Size Doesn't Matter?

[NeoSeraphi]

So I was bored, and I decided to check out the otyugh (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/otyugh.htm) entry on the SRD, due to the Giant's most recent update (OotS 823 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0823.html)), and I saw something that surprised me.

The otyugh is a Large creature, but its Strength score is only 11.

This really stunned me, mostly due to the fact that going from Medium to Large is supposed to give you +8 Strength, as per the Monster Manual, but a guy (or girl) who wanted to play an otyugh based on the rules in the DMG would have the following stat adjustments:

+2 Con, -4 Int, +2 Wis, -4 Cha

For 6 racial hit dice, no less. That's...more than a little depressing. It's also really changed my opinion about the Large Size category. So I have a question: are there any other creatures out there like this? One's that aren't so Large and in Charge? What other big baddies did WotC gimp?

[missmvicious]

A few non-aggressive "monsters" like the Otyugh are like this.

But I also found that the Bariaur is surprisingly "meh" for it's size, and they're from Ysgard. They're not so tough, nor are they particularly fast. We encountered one who thought he was the lone survivor of a Barghest attack and asked him to join us for a while. He travelled with us for a few days until he met another member of his patrol who was still alive, but horribly maimed. They returned to Ysgard together. We didn't miss him. We spent as much time healing him as fighting. He tried to help in combat, but that typically just made it worse because of his bulky size... we couldn't easily maneuver around him.

[Greenish]

This really stunned me, mostly due to the fact that going from Medium to Large is supposed to give you +8 Strength, as per the Monster ManualMM standard Otyugh has not gone from Medium to Large. That rule is for when monsters gain size categories due to advancement via HD.

Anyone who wanted to play one would need DM's help anyway, since it doesn't have LA, and I have no idea why you imagined RHD has much anything to do with monster's stats.

[Spiryt]

I guess Otyugh may be rotten, dung like body that isn't really strong for being 500 pounds...

Just bunch of disgustingly soft pulp that cannot exert much force in either way....


Just a fluff idea, obviously. :smallwink:

[FMArthur]

The thing with small-looking Strength gains from size is that everything that you would expect your newfound size to grant you extra strength to do actually improves from strength and size separately.

A huge fellow should be hitting harder!
Oh wait, his weapons' dice went up a fair bit - natural weapons included.
A big guy ought to be better at lifting things!
Oh wait, carrying capacity is massively impacted by size.
A giant man should be strong enough to outmuscle a small guy every time!
Oh wait, grapples and almost any opposed strength check is modified by 4 per size difference...

It goes on from there. It's brutally inelegant in some ways, but for the most part it does work, just not from the angle you'd expect it to. The real kicker is your unchanging movement speeds. I'm sure there are lots of other oddities too.

[Eldan]

A few non-aggressive "monsters" like the Otyugh are like this.

But I also found that the Bariaur is surprisingly "meh" for it's size, and they're from Ysgard. They're not so tough, nor are they particularly fast. We encountered one who thought he was the lone survivor of a Barghest attack and asked him to join us for a while. He travelled with us for a few days until he met another member of his patrol who was still alive, but horribly maimed. They returned to Ysgard together. We didn't miss him. We spent as much time healing him as fighting. He tried to help in combat, but that typically just made it worse because of his bulky size... we couldn't easily maneuver around him.

Bariaurs are large now? That's new to me. I always knew them as medium sized. And with very low LA.

[Urpriest]

Bariaurs are large now? That's new to me. I always knew them as medium sized. And with very low LA.

Book of Exalted Deeds has "Greater Bariaurs" (only named that later) with racial HD and Large size.

[Jeraa]

The standard otyugh is also described as 8' in diameter. That puts it at the very bottom of the large size category. Its just a little too big for medium, but only just big enough for large. So having a lower strength then "normal" for large creatures is justified.