Difficult Terrain 5e | Mechanics Overview

D&D 5E Difficult Terrain

Difficult terrain adds strategic complexity to D&D 5e, affecting combat and exploration by altering movement and positioning. This article details how difficult terrain affects these aspects of the game and provides insight into how to overcome and utilize these challenges effectively.

Understanding 5E’s difficult terrain

Difficult terrain in D&D 5E is basically any part of the environment that impedes movement. It has two different effects depending on whether you encounter difficult terrain during combat or an exploration scenario.

Difficult terrain in combat

In combat, where small spaces and movement are important, difficult terrain can create opportunities and threats by greatly slowing the movement of creatures trapped within it.

Each foot of movement in difficult terrain costs an additional foot. This rule applies even if there is more than one thing in the space that counts as difficult terrain.

Examples of difficult terrain are low furniture, rubble, undergrowth, steep stairs, snow, shallow swamps, etc. Spaces containing other creatures, hostile or not, also count as difficult terrain.

Chapter 9: Combat – Basic Rules

It’s important to note that difficult terrain stacks with other effects that impede movement. For example, climbing normally takes 2 feet for every foot you climb, so if you climb in difficult terrain, it takes 3 feet for every foot you move.

Difficult terrain

When setting off on a road trip that may last for hours, days, or weeks, encountering environments that slow your travels can have a major impact on your travel time.

Adventurers often face difficult terrain, including dense forests, deep swamps, rubble-strewn ruins, rugged mountains, and icy ground.

Your movement speed is halved in difficult terrain: moving 1 foot in difficult terrain costs 2 feet of speed, so you can only travel half the normal distance in a minute, hour, or day.

Chapter 8: Adventures – Basic Rules

Use difficult terrain to shake up encounters

Difficult terrain is a great feature to add to combat if you want to create more dynamic combat, where movement and strategy are more important than who does the most damage. Adding difficult terrain forces a traditional party to deviate from the typical “tank on the front line, caster on the back line” combat plan. This is even more true if the party is facing an enemy that can use difficult terrain to their advantage.

Let’s take a look at some common arenas that contain difficult terrain and how you can use it to vary up combat.

Dense Jungle

The cluttered undergrowth and trees also act as cover to confuse difficult terrain and make enemies very hard to see; creatures that call the forest home will almost certainly employ guerilla tactics or use the terrain for ambushes, attacking to their advantage with unseen movement. This forces the party to defend not only their front, but their flanks and rear as well.

They can also use attractive locations in less difficult terrain to set traps and capture combatants as they try to escape from the undergrowth.

Swamp

Terrain with mud and shallow water can make for an interesting battlefield. The difficult footing makes it difficult for melee combatants to close in on their foes or to protect the caster if they move away. Foes accustomed to fighting in swamps, such as bullywogs, lizardfolk, and perhaps black dragons, can use their knowledge of the hard ground and treacherous mud to outwit the party.

This, plus the fact that they can use their swim speed to more effectively traverse terrain that is difficult for the party, will allow them to turn around what may seem like an easy fight.

Rubble and ruins

Navigating rubble and collapsed buildings comes with many hazards. Enemies may use the higher ground to their advantage, and the difficult terrain will require extra time for melee combatants to scale the rubble and engage an enemy head-on. This type of battlefield is a great place for enemies who plan ahead and set traps, like goblins and kobolds.

Snow and Ice

Deep snow is certainly an obstacle that makes for difficult terrain, and pairs beautifully with a slippery icy surface. Party members can choose to take the safer route through the snow at half speed, or risk running on the ice, requiring a successful DC 10 athletics check to avoid falling.

web

Arachnophobes, take note! Cobwebs are a network of spider holes that are sure to be a challenge. Most spider enemies also have the “Web Walker” trait, which allows them to ignore the movement restrictions imposed by webs. Combine this with “Web Sense” and “Spider Climb,” which allow them to see the location of creatures touching the web, and these eight-legged monsters will definitely be able to “defeat” your party.

Challenging Terrain Effects in D&D 5E

Difficult terrain can be either a major obstacle or a strategic advantage in D&D 5e, depending on how adventurers and their enemies use the environment. Difficult terrain at a bottleneck or that forces combatants to take an extra turn with an AoE ability can change the entire flow of an encounter. It can also split forces, leaving rear-line casters vulnerable without the support of a tank.

Whether you use difficult terrain offensively or defensively, here are some common ways to work with difficult terrain in D&D 5e.

Effect of mitigating difficult terrain

Several abilities and spells allow characters to move through difficult terrain without the usual penalties, and these effects can be important for maintaining mobility in combat or allowing the party to traverse dangerous areas quickly.

Freedom of Movement: This spell is the pinnacle of ignoring difficult terrain, allowing characters to move freely through nonmagical terrain that would slow them down. Ranger Wilderness Exploration: At level 2, rangers choose one favored terrain. While moving in the favored terrain for an hour or more, difficult terrain does not slow the group’s movement. Druid and Ranger Land’s Stride: Starting at level 6, druids and rangers gain the ability to move through nonmagical difficult terrain at no additional movement cost. In addition, vegetation that might impede movement (thorns, vines, etc.) does not harm them or slow them down. Mobility Feat: Taking this feat allows you to ignore difficult terrain when making a dash action. Fly, Levitate, or Teleport: The ability for a creature to teleport or leave the ground is important to avoid difficult terrain. If the chosen race has the ability to fly, or can use misty step, flight, levitation, or even telekinesis, they can move quickly to more stable footing.

How to create difficult terrain

Creating difficult terrain can be a powerful tactic for slowing down enemies or controlling the flow of battle. The following spells are designed specifically for this purpose.

Spell Level School Blurb Entangle 1 Conjuration Turn a 20-foot square area into difficult terrain, and may restrain creatures. Grease 1 Conjuration Cover a 10-foot square area of ​​the ground with slippery grease, making it difficult terrain. Spike Growth 2 Transmute Turn a 20-foot radius of the ground into difficult terrain, dealing 2d4 piercing damage for every 5 feet moved. Web 2 Conjuration Fill a 20-foot cube with cobwebs, turning it into difficult terrain, and may restrain creatures. Plant Growth 3 Transmute Creates a 100-foot radius of dense vegetation, making it very difficult terrain that costs 4 feet per foot moved. Erupting Earth 3 Transmute Stir up the dirt and stone in a cube, making it difficult terrain until cleared. Sleet Storm 3 Conjuration Creates a storm of freezing rain and sleet, freezing the ground and making it dangerous. Speak with Plants 3 Divination Used primarily for communication, but can move plants and may change the difficulty of the terrain. Hunger of Hadar 3 Conjuration Creates an area of ​​darkness and frigid cold that slows movement. Black Tentacles of Evard 4 Conjuration Summons tentacles that cover a 20-foot square of ground, binding and damaging foes and creating difficult terrain. Ice Storm 4 Conjuration Calls down ice and sleet, making the ground slippery and difficult to travel. Plague of Insects 5 Conjuration Summons a swarm of biting insects that not only deal harm but also impede movement through the area. Barrier of Blades 6 Conjuration Creates a wall of spinning blades that not only deal damage but also make it difficult to pass through the area safely. Mirage Arcane 7 Illusion Illusion that changes the appearance of the terrain. Can also make flat land appear difficult to travel. Earthquake 8 Conjuration Creates violent shaking that turns the ground into difficult terrain and can cause buildings to collapse.

keep it up

The proper use of difficult terrain is an invaluable tool in the Dungeon Master’s Workshop: not only does it encourage players to think creatively about their movement and strategy, it also integrates the environment into your scenario, making it feel more alive.