Difficult Terrain in Combat
Each foot costs 2 feet of movement. Doesn't stack with other difficult terrain. Many spells and features create or ignore it.
Difficult terrain makes movement harder, costing extra movement to traverse.
Core rule: Every foot of movement in difficult terrain costs 1 extra foot of movement. Effectively, moving 1 foot costs 2 feet of your speed.
Stacking: Difficult terrain does not stack with itself. Multiple sources of difficult terrain in the same space don't make it cost 3 feet per foot — it stays at 2 feet per foot.
Common sources in combat:
- Rubble, debris, furniture, or bodies on the ground
- Spells: entangle, grease, spike growth, plant growth, sleet storm, web
- Natural terrain: thick undergrowth, shallow water, ice, steep slopes, deep snow
- Creature abilities: certain lair actions and legendary actions create difficult terrain
Movement types affected: Difficult terrain affects all ground movement including walking, crawling, climbing (without a climb speed), and swimming (without a swim speed). It does not affect flying movement unless the DM rules that the terrain extends upward.
Features that ignore difficult terrain:
- Ranger's Natural Explorer (in favored terrain)
- Druid's Land's Stride (level 6, nonmagical difficult terrain)
- Monk's Unarmored Movement (level 9, move on vertical surfaces and water)
- Freedom of Movement spell
- Any feature that says "you ignore difficult terrain"
Spike Growth interaction: Spike growth creates difficult terrain that also deals 2d4 piercing damage per 5 feet of movement through it. Because difficult terrain halves speed, creatures spend more time in the area and potentially take more damage if forced to move through it.