What does size do?

[shriash]

Size of creatures is pretty opaque to me. I don't get it.

Looking at the learndb, there's a little info:

size factor
For evasion purposes: spider form and bat form are tiny (factor 6), spriggans and felids are little (factor 4), halflings and kobolds are small (factor 2), trolls ogres centaurs and nagas are large (factor -2), and dragonform is huge (factor -8).
Monster sizes from @?? (for constriction and trampling) in order and with examples: tiny (rats); little (felids); small (kobolds); medium (humans), large (trolls); big (death yaks); giant (giants!); huge (dragons).



So as I understand, having a small size means I get more EV and it affects trampling and constriction. Is there any other effect? (Does it directly affect shields proficiency?)

Also, how do I check my current size in game? For example, if I turn to statue form, I have no idea if that changes my size (or my shields ability).

Changing size (and mysteriously losing all my EV) is a crazy frustrating thing about playing transmitters.



I don't remember seeing anything about it in the manual.


(Also, as a tiles player, I'm continually surprised by monster sizes when I xv them. giant mites and giant bees look bigger than my player!)

[le_nerd]

SIze also affects evasion penalties of armours (spriggan have double penalty), stealth factor I think and most importantly if you can net a creature (large is possible, giant is not).

[jejorda2]

SIze also affects if you can net a creature

I had no idea. Big things like Ogres, Hill Giants, and Cyclops are what I try to use nets on the most. I figure I'm likely to hit them since they aren't evasive.

[byrel]

Pretty sure spriggans have half the encumberance evasion penalty of humans.

[le_nerd]

Ogres are still netable since they are large rather than big. Hydra eg. dont work due to being big.

I think we are talking about the same thing. Body armour is twice as bad for evasion on Spriggans than other races.

[MainiacJoe]

SIze also affects evasion penalties of armours (spriggan have double penalty)

This is surprisingly not true. Spriggans actually have a half penalty to evasion from armor. AEVP is adjusted for calculating the Dodging penalty by AEVP(1-size/8), thus a SP has half the AEVP for evasion purposes of a human, and a troll 1.25 AEVP. Thus for any given armor, it takes less STR and Armour Skill for a spriggan to eliminate the dodging penalty than a troll. See my concurrent thread about Dodging Penalty, and please check my math there because this seems counterintuitive to me, too.

[le_nerd]

... You make me want to install the game to use wizmode. I have played Sp extensively and it sure feels like as if even with proper strength they get bigger penalties wearing armours than normal sized humanoids.

EDIT: okay so wizmode says:

Spriggan Dodging 15 10STR 15DEX has 8AC 22EV with +0 FDA, 2AC 33EV with +0 robes, GDA gives 12AC 3EV.

Human Dodging 15 10STR 15DEX has 8AC 16EV with +0 FDA, 2AC 26EV with +0 robes, GDA gives 12AC -1EV.

So spriggan looses 30EV, Human looses 27EV.

[MainiacJoe]

I was about to fire up wizmode myself, so thank you.

I'm at a loss to explain this mathematically, so I'm going to blame the wiki Hopefully someone else can chime in soon and shed more light on the subject.

[greedo]

Size basically makes you easier to kill. If you're a pea. you're invincible, if you're an elephant, watch out for those gusts of wind. Fighting skill and hp is what changes that a bit.

[nago]

I'd play a Tr and even an Og everyday over a Ko or Ha...

Plus most of times unrilevant but to be more pertinent with topic, if you are big you also don't fumble when attacking in water. You still move a low speed though

[MainiacJoe]

greedo source-dove and discovered that the wiki, upon which I was basing my conclusions, gets the dodging penalty simply wrong. So NM.

[jejorda2]

Big things should block line of sight like walls do. Just to make size more relevant.