width, and height. For example, a horse has a size of 2, which means that during combat, they occupy a space that is 2 squares long, 2 squares wide, and 2 squares high. You could also think of that space as a cube that is 2 squares on all sides.
The minimum amount of space a creature can take up during combat is 1 square, but size 1 creatures can run the range from tiny pixies to small polders, medium humans, and large hakaan. As such, for creatures of size 1, that size is further broken down as 1T, 1S, 1M, or 1L—abbreviations for tiny, small, medium, and large. Size 1T is one size smaller than size 1S, two sizes smaller than 1M, three sizes smaller than 1L, and four sizes smaller than size 2. If a mechanic mentions size 1 creatures, that mechanic applies to all creatures of size 1.
Objects also have a size rating, which usually indicates how many squares they occupy. Some objects are identified as having an irregular size, with that size instead representing the object’s mass and weight relative to a creature of the same size. If a mechanic mentions objects of a certain size, that mechanic includes all objects of that size, including irregular objects.
The Creature Sizes table shows example sizes for creatures up to size 5, but larger sizes are possible. There is no limit to what a creature’s size might be.
Creature Sizes Table
| Size | Example Creature |
|---|---|
| 1T | Pixie |
| 1S | Polder |
| 1M | Human |
| 1L | Hakaan |
| 2 | Ogre |
| 3 | Shambling mound |
| 4 | Hill giant |
| 5 | Omen dragon |
Sides
Every combat encounter is a conflict between two sides. The heroes and any of their allies are one side, controlled by the players. Any creatures who oppose the heroes are the other side, controlled by the Director. All creatures who oppose the heroes are on the same side, even if those creatures also oppose each other. For example, if the heroes are battling a group of bandits when a kingfissure worm suddenly bursts into the fray to devour player characters and brigands alike, the worm is still on the side of the bandits for the purpose of the game’s combat rules.
NPC Allies
If an NPC ally fights alongside the heroes, the Director should give the players the ally’s stat block and let them control the NPC during combat. The Director has enough to worry about. As well, any missteps, mistakes, or triumphs the ally makes will be thanks to the decisions of the players and not the Director, which can make the outcome of the battle more satisfying for the players.