Today while playing, the DM had a lizard folk shaman pop out and cast heat metal on me. Instead of taking my armor off while surrounded by 4 other lizard folk I charged through and grappled the shaman (causing him to discontinue concentrating on the spell). Subsequently, when it was the shaman's turn, it changed shape into a crocodile, the DM stated that broke the grapple and then it bit me. I contended the act of changing shape did not break the grapple, additionally, I questioned the number of actions for the creature since the crocodile only has one action, and the changing of shape was essentially the creatures action. The DM then told me to leave and never come back.
I guess myain question is, if something changes shape while grappled, does it break a grapple? Additionally, if an action is used to change shape, do creatures get to reset their movements and actions? I don't seem to remember ever getting to polymorph and then take all of the actions of the creature I polymorphed into.
I immediately apologized to the DM but he wasnt in a state to receive my apology. I'd just like some clarification with references because I couldn't find this specific example anywhere.
1. Wild Shape is commonly a Bonus Action rather than an Action; see the Druid Circle of the Moon.
2. NPCs don't have to follow the same rules that PCs do. PCs don't get Legendary Actions; some NPCs do.
3. The DM is not only within his rights but is encouraged to modify the creatures the players encounter both to make them unique and interesting to fight and so that players can't bring too much meta-game knowledge to the table. You aren't guaranteed that any D&D monster is exactly the same as any given statblock in the Monster Manual or elsewhere.
4. I'm pretty sure you're correct that Wild Shape shouldn't break a grapple unless they wild shaped into a creature that is immune to grappling or otherwise used an ability of the creature to escape the grapple.
5. However, a grapple does nothing to prevent the grappled creature from hitting you. The only consequence of a grapple is to make it so the grappled creature cannot move.
It is a thorny topic - as is the reverse (changing shape while grappling someone) - but RAW the grapple would only break if changing to a shape 2+ sizes different i.e. the shaman would become impossible to grapple if they turned into a giant crocodile (huge vs your medium), but not if they turned into a regular crocodile (large vs your medium). Unless of course your character is small, in which case even a regular crocodile would get the job done!
To be honest (from a distant non-rushed perspective) this is a particularly daft scenario to cause controversy, because the crocodile attack would itself grapple you right back - so in effect all his ruling aimed to do was to have neither of you move anyway! As escape shapeshifts go, turning into a crocodile then attacking is one of the worst possible plays...
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 12). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the crocodile can't bite another target.
On one hand, this seems like a pretty silly thing for the DM to flip out on and eject you from the group. True, the DM has final say in most matters, but where he's chosen to make his stand is... controversial, shall we say. Did they specify whether the Lizardman was using a Druidic shapeshifting ability such as Wild Shape, or was it using Polymorph on itself? This is a very important distinction that is absent from your retelling.
On the other hand... based on how you have described the scenario, it sounds like there was more going on, something(s) you were doing that the DM was just tired of putting up with. Kinda sounds like they may have been mad you were trying to rules-lawyer them, and that you were looking up statblocks. Again, since your description of the combat (and none of the events leading up to it) is somewhat vague, for all we know the DM was specifically trying to kill your character. You were targeted by the Shaman using Heat Metal, and it had 4 friends ready and waiting to pummel you. Were you alone?
Clearly, there's more going on here, and we can't make heads or tails of the situation without more information.
To be honest (from a distant non-rushed perspective) this is a particularly daft scenario to cause controversy, because the crocodile attack would itself grapple you right back - so in effect all his ruling aimed to do was to have neither of you move anyway! As escape shapeshifts go, turning into a crocodile then attacking is one of the worst possible plays...
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 12). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the crocodile can't bite another target.
There are 2 reasons why this is actually a very good idea. The first is group tactics for the opponents. The second is (potentially) out-of-game stuff, as I outlined above. I'll not be commenting on that bit without more information, since assumptions cause a lot of problems.
From a group tactical point of view, "reversing" the Grapple is incredibly smart. The first thing the Shaman did was apply Heat Metal to OP's armor, while OP was surrounded by other Lizardmen. It's taking supportive action to soften up a hard target for it's brethren to tear apart. Clearly, the point is to capture or kill OP. Quick thinking on the part of the target forced it to change tactics and drop Heat Metal. If it can't make OP remove their armor, it's going to use an animal form it knows to apply conditions to the target -- in this case, not only [Tooltip Not Found]. Restrained is the important one here, because it does quite a bit more than reducing the victim's speed to zero. The important part(s) are giving advantage on attack rolls against the victim (ie the Shaman's 4 friends from earlier), as well as imposing disadvantage on the victim's attack rolls, making it difficult to impossible for it to fight back. At best, the 4 other Lizardmen are going to get effectively free hits on OP, and OP is all but forced to contest the Grapple to deal with any of it.
