DnD sizes explained

Every character and creature in Dungeons and Dragons is assigned one of six different DnD sizes – important categories which define how much space they take up on a map, which weapons they can carry, how they move through the game world, and more. Read on for a full explanation of the rules, including a DnD size chart to get a feel for scale.

We’ll go into exactly how the DnD size rules impact your character’s combat encounters, carrying capacity, and spells, as well as detailing the ways to change your character’s size. Much of the rules around size depend on what sort of character you are – so you should also check out our complete guides to DnD classes and DnD races for the full context.

Here are the key DnD size rules:

DnD size chart

There are six DnD sizes in fifth edition: tiny, small, medium, large, huge, and gargantuan.

We know what all these words mean in concept, but how do they translate to D&D mechanics? The size of a creature has multiple effects in-game:

DnD size rules

The complete DnD size rules are actually spread across multiple DnD books, with various chapters touching upon the subject. We’ve gathered the most important rules here:

Taking up space

In Dungeons and Dragons, size dictates how much space you take up on a map. The Player’s Handbook defines space as “the area in feet it effectively controls in combat”. Both Small and Medium creatures control a five by five feet area, but this doesn’t mean DnD Humans, Elves, and Goblins are all five-foot cubes; that’s just the space they can comfortably act in without needing to move.

Movement

You can always move through a friendly creature’s space, but this isn’t always possible if the square holds a hostile occupant. Size can make a big difference here.

If you are at least two sizes larger or smaller than an enemy, you can move through their space. A DnD Halfling can move through spaces inhabited by creatures just one size larger than them. However, in all cases that space is difficult terrain, so you’ll eat up more speed by pushing past them.

You can’t end your turn in another creature’s space, whether they like you or not. It’s also worth remembering that you can still trigger DnD opportunity attacks by moving through a hostile creature’s space.

The Dungeon Master’s Guide features some additional optional rules for moving through a creature’s space. These also take your D&D character’s size into account.

For example, the Overrun mechanic lets a creature attempt a contested Athletics check to try and move through a hostile creature’s space. The character attempting the Overrun has advantage if it’s larger than the hostile creature, and they have disadvantage if they’re smaller.

You could avoid being disadvantaged by choosing to Tumble instead. This optional rule calls for a contested Acrobatics check and isn’t influenced by size.

Surrounding creatures

A creature’s size sets a limit on how many foes can surround it in combat, and vice versa. For example, a Medium DnD Fighter will take up a single five-by-five square on your battlemap. Assuming all attackers are the same (Medium) size, eight of them can surround the Fighter, each taking up their own five-by-five square.

The bigger the creature, the more squares surround it, and thus more enemies can get into melee range. At the same time, fewer large creatures can surround a smaller target.

Squeezing

In Dungeons and Dragons, all creatures can squeeze through gaps one size smaller than themselves. This means a Large creature can fit through a space big enough for a Medium creature, a Medium creature a Small one, and so on.

While squeezing, a creature must spend an extra foot of movement for every foot they travel. They also have disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws, while attack rolls against them have advantage.

The rules for squeezing have a strange effect on Medium creatures, who occupy the same five-by-five space as a Small creature. Medium creatures, in the rules as written, can squeeze through a space the same size as they currently occupy. This seems to cancel out the squeeze entirely.

A DM may tweak this using common sense and more details (height and weight for example, which don’t have a clear direct relation to size in the rules), but it’s something to be aware of.

One creature that ignores the size rules for squeezing is Plasmoids, who are playable creatures thanks to the 5e Spelljammer books. Plasmoids have the Amorphous feature, which allows them to squeeze through a space as small as one-inch wide, as long as they’re not wearing or carrying anything. It’s a pretty situational ability, but you never know when it might come in handy.

Carrying capacity

Carrying capacity largely relies on a character’s Strength score, but size factors in too. The regular rules for carrying capacity say that you can carry weight (lbs) equal to your Strength score, multiplied by 15. Similarly, you can easily push, drag, or lift something that weighs up to 30 times your Strength score.

According to the Player’s Handbook, “for each size category above Medium, double the creature’s carrying capacity and the amount it can push, drag, or lift”. It also says to “halve these weights” for Tiny creatures. Since Small creatures aren’t mentioned, and they take up the same amount of space as a Medium creature, they presumably follow the regular rules for carrying capacity.

Grappling

In D&D, characters can’t be grappled by a monster that is two or more sizes smaller than them. Similarly, a character can’t use DnD grapple on a creature that’s more than one size bigger. A Small Halfling character can only grapple Medium foes, not Large ones.

Weapons and armor

DnD weapons have many characteristics of their own, one of which is being ‘heavy’. Heavy weapons are pretty bulky, and this means Small or Tiny creatures will have disadvantage on attack rolls when trying to use a heavy weapon.

