Ancients paladin is standing at the tavern bar when an owl flies in and lands his shoulder. The owl chimes out "wwwwoohhhhooooo....... wwwhhooooo" which slightly annoys the paladin which takes a closer look that the bird on his shoulder.. The owl turns looking into the paladins eyes then again a loud ""WHHhHoooooo" . At that moment the owl shapeshifts into an earth elemental with it's weight crushing down on the paladin... The elemental yells out as it pins down the paladin "WHO's your daddy!"
Ok now for the mechanics of the scene. The owl is a high level druid which finished his short rest in owl form. He wanted till the tavern door opened then flew to his target hoping the ancients paladin wouldn't think much of an owl landing on his shoulder... which he didn't. As a DM how you run the mechanics of the shapeshift stone elemental weight. I found this regarding elemental weight "a typical earth elemental could weigh anything between 2,000 to 6,000 pounds"
Due to the surprise would it be an auto pin? a saving throw? Death? since the shapeshift is a bonus action I assume it's almost instant so not much time to react.....thoughts?
Surprise is a condition of being caught unaware of your enemy. While sneaky, the Paladin knew the owl was there. I might require the druid to make a deception check contested by the paladin's passive perception or passive insight - high number wins. If the druid dupes the paladin, I might grant surprise.
For the dropping of the elemental onto the paladin, I might use the Falling Onto a Creature rules in Tasha's to establish whether or not the paladin can escape the crushing impact. (Improvised Trap rules would work here as well.)
And for damage done, I might reach for inspiration from the Trap Effects of the DMG set at Dangerous(definitely) or Deadly(good possibility).
Now the pinning that you are going for, I might substitute the Restrained condition, but the Paladin would have to fail the Dex save to avoid the falling creature by 5-7 or more in order to be restrained under the creature.
And for the PvP vibe here, I would shunt the paladin into the next unoccupied space with no damage done, and allow the elemental to fall through the tavern floor, into the cellars ruining the entire store of food and drink. Cause that's the best way for the druid to make friends.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
So here's the scene,
Ancients paladin is standing at the tavern bar when an owl flies in and lands his shoulder. The owl chimes out "wwwwoohhhhooooo....... wwwhhooooo" which slightly annoys the paladin which takes a closer look that the bird on his shoulder.. The owl turns looking into the paladins eyes then again a loud ""WHHhHoooooo" . At that moment the owl shapeshifts into an earth elemental with it's weight crushing down on the paladin... The elemental yells out as it pins down the paladin "WHO's your daddy!"
Ok now for the mechanics of the scene. The owl is a high level druid which finished his short rest in owl form. He wanted till the tavern door opened then flew to his target hoping the ancients paladin wouldn't think much of an owl landing on his shoulder... which he didn't. As a DM how you run the mechanics of the shapeshift stone elemental weight. I found this regarding elemental weight "a typical earth elemental could weigh anything between 2,000 to 6,000 pounds"
Due to the surprise would it be an auto pin? a saving throw? Death? since the shapeshift is a bonus action I assume it's almost instant so not much time to react.....thoughts?
Surprise is a condition of being caught unaware of your enemy. While sneaky, the Paladin knew the owl was there. I might require the druid to make a deception check contested by the paladin's passive perception or passive insight - high number wins. If the druid dupes the paladin, I might grant surprise.
For the dropping of the elemental onto the paladin, I might use the Falling Onto a Creature rules in Tasha's to establish whether or not the paladin can escape the crushing impact. (Improvised Trap rules would work here as well.)
And for damage done, I might reach for inspiration from the Trap Effects of the DMG set at Dangerous(definitely) or Deadly(good possibility).
Now the pinning that you are going for, I might substitute the Restrained condition, but the Paladin would have to fail the Dex save to avoid the falling creature by 5-7 or more in order to be restrained under the creature.
And for the PvP vibe here, I would shunt the paladin into the next unoccupied space with no damage done, and allow the elemental to fall through the tavern floor, into the cellars ruining the entire store of food and drink. Cause that's the best way for the druid to make friends.
Edit: Completeness
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
Thanks, very thought out and insightful.