I agree there is definitely some missing information ( I typed that OP on my phone ). There were no instances previous where I was "pushing it", we had a fairly standard encounter previously with some Hags and there were no issues. We had received some magical items which were great. A visit to town to refresh, do some selling, I traded one of the magical items for some special homebrew arrows the DM said we could buy for our ranger, and a wand of magic missile for our sorcerer. I bought some splint armor, and then we were on our way to meet up with a demon that was interacting with us previously (we're an evil aligned party). When we arrived at the meeting location, there were 5 lizardfolk there and 2 crocodiles in an adjacent pond. The lizardfolk had not posed any threat to us and seemed neutral, we approached, and our Sorcerer spoke with them briefly, they moved towards us and sprung an attack. The barbarian and I were shoulder to shoulder, he had 2 directly on him and I had 3 directly on me but was adjacent to 4 of the targets,. As we engaged, the two crocs in the water, used the lizardfolk shaman ability "change shape" back to its true form which specifically states it cannot be used again until after a short or long rest. One shaman approached the sorcerer. Initiative was determined, Sorcerer first, me as the eldritch knight, then the melee lizard folk, then the ranger, then the shaman, then the barbarian. It was at that point Sorcerer cast burning hands on her target, I attacked with my great sword on of the targets within my melee range. The melee lizardfolk went, I cast shield as a reaction when I was attacked, causing the attacks to miss. The barbarian took 1 out of 2 hits. The ranger placed hunter's mark on one of the melee targets on me, moved back, and fired his longbow. The first Shaman cast entangle centered between the ranger and I to restrict movement, I made the str save, the ranger did not. The 2nd shaman then cast heat metal on me. The DM read the effects to me and mentioned it was a concentration spell. I thought about using absorb elements but came up with moving passed my immediate attackers, using shield when they attacked me as a reaction, and then grappling the shaman to damage him with his own spell (I didn't announce this to the group, I just said, "I'll be fine, just wait". The DM told me I could doff my armor as an action if I wanted to when it was my turn, to which I said, "I won't need to"). The barbarian raged and made his attacks on one of his targets. The sorcerer cast burning hands again, damaging the shaman whom was concentrating on entangle, the DM did not attempt the concentration save on the spell and I didn't think of it until it was my turn (ramping up sequence of events). My turn, since my turn started, Shield expired, I stated my plan to move past the melee targets on me and to grapple the shaman directly behind them (25ft away). The DM stated I could not make it to the shaman due to the difficult terrain imposed by the entangle, at that point I reminded him that the shaman needed to make the concentration save since it had been damaged, he refused. I moved my character to one square away from the shaman (moving 20ft) putting the shaman 5ft away in the adjacent square. The DM made the opportunity of attacks for the 4 melee enemies that were around me, they all rolled in the high teens and I cast shield as a reaction, causing them to miss. I expressed my plan to grapple the shaman since he was within reach, and the DM moved the shaman one square away saying that the shaman was in the water, not on the shoreline, I called BS on that and he agreed to roll the grapple check, which I won, and the shaman discontinued the heat metal spell. I was not allowed to attack since my great sword requires 2 hands and I agreed to that logic. The 3 melee lizardfolk then surrounded me where I was with the Shaman and attacked me. I used my final charge of shield, getting hit by only 1 of the 3 targets. The other 2 melee lizardfolk attacked the barbarian and landed each attack. The ranger then used his action to make the strength check to get out of entangle and succeeded, then moved out of the entangled area. On the Shaman's turns, the shaman I was grappling used the "Change Shape" ability again which according to the MM states needed a short or long rest to refresh. The DM then stated that it magically broke out of my grapple, with no checks due to the shape change and that now it was going to bite and restrain me. I questioned if changing shape broke out of a grapple (I honestly didn't know) and then he said that the shaman had used its movement to break out of the grapple which didn't make sense to me. Additionally, the DM never stated that the change shape ability was a bonus action when I asked how many actions does the shaman have since it had changed shape, moved, broke out of grapple, and then attacked. At this point I admit that I was not very compliant, nor was I speaking in a calming manner since I felt the rules were being bent to specifically negate my actions which were legal. The DM then asked why I was being like that and I expressed that I felt he was doing things specifically to my character because I didn't take my armor off like he had wanted me to. Additionally, I apologized and stated I honestly didn't know the rules on the grappling since this was the first time I had grappled something. He didn't tell me any of the grappling rules so I looked in the PHB for it. He then stated everyone's attacks landed and killed the remaining enemies and that's where we were stopping, then he said he'd play with everyone else again but I wasn't invited anymore. I was shocked. I apologized again, gathered my stuff and left.
