as the title says...a druid has been engulfed by a shambling mound and said he will wild shape into a huge snake to escape and kill it. im at a loss, any ideas how this would work? damage etc ? lol im a dm caught on the hop :-)
I’m guessing you’re using the 2014 Druid. And that the character is of a high enough level to turn into a CR 2 monster as that’s what a giant constructor snake is. In that case, has the character ever seen one? If not they can’t turn into one. If they have, personally, I might rule of cool and give it to them — it’s a smart strategy. I could see being worried about precedent, but how often is the Druid going to be swallowed/engulfed?
Another alternative could be to say that it just kind of forces the Druid/snake out of the shambling mound’s body and the snake is now deposited in an adjacent square(s). If you decide the mound needs to take some damage in the process, that seems like it would be fair, but the Druid would, too, I would think.
I would likely say that it causes the mound to expell the creature. I definitely wouldn't let it kill the creature, mostly because that sets the precedent to do that every time.
as the title says...a druid has been engulfed by a shambling mound and said he will wild shape into a huge snake to escape and kill it. im at a loss, any ideas how this would work? damage etc ? lol im a dm caught on the hop :-)
thanks for any help/ideas
Yes it should work, no it should not deal damage to the creature - unless you explicitly tell them it is a one-off rule of cool moment.
The general idea would be if a creature engulphed / swallowed or otherwise within another creature (or grappled by them) grows large enough for them to not be able to be swallowed / engulphed by the creature then they are vomited up / ejected by the engulpher / swallower once they get to a certain size.
I'd suggest that these rules apply. I've had players try to have their characters wildshape into a Large creature in a tight underground passage before now 'to try and widen the stone passage'. So the ruling I made is that the Druid needs to have the space available in order to wild-shape into the new creature. If they try, they'll likely fail. Now I'm not too strict with this - if the Druid has been trapped within a chest, they get to roll their base druid strength. If they beat the AC of the object in question, they destroy the container and manage to suceed on the wildshape. If they fail, they start to shift but realise that it isn't possible to complete the transformation - they retain the wild-shape use, it doesn't get burnt in the attempt.
When swallowed by a creature, this tends to apply too. In the case of a shambling mound, a creatue engulfed is restrained, grappled, and blinded. Personally, I think this is where the designers under-utilise Incapacitated and would probably suggest that if the player character can escape the grapple, then it's able to do what it likes. If it can't escape the grapple I'd actually have the character be unable to wildshape. Even if, and I stress if I ruled in favour of wildshape, I'd still have the character be subject to grapple and blinded. This isn't an attempt at a clever and unique strategy. This is an attempt to find a mechanical loophole. At least that's my take on the matter.
as the title says...a druid has been engulfed by a shambling mound and said he will wild shape into a huge snake to escape and kill it. im at a loss, any ideas how this would work? damage etc ? lol im a dm caught on the hop :-)
thanks for any help/ideas
I’m guessing you’re using the 2014 Druid. And that the character is of a high enough level to turn into a CR 2 monster as that’s what a giant constructor snake is. In that case, has the character ever seen one? If not they can’t turn into one. If they have, personally, I might rule of cool and give it to them — it’s a smart strategy. I could see being worried about precedent, but how often is the Druid going to be swallowed/engulfed?
Another alternative could be to say that it just kind of forces the Druid/snake out of the shambling mound’s body and the snake is now deposited in an adjacent square(s). If you decide the mound needs to take some damage in the process, that seems like it would be fair, but the Druid would, too, I would think.
I would likely say that it causes the mound to expell the creature. I definitely wouldn't let it kill the creature, mostly because that sets the precedent to do that every time.
Yes it should work, no it should not deal damage to the creature - unless you explicitly tell them it is a one-off rule of cool moment.
The general idea would be if a creature engulphed / swallowed or otherwise within another creature (or grappled by them) grows large enough for them to not be able to be swallowed / engulphed by the creature then they are vomited up / ejected by the engulpher / swallower once they get to a certain size.
What occur when a creature exceed the size another creature can engulf is up to the DM, it could deal improvised damage and be released for example.
Squeezing into a space too small - Basic Rules for Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) Fifth Edition (5e) - D&D Beyond. Sadly, this is an area that the 2024 Free Rules don't include (that I can find anyhow).
I'd suggest that these rules apply. I've had players try to have their characters wildshape into a Large creature in a tight underground passage before now 'to try and widen the stone passage'. So the ruling I made is that the Druid needs to have the space available in order to wild-shape into the new creature. If they try, they'll likely fail. Now I'm not too strict with this - if the Druid has been trapped within a chest, they get to roll their base druid strength. If they beat the AC of the object in question, they destroy the container and manage to suceed on the wildshape. If they fail, they start to shift but realise that it isn't possible to complete the transformation - they retain the wild-shape use, it doesn't get burnt in the attempt.
When swallowed by a creature, this tends to apply too. In the case of a shambling mound, a creatue engulfed is restrained, grappled, and blinded. Personally, I think this is where the designers under-utilise Incapacitated and would probably suggest that if the player character can escape the grapple, then it's able to do what it likes. If it can't escape the grapple I'd actually have the character be unable to wildshape. Even if, and I stress if I ruled in favour of wildshape, I'd still have the character be subject to grapple and blinded. This isn't an attempt at a clever and unique strategy. This is an attempt to find a mechanical loophole. At least that's my take on the matter.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
Remanent of this rule can now be found in Difficult Terrain rules:
Thanks for the lead to the 2024 rules. I missed this.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.