Size Modifier
Size Modifier
Size Modifier rates a person or object's most significant dimension: length, width, or height. It is a modifier to rolls to hit you in combat and to Vision rolls made to spot you. Thus, it is a bonus for large creatures, a penalty for small ones. Although large creatures are easier targets, a positive SM qualifies them to buy ST and HP more cheaply by taking the "Size" limitation.
Most humans – and humanoids, robots, etc. that can pass for human – have SM 0, and can ignore this rule. Nonhumans use the SM on their racial template. However, your SM may deviate from racial average if you are not full-grown, or if you are a genetic dwarf or giant.
When creating a creature that is larger or smaller than a human, find its SM by looking up its longest dimension – height for upright creatures such as giants, length for horizontal creatures such as cats and dragons, diameter for blobs – on the Size Modifier Table.
If a creature's longest dimension falls between two entries on the table, base its SM on the higher value. Box-, sphere-, or blob-shaped characters add +2 to SM; elongated boxes, like most ground vehicles, add +1.
It is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage to have a nonzero SM – the benefits and drawbacks tend to cancel out. The exceptions are genetic dwarfism and gigantism, as these conditions affect bodily proportions (notably relative arm and leg length) and have social ramifications (you stand out in a crowd).
Dwarfism (-1 SM)
-15 points
You are abnormally short for your species. Regardless of ST, your height falls below the lowest value on the Build Table – under 4'4," for a human. This gives you Size Modifier -1. Choose your weight from the first line of the Build Table and reduce it by 15%.
You have -1 to Basic Move (short legs). In combat, your reach is reduced by 1 yard. This is partly because you have short arms and partly because you must use scaled-down weapons (regardless of your ST, your arms lack the leverage to control full-sized weapons).
You get -2 to Disguise – or to Shadowing, if your are trying to follow someone in a crowd. In backward settings, the GM may require you to take a Social Stigma if you suffer from Dwarfism.
A member of any race may be a dwarf. Scale down height by a factor of 0.75 from the racial average, and modify racial SM by -1. Otherwise, the rules remain the same.
Gigantism (+1 SM)
0 points
You are abnormally tall for your species. Regardless of ST, your height falls above the highest value on the Build Table – over 7', for a human. This gives you Size Modifier +1 and +1 to Basic Move (long legs), and qualifies you to buy ST and HP at a discount. Choose your weight from the last line of the Build Table and increase it by 10%.
You get -2 to Disguise – or to Shadowing, if you are trying to follow someone in a crowd. On the other hand, height often provides a bonus to Intimidation skill. In backward settings, the GM may require you to take a Social Stigma if you suffer from Gigantism.
A member of any race may be a giant. Scale your height up by a factor of 1.25 from the racial average, and modify racial SM by +1. Otherwise, the rules remain the same.
Size Modifier Table
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Size Modifier and Equipment
Adjusting for SM: Clothing, life-support gear, and similar personal items assume a user the size of a normal, adult human (SM 0). When buying equipment for larger or smaller individuals, multiply cost and weight by a factor that depends on the user's Size Modifier:
| SM | Factor | SM | Factor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM -4 | ×1/20 | SM +4 | ×20 | |
| SM -3 | ×1/10 | SM +5 | ×50 | |
| SM -2 | ×1/5 | SM +6 | ×100 | |
| SM -1 | ×1/2 | SM +7 | ×200 | |
| SM +1 | ×2 | SM +8 | ×500 | |
| SM +2 | ×5 | SM +9 | ×1,000 | |
| SM +3 | ×10 | SM +10 | ×2,000 |
Armor for Giants=
For armor that's large enough to fit an SM +1 user – such as a barbarian with Gigantism – double the final cost and weight, after all modifiers.
Tiny Tools
Gnomes, halflings, leprechauns, pixies, and others with SM -1 or less require diminutive equipment. Since these creatures are unrealistically strong for their SM and live in a world with brownie armorers and magical materials, their gear defies the logic of Square-Cube Laws, elastic moduli, and similar un-fantastic concepts. In short, the scaling rules below aren't generic!
Armor and Clothing
These items require extensive modification, and aren't exchangeable between wearers of different SM.
Weight: Multiply weight after any other adjustments by weight factor, rounding up and keeping two figures:
| SM | Weight Factor |
|---|---|
| −1 | ×1/2 |
| −2 | ×1/5 |
| −4 | ×1/20 |
| −6 | ×1/100 |
DR: Apply SM as a DR penalty; minimum DR is 0. Tiny folk must either start with heavy armor (like dwarven heavy plate) or buy Fortify enchantments (which work normally) to get any significant DR.
Cost: Cost doesn't change! Delicate and magical faerie craftsmanship (which doesn't work on big-folk armor) eats any savings from materials costs. Without such craft, DR would be subject to the weight multiplier, too!
Example: A corselet that's DR 6, $1,300, and 35 lbs. for a human still costs $1,300 for small folk. It's DR 5 and 18 lbs. at SM -1, DR 4 and 7 lbs. at SM -2, DR 2 and 1.8 lbs. at SM -4, and DR 0 (tinfoil!) and 0.35 lb. at SM -6.
Weapons and Tools
For weapons and tools, multiply (longest) Reach, weight, and required ST by factors, and reduce damage:
| SM | Reach Factor |
Weight Factor |
ST Factor |
Damage Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| −1 | ×2/3 | ×2/3 | ×3/4 | −1 |
| −2 | ×1/2 | ×1/3 | ×1/2 | −2 |
| −4 | ×1/4 | ×1/8 | ×1/4 | −4 |
| −6 | ×1/12 | ×1/25 | ×1/10 | −6 |
Round weight up, keeping two figures; drop fractions on Reach and ST. Treat Reach 0 as C ("close combat only") by big-folk standards.
Ignore Reach for ranged weapons.
Cost depends on construction: Faerie: Effectiveness doesn't otherwise change. Neither does cost.
Mundane: Multiply cost by weight factor. Melee weapons bend easily, gaining an armor divisor that multiplies enemy DR: (0.5), or ×2 DR, at SM -1; (0.2), or ×5 DR, at SM -2; and (0.1), or ×10 DR, at SM -4 or -6. Ranged weapons have less range than ST would indicate; multiply range by reach factor.
Example: A thrusting greatsword inflicts swing+3 cutting or thrust+3 impaling, and is Reach 1, 2, $900, 7 lbs., ST 12. A pixie version (SM -6) delivers swing-3 cutting or thrust-3 impaling, and is Reach C, $900, 0.28 lb., ST 1 with faerie work. It costs just $36 if mundane – but then damage has armor divisor (0.1).