It is worth noting that the reason I had made an eldritch knight is because on our first session, I had made a tempest cleric originally for this campaign. The DM combated me on every aspect of my cleric, stating I couldn't wear heavy armor or use a martial weapon, when the PHB clearly states the tempest cleric can, and starts with chain mail and a warhammer if proficient. I had to prove every aspect by showing him in the PHB where it said the tempest had the right to wear the starting gear it says and the abilities. He then said that I couldn't bring that character anymore to the campaign because it was too unbalanced. This is why I made an eldritch knight. I quite honestly do feel that when it comes to DnD, he has significant animosity towards me. In another campaign where we are in the same party, he plays a bard, and the DM in that campaign doesn't let him do a lot of the creative things he would like. I play a necromancer and stand back from the front lines, casting spells at range and seldom getting hit and he always mocks the DM for not attacking me or generating surprise enemies from behind us. I'm not a DM so I can't speak to that logic or anything but it definitely seems he has an issue with me overall. While its unfortunate and sad, I think it indeed is best I don't play with him anymore, I just wanted to know the rule clarifications on the scenario above. Hopefully that gives you all the information you requested.
From a group tactical point of view, "reversing" the Grapple is incredibly smart. The first thing the Shaman did was apply Heat Metal to OP's armor, while OP was surrounded by other Lizardmen. It's taking supportive action to soften up a hard target for it's brethren to tear apart. Clearly, the point is to capture or kill OP. Quick thinking on the part of the target forced it to change tactics and drop Heat Metal. If it can't make OP remove their armor, it's going to use an animal form it knows to apply conditions to the target -- in this case, not only [Tooltip Not Found]. Restrained is the important one here, because it does quite a bit more than reducing the victim's speed to zero. The important part(s) are giving advantage on attack rolls against the victim (ie the Shaman's 4 friends from earlier), as well as imposing disadvantage on the victim's attack rolls, making it difficult to impossible for it to fight back. At best, the 4 other Lizardmen are going to get effectively free hits on OP, and OP is all but forced to contest the Grapple to deal with any of it.
Yeah, crocodiles are always fun - I just meant that there was no point invoking the DM-says-so rule for the shaman to escape a grapple if he wanted to then bite & restrain, because he wasn't moving anywhere anyway. It's a savvy combat maneuver, but he may as well have stayed grappled!
@ Mashinshin
Yep, I agree it is best - for the love of the game - not to stay in a gaming environment you aren't comfortable. ^_^
Just for rule clarity though; grappling imposes the grappled condition (0 movement), which is distinct from the incapacitated condition (cannot take actions or reactions) - while being incapacitated would break concentration instantly with no saving throw, being grappled does nothing at all to interrupt concentration. So if you ever find yourself on the hot end of Heat Metal again, don't ever choose grappling over making attacks!
If you want to integrate more grappling into play, the ideal grappler is a medium sized creature wielding a one-handed melee weapon (or melee attack spell) - no off-hand weapon or shield. The Grappler feat is the best complement, and you'd want to either be a barbarian (advantage on strength checks while raging) or fighter (additional attacks within the Attack action). If you want want to go really overboard on grappling, a fighter with Grappler and Polearm Mastery wielding a spear (one-handed) can - at level 20 - grapple and then make 4 attacks with advantage in the same turn (the 4th being a weaker polearm bonus attack).
Should you ever want to stretch another DM by pulling off a wild shape escape maneuver, you'll need to be a Moon Druid of level 6 or higher in order to have access to huge beasts - Giant Constrictor Snake and Giant Elk being the 1st forms available that are too big for medium foes to grapple (and it will indeed be a bonus action to wild shape).
