Troll Lord Games

I have a a debate that just won't seem to rest.

I ran a game where 3 characters snuck into a fortress, then kicked in a door to a barracks that held 30 kobolds.

The doorway was roughly 3-5 foot wide.

The characters stood 5' back just outside the door, and one stood 10' to the side.

Rather than blocking the doorway, they left it open and waited 5' outside.

They seemed surprised when the 30 kobolds came pouring out, surrounded them, and brought them down. The guy off to the side ran for his life with kobolds on his tail.

I understand a medium creature occupies roughly an entire 5' square.

How much space does a small creature occupy?

How many kobolds can usher from a doorway in a few rounds?

C&C has never bothered to answer questions like these, relying on the judgment of the Castle Keeper rather than any hard-and-fast "rule." So, what follows is only "advice" and not a "rule."

There could be a lot of kobolds in a small place... maybe they're armed with daggers or short bows. Maybe they stand on each other's heads. Maybe they let each other pass through their "zone of encroachment." However, assuming nothing weird like acrobatic kobolds, and that they are not using very enormous weapons, I would say 3-5 could easily fit in a 5-foot square, depending on what they are doing, and how, and so forth. Now, through the door is another matter: if they ran, they could pile through it pretty quickly, probably at a rate of 5-8 / round, if there was enough space for them to fill, and they had access to it.

Those players should have grabbed a shield and slammed it in front of the door....