Hey, folks, just have a rules question if anyone has any suggestions.
Here are the rules as written.
Trunk. You can grasp things with your trunk, and you can use it as a snorkel. It has a reach of 5 feet, and it can lift a number of pounds equal to five times your Strength score. You can use it to do the following simple tasks: lift, drop, hold, push, or pull an object or a creature; open or close a door or a container; grapple someone; or make an unarmed strike. Your DM might allow other simple tasks to be added to that list of options. It can't wield weapons or shields or do anything that requires manual precision, such as using tools or magic items or performing the somatic components of a spell.
My question is whether a loxodon can use their trunk without expending an action that the loxodon can still use with their hands. It seems limited if the loxodon can only use trunk actions when not using a main action with their hands, and feels unrealistic if they couldn't do both at the same time. For example, can they make a normal attack with their main action and then an unarmed strike or a grapple with their trunk? How balanced would this be? Thanks for any responses!
The rules as written provide options; whether or not those options require an action depends on the context in which they're employed. For example, you can use your trunk to make an unarmed strike, but you need to have something that lets you actually make an attack to use the trunk that way. Usually that'll be taking the Attack action, but monks can make unarmed strikes as bonus actions under certain circumstances as well.
Similarly, you can only grapple by taking the Attack action. Nothing about the loxodon's feature changes that part; they can just do it with their trunk instead of a hand.
Dropping objects is usually ruled as requiring no action, so that's one you could do for "free." Opening or closing doors is most often going to be your one free object interaction on a turn, but going beyond that requires using your action to Use an Object.
Etc. etc.
The action economy is the action economy and it's a foundational balancing factor of 5e. "Unrealistic" isn't really a valid argument: I have two fists, why can't I use both of them to make unarmed strikes on my turn if I'm not holding anything? There's nothing special about the trunk not giving you free actions. None of the game's action timing rules have anything to do with how many free hands you have.
DxJxC is correct, so the only "additional" things the trunk can do are non-actions. For example, a Loxodon holding three spoons, one in each hand and one in its trunk, could drop all three as non-actions.
Do remember, though, peeps, is that while yes there is the action economy you do get one 'free action' on your turns. There are limits what you can do for such, but it is there and the use of the trunk is not limited to requiring any specific action.
Other Activity on Your Turn
Your turn can include a variety of flourishes that require neither your action nor your move.
You can communicate however you are able, through brief utterances and gestures, as you take your turn.
You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your weapon as part of the same action you use to attack.
If you want to interact with a second object, you need to use your action. Some magic items and other special objects always require an action to use, as stated in their descriptions.
The DM might require you to use an action for any of these activities when it needs special care or when it presents an unusual obstacle. For instance, the DM could reasonably expect you to use an action to open a stuck door or turn a crank to lower a drawbridge.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hey, folks, just have a rules question if anyone has any suggestions.
Here are the rules as written.
My question is whether a loxodon can use their trunk without expending an action that the loxodon can still use with their hands. It seems limited if the loxodon can only use trunk actions when not using a main action with their hands, and feels unrealistic if they couldn't do both at the same time. For example, can they make a normal attack with their main action and then an unarmed strike or a grapple with their trunk? How balanced would this be? Thanks for any responses!
The rules as written provide options; whether or not those options require an action depends on the context in which they're employed. For example, you can use your trunk to make an unarmed strike, but you need to have something that lets you actually make an attack to use the trunk that way. Usually that'll be taking the Attack action, but monks can make unarmed strikes as bonus actions under certain circumstances as well.
Similarly, you can only grapple by taking the Attack action. Nothing about the loxodon's feature changes that part; they can just do it with their trunk instead of a hand.
Dropping objects is usually ruled as requiring no action, so that's one you could do for "free." Opening or closing doors is most often going to be your one free object interaction on a turn, but going beyond that requires using your action to Use an Object.
Etc. etc.
The action economy is the action economy and it's a foundational balancing factor of 5e. "Unrealistic" isn't really a valid argument: I have two fists, why can't I use both of them to make unarmed strikes on my turn if I'm not holding anything? There's nothing special about the trunk not giving you free actions. None of the game's action timing rules have anything to do with how many free hands you have.
Short answer: No. The trunk shares the action economy of the other limbs.
DxJxC is correct, so the only "additional" things the trunk can do are non-actions. For example, a Loxodon holding three spoons, one in each hand and one in its trunk, could drop all three as non-actions.
Awesome, thanks for the responses, folks!
Do remember, though, peeps, is that while yes there is the action economy you do get one 'free action' on your turns. There are limits what you can do for such, but it is there and the use of the trunk is not limited to requiring any specific action.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.