D&D: Five Ways to Be Large Without Being a Giant
The upcoming Path of the Giant Barbarian can get really big when it counts. But they aren’t the only ones. Here’s how to be large.
You don’t need the ancient, primordial power of a Giant flowing through your blood to make you big in D&D. In fact, as you’ll see, you don’t even have to be particularly Large to be big when it comes to Dungeons & Dragons.
So if you’re bummed that it seems like only Barbarians get the fun of throwing their weight around like they’re large and in charge, don’t worry, we’re here to help. Here are plenty of ways to be Large without needing to be a Giant.
Enlarge/Reduce
As is always the case in D&D 5E, Magic is the answer to everything. And that is especially true here, where there is in fact a spell that duplicates a whole portion of the subclass’ class feature. Enlarge/Reduce will not only increase your size category by one, it will also give you an extra 1d4 damage to throw around on top of everything else.
Be a Bugbear
Weirdly enough though, being Large doesn’t automatically get you access to increased reach. You can be 12 feet tall and still only able to hit someone who’s no more than 5′ away from you. Even the Enlarge spell doesn’t increase your reach.
But that’s where being a Bugbear comes in handy. Yes, with their access to both Powerful Build (which lets you count as one size larger for the purpose of lifting things) and their innate long limbs, you can reach up to 10 feet away with a weapon and can also pick things up as though you were a giant without actually having to be Large ™.
Wild Magic Sorcerer
Of course, you could also play one of the many other classes whose features let them grow in size and stature. Like the Wild Magic Sorcerer—technically if you roll the right number (93-94) when Wild Surging, your size increases. So you can become Large without needing to rely on the power of a giant.
Polymorph
Or you could just transform yourself into something Large (or bigger) with the Polymorph spell. Or for more advanced versions, use Shapechange. Either way, you’ll be able to go to Large or beyond, and for a significant amount of time at that.
Wish
Finally, there’s always Wish. Sure, it’s maybe a misuse of the ultimate cosmic power to reshape reality and simply Wish to be big. I mean, it worked for Tom Hanks, right?
Get huge, stay huge
