3.4 Size and Weight
3.4.1 Size Categories
Your size affects your space in combat, your speed with any movement modes that depend on your size category’s base speed, your attributes, and how noticeable you are (see Stealth). These effects are shown on Table 3.1: Size Categories. Size categories are also relevant for determining weight (see Weight Limits).
| Size | Space1 | Base Speed | Weight Limits2 | Reflex | Stealth | Weapons | Example Creature |
| Fine | 1/4 ft. | 10 ft. | -4 Str | +4 | +20 | — | Fly |
| Diminutive | 1/2 ft. | 10 ft. | -3 Str | +3 | +15 | — | Mouse |
| Tiny | 1 ft. | 20 ft. | -2 Str | +2 | +10 | — | Rat |
| Small | 2-1/2 ft. | 20 ft. | -1 Str | +1 | +5 | — | Cat |
| Medium | 5 ft. | 30 ft. | — | — | — | — | Human |
| Large | 10 ft. | 40 ft. | +1 Str | -1 | -5 | — | Ogre |
| Huge | 20 ft. | 50 ft. | +2 Str | -2 | -10 | Massive (10) | Hill giant |
| Gargantuan | 40 ft. | 60 ft. | +3 Str | -3 | -15 | Massive (15) | Roc |
| Colossal | 80+ft. | 80 ft. | +4 Str | -4 | -20 | Massive (20) | Great wyrm red dragon |
2 This modifies Strength only for the purpose of determining a creature’s weight limits (see Weight Limits).
Space
A creature’s space is the area its body occupies while fighting. All humanoid species take up a 5-ft. by 5-ft. space in combat, which is a single square. Normally, other creatures can’t be in the space you occupy. Most creatures have a space significantly larger than the physical space their body occupies because they need room to maneuver in combat.
Exceptionally large creatures can often attack at some distance from their core body thanks to long arms or other appendages. This is represented by making their space larger than their body alone would require. Even Colossal creatures can still only make melee attacks against adjacent foes - or more often, against smaller creatures sharing space with them.
Base Speed
Each size category has a base speed that indicates how far creatures of that size category can generally move. Most movement modes use a speed equal to the base speed for a creature’s size category. For context about movement in combat, see Movement and Positioning.
Other Effects
A creature’s size affects some additional skills and abilities. For example, larger creatures have a penalty to the Stealth skill (see Common Stealth Modifiers). The effects of unusual size are described in those skills and abilities. Unusually large or small creatures also have other special rules apply to them, as described below.
Very Small Creatures
Space: If a creature takes up less than a single square of space, you can fit multiple creatures in that square. Ignoring flight, you can fit four Small creatures in a square, twenty-five Tiny creatures, 100 Diminutive creatures, or 400 Fine creatures. If the creatures can fly, the number of creatures that can fit into a space increases drastically.
Movement: Creatures two size categories smaller than you are not considered obstacles and do not hinder your movement.
Very Large Creatures
Space: Very large creatures take up multiple squares. Anything which affects a single square the creature occupies affects the creature.
Movement: Creatures two size categories larger than you are not considered obstacles and do not hinder your movement.
Massive Weapons: Creatures that are Huge or larger have Massive weapons, as shown in Table 3.1: Size Categories.
3.4.2 Weight Limits
| Strength |
Carrying Capacity | Push/Drag |
| -9 |
Fine x8 |
Diminutive x8 |
| -8 | Diminutive x2 | Tiny x2 |
| -7 | Diminutive x4 | Tiny x4 |
| -6 | Diminutive x8 | Tiny x8 |
| -5 | Tiny x2 | Small x2 |
| -4 | Tiny x4 | Small x4 |
| -3 | Tiny x8 | Small x8 |
| -2 | Small x2 | Medium x2 |
| -1 | Small x4 | Medium x4 |
| 0 | Small x8 | Medium x8 |
| 1 | Medium x2 | Large x2 |
| 2 | Medium x4 | Large x4 |
| 3 | Medium x8 | Large x8 |
| 4 | Large x2 | Huge x2 |
| 5 | Large x4 | Huge x4 |
| 6 | Large x8 | Huge x8 |
| 7 | Huge x2 | Gargantuan x2 |
| 8 | Huge x4 | Gargantuan x4 |
| 9 | Huge x8 | Gargantuan x8 |
| 10 | Gargantuan x2 | Colossal x2 |
| 11 | Gargantuan x4 | Colossal x4 |
| 12 | Gargantuan x8 | Colossal x8 |
| 13 | Colossal x2 | Colossal x16 |
| 14+1 | — | — |
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Your Strength determines how much you can carry or push, as shown in Table 3.2: Weight Limits by Strength. Your weight limits are measured in terms of how many objects or creatures of a given weight category that you can carry or push at once (see Weight Categories). The limit of how much you can hold in your hands or on your body without suffering any penalties is called your carrying capacity. If you need to move more weight than that, you can push or drag objects or creatures up your pushing and dragging limit as a standard action (see Manipulating Objects). When you do, you move the weight 5 feet.
In general, it is not meaningful to consider the weight of any objects with a weight category lighter than your maximum weight category. If it matters, you can treat eight objects of one weight category as having an equivalent weight to a single object that is one weight category heavier.
Large Creatures: Unusually large or small creatures gain a bonus to their Strength for the purpose of determining their weight limits. For details, see Table 3.1: Size Categories.
Multi-Legged Creatures: The figures on Table 3.2: Weight Limits by Strength are for bipedal creatures. A creature with four or more legs can carry, push, or drag twice as many objects as a bipedal creature of the same Strength.
Weight Categories
Weight is generally measured in weight categories rather than pounds or kilograms. Weight categories use the same terms as size categories, as shown in Table 3.3: Weight Categories. In general, a creature’s weight category is the same as its size category.
Objects and creatures can also be either lightweight or heavyweight. Lightweight objects and creatures have a weight category that is one category lighter than their size category. Heavyweight objects and creatures have a weight category that is one category heavier than their size category.
Objects that occupy only a small percentage of the space appropriate for their size category, such as swords, are usually lightweight. Objects that fully occupy the space appropriate for their size category, like boulders, are usually heavyweight.
| Weight Category | Falling Damage Die1 | Average Weight |
| Fine | — | 1 oz. |
| Diminutive | — | 1/2 lb. |
| Tiny | 1d2 | 2 lb. |
| Small | 1d6 | 15 lb. |
| Medium | 1d8 | 125 lb. |
| Large | 1d10 | 1,000 lb. |
| Huge | 2d6 | 8,000 lb. |
| Gargantuan | 2d8 | 64,000 lb. |
| Colossal | 2d10 | 512,000 lb. |
3.4.3 Falling Damage
A falling creature or object descends by 300 feet at the end of each phase. If it hits an obstacle while falling, the falling creature or object takes falling damage. The obstacle it lands on takes half that damage, to a maximum amount of damage equal to the falling creature or object’s hit points.
This falling damage is based on the weight category of the falling object or creature. Each weight category has an associated falling damage die listed in Table 3.3: Weight Categories. For every 10 feet of the fall, the falling damage die is rolled once, to a maximum fall distance of 300 feet. If the total fall distance was less than 10 feet, no falling damage is dealt. For example, a Medium creature falling 50 feet would take 5d8 falling damage.
If you fall intentionally, you treat your fall as being 10 feet shorter. Creatures and objects with a Fine or Diminutive weight category have no falling damage dice and cannot cause falling damage.