A: sounds like a toxic relationship for the op and the dm
B: @Vorsa the way I read the grapple choice is now the player and the shaman are both in contact with the metal object(armor) shaman chooses wether self harm + con check is worth damaging the player. Fun tactical choice
So first, I didnt see anything that would make the lizardfolk shaman lose concentration.
Second, changing shape does not break the grapple (unless you were small).
Third, shape change does take an action and it couldn't attack.
They technically shouldn't have had a usage of shapeshift, but I could see using 1 shift each after the battle started and it not being much of a stretch (since they originally used it before party arrived).
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Today while playing, the DM had a lizard folk shaman pop out and cast heat metal on me. Instead of taking my armor off while surrounded by 4 other lizard folk I charged through and grappled the shaman (causing him to discontinue concentrating on the spell). Subsequently, when it was the shaman's turn, it changed shape into a crocodile, the DM stated that broke the grapple and then it bit me. I contended the act of changing shape did not break the grapple, additionally, I questioned the number of actions for the creature since the crocodile only has one action, and the changing of shape was essentially the creatures action. The DM then told me to leave and never come back.
I guess myain question is, if something changes shape while grappled, does it break a grapple? Additionally, if an action is used to change shape, do creatures get to reset their movements and actions? I don't seem to remember ever getting to polymorph and then take all of the actions of the creature I polymorphed into.
I immediately apologized to the DM but he wasnt in a state to receive my apology. I'd just like some clarification with references because I couldn't find this specific example anywhere.
A few things:
1. Wild Shape is commonly a Bonus Action rather than an Action; see the Druid Circle of the Moon.
2. NPCs don't have to follow the same rules that PCs do. PCs don't get Legendary Actions; some NPCs do.
3. The DM is not only within his rights but is encouraged to modify the creatures the players encounter both to make them unique and interesting to fight and so that players can't bring too much meta-game knowledge to the table. You aren't guaranteed that any D&D monster is exactly the same as any given statblock in the Monster Manual or elsewhere.
4. I'm pretty sure you're correct that Wild Shape shouldn't break a grapple unless they wild shaped into a creature that is immune to grappling or otherwise used an ability of the creature to escape the grapple.
5. However, a grapple does nothing to prevent the grappled creature from hitting you. The only consequence of a grapple is to make it so the grappled creature cannot move.
It is a thorny topic - as is the reverse (changing shape while grappling someone) - but RAW the grapple would only break if changing to a shape 2+ sizes different i.e. the shaman would become impossible to grapple if they turned into a giant crocodile (huge vs your medium), but not if they turned into a regular crocodile (large vs your medium). Unless of course your character is small, in which case even a regular crocodile would get the job done!
To be honest (from a distant non-rushed perspective) this is a particularly daft scenario to cause controversy, because the crocodile attack would itself grapple you right back - so in effect all his ruling aimed to do was to have neither of you move anyway! As escape shapeshifts go, turning into a crocodile then attacking is one of the worst possible plays...
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 12). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the crocodile can't bite another target.
On one hand, this seems like a pretty silly thing for the DM to flip out on and eject you from the group. True, the DM has final say in most matters, but where he's chosen to make his stand is... controversial, shall we say. Did they specify whether the Lizardman was using a Druidic shapeshifting ability such as Wild Shape, or was it using Polymorph on itself? This is a very important distinction that is absent from your retelling.
On the other hand... based on how you have described the scenario, it sounds like there was more going on, something(s) you were doing that the DM was just tired of putting up with. Kinda sounds like they may have been mad you were trying to rules-lawyer them, and that you were looking up statblocks. Again, since your description of the combat (and none of the events leading up to it) is somewhat vague, for all we know the DM was specifically trying to kill your character. You were targeted by the Shaman using Heat Metal, and it had 4 friends ready and waiting to pummel you. Were you alone?
Clearly, there's more going on here, and we can't make heads or tails of the situation without more information.
There are 2 reasons why this is actually a very good idea. The first is group tactics for the opponents. The second is (potentially) out-of-game stuff, as I outlined above. I'll not be commenting on that bit without more information, since assumptions cause a lot of problems.
