I have a question regarding the giant octopus''s, specifically what parts of it that can be damaged. Here is what it says about it's tentacle attack
"Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack:+5 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target."
Can an enemy damage the giant octopus by targeting it's tentacles, or is it only the main body that can be targeted? If the first part is true, does that mean that someone who get's grappled by the octopus who exclusivly fight in melee will be unable to deal damage to the octopus unless they first break free of the grapple and move up close to it?
You can't target the octopus when it's out of your reach just because it's grappling you. If you're thinking that it doesn't make sense for you not to be able to attack the tentacle while grappled by it, consider flavoring your attempts at escaping the grapple as attacking the tentacle, even though those don't do damage.
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Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
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RAW, the grappled condition, can't be ended by damaging the creature or its parts that grapple you - other than killing it with an attack or incapacitating it by other means. Also RAW the Giant Octopus grapples you with all its tentacles at once. (And cant use any of them to attack other creatures while grappling you) Attacks on a tentacle would also have disadvantage, as you're also restrained. And you would have to get rid of 8 to end the grapple. It's easier to escape by Athletics or Acrobatics with a DC of 16...
In general any attack damages random parts of a creature without disabling them, some DMs allow as homebrew rule to attack special parts or "weak spots" making up their own AC and HP to cripple them, for example the central eye of a Beholder or the wings of a flying creature. Normally the AC will be somewhat higher as the creatures normal AC, and its up to the DM if the HP of the bodypart are separated from or only count partially towards the general HP of the creature. But applying this kind of homebrew rule would also make no sense in this case, having to get rid of 8 tentacles one after another.
I often get that question in my games and i always rule that in such situation the grappler is not within your reach despite one of its limb being in contact with you and so trying to attack the limb would result in automatic failure to damage it in any meaningful way. so it's better to try something else.
I often get that question in my games and i always rule that in such situation the grappler is not within your reach despite one of its limb being in contact with you and so trying to attack the limb would result in automatic failure to damage it in any meaningful way. so it's better to try something else.
That is likely the RAW answer. That said I feel that it is somewhat unsatisfactory and might allow it to be attacked normally.
I often get that question in my games and i always rule that in such situation the grappler is not within your reach despite one of its limb being in contact with you and so trying to attack the limb would result in automatic failure to damage it in any meaningful way. so it's better to try something else.
I think there is room for flexibility in the answer and ultimately it is a DM decision but attacking parts of a creature that extend beyond the area the creature controls would be a completely valid target.
1) The space a creature occupies on a map is the space it controls where other creatures can't enter - it isn't necessarily the only space where a creature could be attacked if it had parts of its body extending out of that space.
"Space
A creature’s space is the area in feet that it effectively controls in combat, not an expression of its physical dimensions. A typical Medium creature isn’t 5 feet wide, for example, but it does control a space that wide. If a Medium hobgoblin stands in a 5-foot-wide doorway, other creatures can’t get through unless the hobgoblin lets them.
A creature’s space also reflects the area it needs to fight effectively. For that reason, there’s a limit to the number of creatures that can surround another creature in combat. Assuming Medium combatants, eight creatures can fit in a 5-foot radius around another one.
Because larger creatures take up more space, fewer of them can surround a creature. If four Large creatures crowd around a Medium or smaller one, there’s little room for anyone else. In contrast, as many as twenty Medium creatures can surround a Gargantuan one."
2) Attacks are made against a creature, location or object.
"Choose a target. Pick a target within your attack’s range: a creature, an object, or a location."
Note that this does NOT say that you have to target a SPACE occupied by the creature but rather that you have to target a creature within your reach. Without specific guidance (like attacks with a tentacle that remain at a location outside the area controlled by a creature) it is a reasonable assumption that creatures can be attacked in a space they control but not outside it. However, specific rules that allow for ongoing attacks outside of the area of control do not mean that the only place the creature could be attacked is in the controlled spaces (at DM discretion).
