Is a dense forest difficult terrain for a Huge creature?

[Unoriginal]

I was doing calculations for an encounter, and I'd like your opinions on a question I had to ask myself:


Do you think a forest dense enough to provide Medium-sized creatures with some levels of cover difficult terrain for a Huge creature?

I know the rules for creatures squeezing in spaces for a size category under their own, but that would mean that Huge creatures are unable to cross two trees with a 5ft square between them unless they destroy one of the trees. Which I personally approve of as it is amazingly cinematic and a great show of the power the being is packing, getting a smashed tree trunk instead of a tree wouldn't make it less of a difficult terrain. It would also make so that the Huge creature has to go around the patches of trees where the space is too small for them if they're unwilling/unable to break or other move the trees, resulting in giving the smaller creatures a big advantage on manoeuvrability (which can also make for an awesome combat).

But I feel it could also be reasonable to see it as a forest like that being proportionally as big to the Huge creature as dense undergrowth is to Medium-sized beings, and so simply rule it as difficult terrain (which also provides cover).

So, what do you think?

[MaxWilson]

Huge creatures are generally not very strong by 5E rules. In general I would just treat them the same as Medium creatures when it comes to terrain. In rare cases I might let them ignore certain types of otherwise-difficult terrain, e.g. I'd let elephants move normally in wheat fields and maybe some kinds of jungle.

[Quietus]

What makes a more interesting scene? A giant struggling to keep up with the party, pushing slowly through the trees, ponderously approaching? Or a giant who is so massive that even when they are moving through a dense forest, they aren't slowed down, leaving a trail of snapped trunks behind them as they make their pursuit?

The former does give the PCs the ability to kite from range, so you will need some kind of outside threat, OR thick enough undergrowth to give them difficult terrain as well. The latter will either lend itself to a very vivid description, or if you include difficult terrain in the undergrowth for the PCs, a fight that is extremely tense and difficult to escape.

[da newt]

I'd make a judgement call based on the creature - is it in it's normal terrain, is it built really thick (no huge humanoid should be so wide they can't fit between two trees 10' apart), how close together do big trees grow, is there underbrush that would hinder small/med folks, ...

But in the end, I'd probably build the terrain so that there are areas where it would be tough to fit / difficult terrain, and more open paths too.

Interestingly, all giants are HUGE and therefor control a 15x15x15' space, but they are 16-26' tall ...

[Falconcry]

Must go faster ...

[NorthernPhoenix]

I'd rule no, unless the specific details of the forrest or environment made it so that it doesn't make sense thematically for the Huge creature in question to barge through. Even a a decently sized Giant would struggle with tightly packed sequoia trees which are commonish in fantasy.

[Wizard_Lizard]

I would judge it on a case by case basis.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I'd say it depends on the forest. Both Indian elephants and African Forest Elephants spend quite a lot of time in forests. On the pictures I can find in those forests most trees sit easily one elephant apart from each other, and in between is stuff like undergrowth, that could provide concealment for hiding, but not so much cover.

In fact, maybe map it out a bit, lay down different types of terrain. The trees can be used for a bit of cover (or can be climbed and strength-checked down by the giants?) but aren't an obstacle due to how far apart they are, there are some thick wooden bushes/clumps of young trees that provide difficult (removable?) terrain for the giants and there is some undergrowth where the PC's can potentially hide, but which also counts as difficult terrain for them but not for the giants.