From a group tactical point of view, "reversing" the Grapple is incredibly smart. The first thing the Shaman did was apply Heat Metal to OP's armor, while OP was surrounded by other Lizardmen. It's taking supportive action to soften up a hard target for it's brethren to tear apart. Clearly, the point is to capture or kill OP. Quick thinking on the part of the target forced it to change tactics and drop Heat Metal. If it can't make OP remove their armor, it's going to use an animal form it knows to apply conditions to the target -- in this case, not only [Tooltip Not Found]. Restrained is the important one here, because it does quite a bit more than reducing the victim's speed to zero. The important part(s) are giving advantage on attack rolls against the victim (ie the Shaman's 4 friends from earlier), as well as imposing disadvantage on the victim's attack rolls, making it difficult to impossible for it to fight back. At best, the 4 other Lizardmen are going to get effectively free hits on OP, and OP is all but forced to contest the Grapple to deal with any of it.
I agree there is definitely some missing information ( I typed that OP on my phone ). There were no instances previous where I was "pushing it", we had a fairly standard encounter previously with some Hags and there were no issues. We had received some magical items which were great. A visit to town to refresh, do some selling, I traded one of the magical items for some special homebrew arrows the DM said we could buy for our ranger, and a wand of magic missile for our sorcerer. I bought some splint armor, and then we were on our way to meet up with a demon that was interacting with us previously (we're an evil aligned party). When we arrived at the meeting location, there were 5 lizardfolk there and 2 crocodiles in an adjacent pond. The lizardfolk had not posed any threat to us and seemed neutral, we approached, and our Sorcerer spoke with them briefly, they moved towards us and sprung an attack. The barbarian and I were shoulder to shoulder, he had 2 directly on him and I had 3 directly on me but was adjacent to 4 of the targets,. As we engaged, the two crocs in the water, used the lizardfolk shaman ability "change shape" back to its true form which specifically states it cannot be used again until after a short or long rest. One shaman approached the sorcerer. Initiative was determined, Sorcerer first, me as the eldritch knight, then the melee lizard folk, then the ranger, then the shaman, then the barbarian. It was at that point Sorcerer cast burning hands on her target, I attacked with my great sword on of the targets within my melee range. The melee lizardfolk went, I cast shield as a reaction when I was attacked, causing the attacks to miss. The barbarian took 1 out of 2 hits. The ranger placed hunter's mark on one of the melee targets on me, moved back, and fired his longbow. The first Shaman cast entangle centered between the ranger and I to restrict movement, I made the str save, the ranger did not. The 2nd shaman then cast heat metal on me. The DM read the effects to me and mentioned it was a concentration spell. I thought about using absorb elements but came up with moving passed my immediate attackers, using shield when they attacked me as a reaction, and then grappling the shaman to damage him with his own spell (I didn't announce this to the group, I just said, "I'll be fine, just wait". The DM told me I could doff my armor as an action if I wanted to when it was my turn, to which I said, "I won't need to"). The barbarian raged and made his attacks on one of his targets. The sorcerer cast burning hands again, damaging the shaman whom was concentrating on entangle, the DM did not attempt the concentration save on the spell and I didn't think of it until it was my turn (ramping up sequence of events). My turn, since my turn started, Shield expired, I stated my plan to move past the melee targets on me and to grapple the shaman directly behind them (25ft away). The DM stated I could not make it to the shaman due to the difficult terrain imposed by the entangle, at that point I reminded him that the shaman needed to make the concentration save since it had been damaged, he refused. I moved my character to one square away from the shaman (moving 20ft) putting the shaman 5ft away in the adjacent square. The DM made the opportunity of attacks for the 4 melee enemies that were around me, they all rolled in the high teens and I cast shield as a reaction, causing them to miss. I expressed my plan to grapple the shaman since he was within reach, and the DM moved the shaman one square away saying that the shaman was in the water, not on the shoreline, I called BS on that and he agreed to roll the grapple check, which I won, and the shaman discontinued the heat metal spell. I was not allowed to attack since my great sword requires 2 hands and I agreed to that logic. The 3 melee lizardfolk then surrounded me where I was with the Shaman and attacked me. I used my final charge of shield, getting hit by only 1 of the 3 targets. The other 2 melee lizardfolk attacked the barbarian and landed each attack. The ranger then used his action to make the strength check to get out of entangle and succeeded, then moved out of the entangled area. On the Shaman's turns, the shaman I was grappling used the "Change Shape" ability again which according to the MM states needed a short or long rest to refresh. The DM then stated that it magically broke out of my grapple, with no checks due to the shape change and that now it was going to bite and restrain me. I questioned if changing shape broke out of a grapple (I honestly didn't know) and then he said that the shaman had used its movement to break out of the grapple which didn't make sense to me. Additionally, the DM never stated that the change shape ability was a bonus action when I asked how many actions does the shaman have since it had changed shape, moved, broke out of grapple, and then attacked. At this point I admit that I was not very compliant, nor was I speaking in a calming manner since I felt the rules were being bent to specifically negate my actions which were legal. The DM then asked why I was being like that and I expressed that I felt he was doing things specifically to my character because I didn't take my armor off like he had wanted me to. Additionally, I apologized and stated I honestly didn't know the rules on the grappling since this was the first time I had grappled something. He didn't tell me any of the grappling rules so I looked in the PHB for it. He then stated everyone's attacks landed and killed the remaining enemies and that's where we were stopping, then he said he'd play with everyone else again but I wasn't invited anymore. I was shocked. I apologized again, gathered my stuff and left.
