CREATURES SHARING SPACES

Most RPG rules questions start with something reasonable, like Can I jump over this pit? or Does fireball set the curtains on fire? This one starts with a much more dangerous question: How many adventurers can we cram into one five-foot square before the rules collapse? Tyler digs into decades of D&D and Pathfinder rules looking for an answer, while Ash does increasingly questionable celebrity impressions, Randall weaponizes every edge case he can find, and Tyler's cats provide live demonstrations of why personal space is apparently optional.

Show Notes This week, we're getting uncomfortably close as we dig into the surprisingly complicated rules for creatures sharing spaces. Can you walk through an ally? What about an enemy? Can a tiny creature just hang out in your square? What happens if somebody gets shoved into someone else? And, most importantly, can another player give you a piggyback ride and technically become your mount?

We trace the rules from D&D 3.5 through 2014 and 2024 D&D 5e before arriving at Pathfinder 2e, comparing how each system handles movement, size differences, prone creatures, incapacitated creatures, forced movement, swarms, and all the weird situations where two creatures wind up occupying the same chunk of battlefield.

Along the way, Tyler discovers that some rules are clearer than expected and others become significantly worse the longer you stare at them. Pathfinder 2e earns some praise for actually explaining what happens when creatures accidentally collide, while 2024 5e raises uncomfortable questions about exactly who falls prone and when. Meanwhile, Ash turns rules text into an excuse for a parade of impressions, Randall threatens the Grand Canyon with rules exploits, and the cats continue proving that tiny creatures respect neither game mechanics nor boundaries.

DnD 3.5: Moving Through a Square

DnD 5.x

Shifting Combatant

5e: Moving Around Other Creatures

5.5: Moving Around Other Creatures

PF2: Tactical Movement

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