3) A Kraken is a gargantuan monstrosity. It controls a gargantuan space on the board which is 4x4 squares (or larger). However, it has 10 tentacles, each of which has a reach of 30'.
"Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack:+17 to hit, reach 30 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d6 + 10) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 18). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained. The kraken has ten tentacles, each of which can grapple one target."
These tentacles reach beyond the space controlled by the Kraken to a distance of 30'. However, this means that at least part of the Kraken (the tentacle) extends to the square where the creature is being grappled by the tentacle.
Since a creature can be selected as the target of an attack, the "creature" has to be within the reach of the attacker, the creature's extent (or area occupied by a creature) is NOT the same as the space it controls during combat. It seems pretty clear to me that, if a DM wishes, they can rule that tentacles extending beyond the area controlled by a creature, remain a part of that creature and are thus valid targets for attacks by a another creature within reach of the tentacle or by the creature restrained by the tentacle (attacks by the restrained creature would be at disadvantage).
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TL;DR - The rules do not prevent attacks against parts of a creature that extend beyond the region controlled by a creature. A DM would be within RAW to allow a creature restrained by a tentacle to attack the creature restraining them via the tentacle since the tentacle is a part of the creature. The rules do NOT support subdividing a creatures hit points so an attack against a tentacle is just an attack against the creature but there is nothing in the rules that would prevent targeting the creature via the presence of the tentacle since it would still be a creature within reach and thus a valid target for an attack.
What if a PC has the Polearm Master feat and the Tentacle reaches into the Polearm's attack range to make an attack, while the body of the Octopus is out of reach? Does he get the OA, or not?
No. Nor can somebody without PAM take an OA when the tentacle presumably leaves their reach after attacking.
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Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
What if a PC has the Polearm Master feat and the Tentacle reaches into the Polearm's attack range to make an attack, while the body of the Octopus is out of reach? Does he get the OA, or not?
A creature reaching for you with an unarmed strike or a natural melee weapon attack or otherwise releasing you from a grapple is not entering or leaving your reach to provoke an Opportunity Attack since it's not moving when doing any of these.
I often get that question in my games and i always rule that in such situation the grappler is not within your reach despite one of its limb being in contact with you and so trying to attack the limb would result in automatic failure to damage it in any meaningful way. so it's better to try something else.
That is likely the RAW answer. That said I feel that it is somewhat unsatisfactory and might allow it to be attacked normally.
I might too in some situation like Roper whose Grasping Tendrils can specifically be attacked for exemple.
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I have a question regarding the giant octopus''s, specifically what parts of it that can be damaged. Here is what it says about it's tentacle attack
"Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target."
Can an enemy damage the giant octopus by targeting it's tentacles, or is it only the main body that can be targeted? If the first part is true, does that mean that someone who get's grappled by the octopus who exclusivly fight in melee will be unable to deal damage to the octopus unless they first break free of the grapple and move up close to it?
You can't target the octopus when it's out of your reach just because it's grappling you. If you're thinking that it doesn't make sense for you not to be able to attack the tentacle while grappled by it, consider flavoring your attempts at escaping the grapple as attacking the tentacle, even though those don't do damage.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
RAW, the grappled condition, can't be ended by damaging the creature or its parts that grapple you - other than killing it with an attack or incapacitating it by other means. Also RAW the Giant Octopus grapples you with all its tentacles at once. (And cant use any of them to attack other creatures while grappling you) Attacks on a tentacle would also have disadvantage, as you're also restrained. And you would have to get rid of 8 to end the grapple. It's easier to escape by Athletics or Acrobatics with a DC of 16...
In general any attack damages random parts of a creature without disabling them, some DMs allow as homebrew rule to attack special parts or "weak spots" making up their own AC and HP to cripple them, for example the central eye of a Beholder or the wings of a flying creature. Normally the AC will be somewhat higher as the creatures normal AC, and its up to the DM if the HP of the bodypart are separated from or only count partially towards the general HP of the creature. But applying this kind of homebrew rule would also make no sense in this case, having to get rid of 8 tentacles one after another.