The rules for DnD armor are a bit looser; with the right proficiencies and DnD stats, smaller characters can wear any armor they like. A DM may choose to impose additional rules for equipment sizes, however. The Player’s Handbook calls these “common sense” – a Gnome would be too small to fit in the armor of a tall DnD Tiefling, for example.

Attacks

Generally, the DnD size rules don’t influence when and how you can attack. There is one exception, though.

The Hunter Ranger 5e subclass has a feature called Hunter’ Prey. This allows them to attack a creature within five feet as a reaction – but only if that creature is Large or larger.

Mounts

If you want to charge into battle on a mount, you better make sure it’s the right size first. Chapter nine of the Player’s Handbook says you can only mount “a willing creature that is at least one size larger than you”.

What if you want to ride an enormous (and unwilling) Purple Worm? The Dungeon Master’s Guide has some optional rules that can make this happen.

You could make a grapple check to try and grab hold of your ride, but the difference in size between you and your target could make this impossible. Instead, the DM’s guide suggests treating a large opponent as terrain for the purposes of the climb.

Make an Athletics or Acrobatics check, and if you can beat the larger creature’s Acrobatics roll, you can move into your target’s space. After that, you move with your target and have advantage on attack rolls against it. The larger creature’s body is considered difficult terrain, and you might have to make further Athletics or Acrobatics checks as your mount tries to throw you off.

Initiative

Size doesn’t usually impact Initiative rolls, but an optional rule in the Dungeon Master’s Guide can modify this mechanic based on your character’s size. Traditionally, Initiative is influenced by your Dexterity modifier. However, in chapter nine of the Dungeon Master’s Guide, you’ll find ‘Speed Factor’ Initiative.

This involves rolling Initiative for every round, and you’ll add modifiers to an Initiative roll based on your, as well as the actions you take. Here’s how size affects Initiative in these alternative rules:

Cover

The Player’s Handbook says you can use other creatures as cover, but it’s not clear if a creature’s size changes how much cover it provides. You’ll have to rely on DM discretion to decide whether a Small creature can gain half, three-quarters, or total cover from a Medium one, and so on.

Spellcasting

Your size doesn’t affect your ability to use magic, but there are some spells that refer to the D&D size rules. For example:

• You can’t appear as a creature of a different size if you’re affected by Disguise Self or Alter Self.
• Dimension Door and Thunder Step only let you teleport a friend along with you as long as they’re the same size or smaller.
• Tree Stride specifies that you must be the same size or smaller than the trees you move through.

How to change DnD sizes

There are a few ways to shift size in Dungeons and Dragons:

• Enlarge/Reduce – A spell that increases or decreases your size by one category. If you play a Duergar, you can cast this spell without material components.
• Path of the Giant Barbarian 5e – Their subclass features can make them Large or even Huge.
• Rune Knight 5e – The ‘Giant’s Might’ feature can upgrade your size to Large.
• DnD Changeling – Their ‘Shapechanger’ feature allows them to choose between Medium and Small sizes.

Some races also naturally appear larger or smaller without the need to actually change size. For example, the DnD Goliath’s ‘Little Giant’ feature counts them as one size larger when calculating carrying capacity and the weight they can push, drag, or lift. This is identical to the ‘Powerful Build’ feature given to Bugbears, Firbolgs, Orcs, and Loxodons. Centaurs also have a similar feature in the form of ‘Equine Build’, and the Giff version is ‘Hippo Build’.

DnD 2024 size rules

Generally, the DnD 2024 size rules look the same as they did in the 2014 Player’s Handbook. However, plenty of details are different, and this will seriously affect how different-sized creatures behave in play.

DnD races no longer affect your stat, but they still determine your size. However, many of the core species can now be Medium or Small. The DnD 2024 Aasimar could already be either size, but now Humans and DnD 2024 Tieflings can be too.

Weapons with the Heavy property are no longer restricted based on size. Instead, you can wield a Heavy weapon as long as you have a Strength of at least 13 (for melee weapons) or a Dexterity of at least 13 (for ranged weapons).

Certain spells with specific size rules have been tweaked. Dimension Door can now let you transport creatures regardless of their size, and creatures no longer get advantage on rolls against Bigby’s Hand based on their size.

The rules for squeezing seem to be the same in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, but they’re quite difficult to find. For rules on squeezing, the book points you to the rules for Difficult Terrain – specifically, the one found in the rules glossary rather than the main text of the book itself.

The rules glossary for the 2024 Player’s Handbook says “a space is difficult terrain if the space contains any of the following, or something similar”. The list that follows includes “a creature that isn’t Tiny or your ally” and “a narrow opening sized for a creature one size smaller than you.” This means that, to our surprise, the new rules still have that odd loophole where Medium creatures aren’t technically able to squeeze.

Looking for more advice on how to play Dungeons and Dragons? Here’s a step-by-step DnD character creator, as well as how to organize your DnD character sheet.