It is worth noting that the reason I had made an eldritch knight is because on our first session, I had made a tempest cleric originally for this campaign. The DM combated me on every aspect of my cleric, stating I couldn't wear heavy armor or use a martial weapon, when the PHB clearly states the tempest cleric can, and starts with chain mail and a warhammer if proficient. I had to prove every aspect by showing him in the PHB where it said the tempest had the right to wear the starting gear it says and the abilities. He then said that I couldn't bring that character anymore to the campaign because it was too unbalanced. This is why I made an eldritch knight. I quite honestly do feel that when it comes to DnD, he has significant animosity towards me. In another campaign where we are in the same party, he plays a bard, and the DM in that campaign doesn't let him do a lot of the creative things he would like. I play a necromancer and stand back from the front lines, casting spells at range and seldom getting hit and he always mocks the DM for not attacking me or generating surprise enemies from behind us. I'm not a DM so I can't speak to that logic or anything but it definitely seems he has an issue with me overall. While its unfortunate and sad, I think it indeed is best I don't play with him anymore, I just wanted to know the rule clarifications on the scenario above. Hopefully that gives you all the information you requested.
Yeah, crocodiles are always fun - I just meant that there was no point invoking the DM-says-so rule for the shaman to escape a grapple if he wanted to then bite & restrain, because he wasn't moving anywhere anyway. It's a savvy combat maneuver, but he may as well have stayed grappled!
@ Mashinshin
Yep, I agree it is best - for the love of the game - not to stay in a gaming environment you aren't comfortable. ^_^
Just for rule clarity though; grappling imposes the grappled condition (0 movement), which is distinct from the incapacitated condition (cannot take actions or reactions) - while being incapacitated would break concentration instantly with no saving throw, being grappled does nothing at all to interrupt concentration. So if you ever find yourself on the hot end of Heat Metal again, don't ever choose grappling over making attacks!
If you want to integrate more grappling into play, the ideal grappler is a medium sized creature wielding a one-handed melee weapon (or melee attack spell) - no off-hand weapon or shield. The Grappler feat is the best complement, and you'd want to either be a barbarian (advantage on strength checks while raging) or fighter (additional attacks within the Attack action). If you want want to go really overboard on grappling, a fighter with Grappler and Polearm Mastery wielding a spear (one-handed) can - at level 20 - grapple and then make 4 attacks with advantage in the same turn (the 4th being a weaker polearm bonus attack).
Should you ever want to stretch another DM by pulling off a wild shape escape maneuver, you'll need to be a Moon Druid of level 6 or higher in order to have access to huge beasts - Giant Constrictor Snake and Giant Elk being the 1st forms available that are too big for medium foes to grapple (and it will indeed be a bonus action to wild shape).
A: sounds like a toxic relationship for the op and the dm
B: @Vorsa the way I read the grapple choice is now the player and the shaman are both in contact with the metal object(armor) shaman chooses wether self harm + con check is worth damaging the player. Fun tactical choice
So first, I didnt see anything that would make the lizardfolk shaman lose concentration.
Second, changing shape does not break the grapple (unless you were small).
Third, shape change does take an action and it couldn't attack.
They technically shouldn't have had a usage of shapeshift, but I could see using 1 shift each after the battle started and it not being much of a stretch (since they originally used it before party arrived).