I often get that question in my games and i always rule that in such situation the grappler is not within your reach despite one of its limb being in contact with you and so trying to attack the limb would result in automatic failure to damage it in any meaningful way. so it's better to try something else.
That is likely the RAW answer.
That said I feel that it is somewhat unsatisfactory and might allow it to be attacked normally.
I think there is room for flexibility in the answer and ultimately it is a DM decision but attacking parts of a creature that extend beyond the area the creature controls would be a completely valid target.
1) The space a creature occupies on a map is the space it controls where other creatures can't enter - it isn't necessarily the only space where a creature could be attacked if it had parts of its body extending out of that space.
"Space
A creature’s space is the area in feet that it effectively controls in combat, not an expression of its physical dimensions. A typical Medium creature isn’t 5 feet wide, for example, but it does control a space that wide. If a Medium hobgoblin stands in a 5-foot-wide doorway, other creatures can’t get through unless the hobgoblin lets them.
A creature’s space also reflects the area it needs to fight effectively. For that reason, there’s a limit to the number of creatures that can surround another creature in combat. Assuming Medium combatants, eight creatures can fit in a 5-foot radius around another one.
Because larger creatures take up more space, fewer of them can surround a creature. If four Large creatures crowd around a Medium or smaller one, there’s little room for anyone else. In contrast, as many as twenty Medium creatures can surround a Gargantuan one."
2) Attacks are made against a creature, location or object.
"Choose a target. Pick a target within your attack’s range: a creature, an object, or a location."
Note that this does NOT say that you have to target a SPACE occupied by the creature but rather that you have to target a creature within your reach. Without specific guidance (like attacks with a tentacle that remain at a location outside the area controlled by a creature) it is a reasonable assumption that creatures can be attacked in a space they control but not outside it. However, specific rules that allow for ongoing attacks outside of the area of control do not mean that the only place the creature could be attacked is in the controlled spaces (at DM discretion).
3) A Kraken is a gargantuan monstrosity. It controls a gargantuan space on the board which is 4x4 squares (or larger). However, it has 10 tentacles, each of which has a reach of 30'.
"Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +17![]()
to hit, reach 30 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d6 + 10![]()
) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 18). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained. The kraken has ten tentacles, each of which can grapple one target."
These tentacles reach beyond the space controlled by the Kraken to a distance of 30'. However, this means that at least part of the Kraken (the tentacle) extends to the square where the creature is being grappled by the tentacle.
Since a creature can be selected as the target of an attack, the "creature" has to be within the reach of the attacker, the creature's extent (or area occupied by a creature) is NOT the same as the space it controls during combat. It seems pretty clear to me that, if a DM wishes, they can rule that tentacles extending beyond the area controlled by a creature, remain a part of that creature and are thus valid targets for attacks by a another creature within reach of the tentacle or by the creature restrained by the tentacle (attacks by the restrained creature would be at disadvantage).
------
TL;DR - The rules do not prevent attacks against parts of a creature that extend beyond the region controlled by a creature. A DM would be within RAW to allow a creature restrained by a tentacle to attack the creature restraining them via the tentacle since the tentacle is a part of the creature. The rules do NOT support subdividing a creatures hit points so an attack against a tentacle is just an attack against the creature but there is nothing in the rules that would prevent targeting the creature via the presence of the tentacle since it would still be a creature within reach and thus a valid target for an attack.
What if a PC has the Polearm Master feat and the Tentacle reaches into the Polearm's attack range to make an attack, while the body of the Octopus is out of reach? Does he get the OA, or not?
No. Nor can somebody without PAM take an OA when the tentacle presumably leaves their reach after attacking.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
A creature reaching for you with an unarmed strike or a natural melee weapon attack or otherwise releasing you from a grapple is not entering or leaving your reach to provoke an Opportunity Attack since it's not moving when doing any of these.
I might too in some situation like Roper whose Grasping Tendrils can specifically be attacked for exemple.