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View Full Version : Random Question: What size is a medium snake?



Asbestos
2009-11-29, 11:57 PM
Just something I was trying to figure out. The biggest Burmese Pythons are something like 200lbs (the size of a biggish human) but are 19ft long (waaay more space than a human) when stretched out, but probably don't take up more than a 5ft square when coiled. So... what do you guys think?

sofawall
2009-11-29, 11:59 PM
A medium snake is size medium.

...What?

Lycanthromancer
2009-11-30, 12:03 AM
Medium (Long). They only have 5 ft of reach when coiled, and so that's how they fit in a 5 ft space.

drengnikrafe
2009-11-30, 12:06 AM
Good point, Asbestos.
But note, a petit human (who still qualifies as a medium creature) can, given enough effort, probably squeeze into a box that qualifies as tiny. Does that mean the human is tiny? No, it means (s)he is medium.

Just because something can make itself into a size does not mean it is that size. Now...
If you want to actually stat it, simply make it take up several squares (as a snake would), but have it's size be considered medium (since, if you took the amount of the snake that was in that square, somehow cut it from the rest of the snake, and stood it up, it would be somewhat similar to a human), treat it as prone, and simply deny it it's dex bonus when it's curled up into one square.
Or... Treat it as it's appropriate size category. Whether it's curled up or not, it'll be difficult for it to move it's back area when struck at, which would translate to.... lower AC! Hurrah.

Keep in mind, this is my random opinion, and I'm really tired right now.

Asbestos
2009-11-30, 12:17 AM
Medium (Long). They only have 5 ft of reach when coiled, and so that's how they fit in a 5 ft space.

I believe that a 'standard' striking distance for snakes is 1/2 body length so the 19ft, 200lb snake has a nearly 10ft 'reach'. Meaning that a man-weight snake has a 'large' reach.

Edit: Perhaps all snakes in D&D are of Anaconda bulk?

Zeta Kai
2009-11-30, 12:37 AM
Here's an interesting one:

Is the anything in the rules that says you can't trip a snake? I don't see anything against it in RAW, but the very idea is pretty funny.

Temotei
2009-11-30, 12:39 AM
Is the anything in the rules that says you can't trip a snake? I don't see anything against it in RAW, but the very idea is pretty funny.

That's awesome. I want to do that now! :smallbiggrin:

sofawall
2009-11-30, 12:42 AM
They aren't even considered stable. It is easier to trip a snake than a dwarf. Awesome.

erikun
2009-11-30, 12:44 AM
I'm sure they get a +4 bonus for stability, but nope, no problem in tripping a snake.

Or a Gelatenous Cube, for that matter.

Back to the OP, a real life large snake (Anaconda, Python, etc.) would probably be large sized. They're about the size as a horse, and will eat anything that would be considered "large" or smaller. Medium would be around 12'-15', I'd guess. That's big enough to say "That's one big *** snake!" without immediately thinking it's going to swallow you whole.

drengnikrafe
2009-11-30, 01:04 AM
Here's an interesting one:

Is the anything in the rules that says you can't trip a snake? I don't see anything against it in RAW, but the very idea is pretty funny.

Depends. If a snake is already considered prone, I... I don't think you can trip something that's prone (Feel free to correct me). Alternatively, if it's not, you could, like... knock it on to it's side, or back. Then it can't move quite as well, and that could be considered a trip (I think?).

EDIT: I just remembered. This is why we don't use D&D rules in the real world. They have a tendancy to contain issues. A snake is among these issues, I believe.

Asbestos
2009-11-30, 01:07 AM
I'm sure they get a +4 bonus for stability, but nope, no problem in tripping a snake.

Or a Gelatenous Cube, for that matter.

Back to the OP, a real life large snake (Anaconda, Python, etc.) would probably be large sized. They're about the size as a horse, and will eat anything that would be considered "large" or smaller. Medium would be around 12'-15', I'd guess. That's big enough to say "That's one big *** snake!" without immediately thinking it's going to swallow you whole.

What? The biggest Anaconda recorded was something around 500lbs. That's quite a bit smaller than a horse, but then again that snake was over 20ft long (waaaay longer than a horse).

Edit: And yeah, by RAW you can trip Oozes and Snakes just fine. Don't question it.

RandomLunatic
2009-11-30, 01:37 AM
A medium-sized snake would be, oh, say, 4-8 feet long. The big 20+ foot Anacondas would not be medium, but instead huge (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/snake.htm#constrictorSnake).

KillianHawkeye
2009-11-30, 03:35 AM
Rules Compendium has the following to say about tripping a snake:


You can't trip a burrowing creature, an incorporeal creature, a swimming creature, or a creature that doesn't rely on limbs for locomotion.

Since snakes do not possess any limbs they cannot be tripped. Interestingly, however, they can choose to be considered prone.


Any creature, even a limbless one such as a snake, that can flatten itself on the ground can choose to be prone, even if it can't reasonably be tripped or knocked down.

So, snakes and gelatinous cubes actually cannot be tripped. The gelatinous cube may not even be capable of becoming prone, however a snake is. In general, a snake is probably prone while moving but not while attacking. This is in accordance with real life snakes, many (or most) of which rear up before striking.

Temotei
2009-11-30, 03:41 AM
Crap. Well that's no fun.

hamishspence
2009-11-30, 03:46 AM
Huge snakes have only 6 hit dice- though that might be poisonous snakes- I'm not sure what the Hit Dice of Huge constrictors is. The fact that it is Huge, may simply mean it is Huge by length, rather than weight.

Length to base of tail is the usual rule- however this may not be the rule for snakes, since you can't really see where the body ends and tail begins. On a constrictor there sometimes are a pair of claws, marking where the legs used to be.

There is a big prehistoric snake (Titanoboa) with a length estimated at 40 ft and a weight estimated at around 2000 lb- this may be the closest thing to a D&D Huge Constrictor. Depending on if weight is intended to not fall too far short of the weight guidelines (In this case, about 1/2 the suggested minimum for Huge)

Sliver
2009-11-30, 04:25 AM
Rules Compendium has the following to say about tripping a snake:



Since snakes do not possess any limbs they cannot be tripped. Interestingly, however, they can choose to be considered prone.



So, snakes and gelatinous cubes actually cannot be tripped. The gelatinous cube may not even be capable of becoming prone, however a snake is. In general, a snake is probably prone while moving but not while attacking. This is in accordance with real life snakes, many (or most) of which rear up before striking.

You had to ruin the moment?

Killer Angel
2009-11-30, 05:37 AM
Rules Compendium has the following to say about tripping a snake:


I really hate when rules make sense... :smalltongue:

KillianHawkeye
2009-11-30, 08:06 AM
You had to ruin the moment?

LOL :smallamused:

No, I just came across that quote about a snake being prone the other day and it was still fresh in my mind when I was reading this thread, so I thought I'd share.

ericgrau
2009-11-30, 08:20 AM
Here are the stats:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/snake.htm#constrictorSnake
Space and reach are 5 feet. IMO that means they take up a 5 foot square coiled. They can straighten themselves to reach the adjacent 5 foot square, but only do so momentarily to strike and then pull back, or to constrict and then enter the target square with the rest of itself. So they're probably about 5-10 feet long when straight.