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D&D: Fighting In Five-Foot Squares Is Roomier Than You’d Think

2 Minute Read
Jul 12 2020
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50 Square Feet might not seem like a lot… but today we’re looking at just how much room you have when you’re squaring up for a fight in D&D.

As a followup to one redditor’s bold visualization of the humble five-foot square, which–as previously discussed–is the humble hero of D&D that often stands between you and fiery immolation at the hands of a spellcaster who just can’t quite manage to catch you in the radius of the fireball, some more true heroes of reddit have gone and not only created two more five-foot squares, but also done battle in them. You can watch it all below, thanks to u/sith1144.

via Imgur

5×5 Feet Grid Square Combat

You can click on the link above to find the original post, but the gist of it is that user sith1144 and their battle buddies have set up two five-foot squares and taken to battling across them. It turns out, there’s a lot of space as you stand there–the reach of the weapons is really highlighted.

As you see, they can move around the squares and get quite close up on each other. Or you can fight more at a distance… but invariably you’ll start side-stepping and dancing around each other while steels rings against steel.

But they don’t stop there. As you can tell from the gear and the kinds of swords on display, these folks take their swordfighting seriously, going so far as to engage in some half-swording, which is what happens when you grip your sword in your other hand to control the precision of where you’re stabbing. Usually used when you’re targeting the gaps in someone’s armor and you only have a backup weapon like your sword at hand.

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Okay that’s all well and good but what about daggers? Well, say no more.

And there you have it. Combat across ten square feet is a lot closer than you’d think.

Happy Adventuring!

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Author: J.R. Zambrano
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