Grasping Hand. The hand attempts to grapple a Huge or smaller creature within 5 feet of it. The target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw, or the target has the Grappled condition, with an escape DC equal to your spell save DC. While the hand grapples the target, you can take a Bonus Action to cause the hand to crush it, dealing Bludgeoning damage to the target equal to 4d6 plus your spellcasting ability modifier.
But the Ring of Free Action says this:
While you wear this ring, Difficult Terrain doesn’t cost you extra movement. In addition, magic can neither reduce any of your Speeds nor cause you to have the Paralyzed or Restrained condition.
On the one hand, the Ring prevents the wearer's speed from being reduced, which the grappling condition does, but on the other hand, the Ring does not give immunity to the grappled condition, only to restrained and paralyzed.
So what happens if you get grappled by the spell with that ring on? You're grappled, and the ring doesn't let you change that. So do you just drag the hand along as you move?
Freedom of Movement gives an extra bonus:
You touch a willing creature. For the duration, the target’s movement is unaffected by Difficult Terrain, and spells and other magical effects can neither reduce the target’s Speed nor cause the target to have the Paralyzed or Restrained conditions. The target also has a Swim Speed equal to its Speed.
In addition, the target can spend 5 feet of movement to automatically escape from nonmagical restraints, such as manacles or a creature imposing the Grappled condition on it.
But even that bonus against the grappled condition only applies to nonmagical restraints...
So what happens if you get grappled by the spell with that ring on? You're grappled, and the ring doesn't let you change that. So do you just drag the hand along as you move?
That's probably how I'd rule it, both on the grounds of logic and on the grounds of that seems fun.
If your movement isn't reduced to zero, you can simply walk away from the grapple and break the grapple. The hand does not follow because it only moves on your turn (and it isn't 'dragged'). This is little different from how teleporting out of a grapple works.
If the Grappled creature's Speed isn't 0, upon moving when the distance between the Grappled target and the grappler exceeds the grapple’s range. the condition will end.
I think we must differentiate between "your speed is reduced by X" and "your speed is 0", and/or the ability only applies to direct reductions of speed, not to those from conditions. (But I don't know if the second is necessary nor sufficient, so I go with the first.)
"Your speed is 0" is the game-mechanical way of saying "you cannot move".
If it prevents the 0 speed from Grappled, it also prevents it from Petrified, Unconscious, and perhaps some number of bespoke conditions from monster abilities where that would completely not work.
In practice, with freedom of movement, you can clearly spend 5 move to escape from a normal grapple, and I'd just extend it to the hand and similar as well. With just the ring, you're stuck.
Both effects explicitly allow you to ignore speed reductions from magical effects. So I'm not sure how you get from "Grasping Hand is a magical effect" to "things that allow you to ignore a magical effect don't work on Grasping Hand".
In terms of the difference between "reduce speed" and "your speed is 0", I don't see any distinction within the rules. If they wanted a distinction, they could have made a condition such as "Immobile". Since they didn't, I'm forced to conclude that "your speed is 0" is a speed reduction just as much as piling on various -10 feet effects to zero would be.
You create a Large hand of shimmering magical energy in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. The hand lasts for the duration, and it moves at your command, mimicking the movements of your own hand.
The hand is an object that has AC 20 and Hit Points equal to your Hit Point maximum. If it drops to 0 Hit Points, the spell ends. The hand doesn’t occupy its space.
Similarly, I wouldn't allow the ring to protect against a summoned creature. I would allow it to protect against Entangle.
Both effects explicitly allow you to ignore speed reductions from magical effects. So I'm not sure how you get from "Grasping Hand is a magical effect" to "things that allow you to ignore a magical effect don't work on Grasping Hand".
Because Freedom of Movement says:
In addition, the target can spend 5 feet of movement to automatically escape from nonmagical restraints, such as manacles or a creature imposing the Grappled condition on it.
So even when your Speed is not 0, you can't escape the magical grapple in this scenario. Just my reading, though.
Bigby's Hand includes this ability:
But the Ring of Free Action says this:
On the one hand, the Ring prevents the wearer's speed from being reduced, which the grappling condition does, but on the other hand, the Ring does not give immunity to the grappled condition, only to restrained and paralyzed.
So what happens if you get grappled by the spell with that ring on? You're grappled, and the ring doesn't let you change that. So do you just drag the hand along as you move?
Freedom of Movement gives an extra bonus:
But even that bonus against the grappled condition only applies to nonmagical restraints...
That's probably how I'd rule it, both on the grounds of logic and on the grounds of that seems fun.
pronouns: he/she/they
If your movement isn't reduced to zero, you can simply walk away from the grapple and break the grapple. The hand does not follow because it only moves on your turn (and it isn't 'dragged'). This is little different from how teleporting out of a grapple works.
That would be the equivalent of giving you what Freedom of Movement does. Which it doesn't. If it was meant to neutralize grappling, it would say so.
If the Grappled creature's Speed isn't 0, upon moving when the distance between the Grappled target and the grappler exceeds the grapple’s range. the condition will end.
I think we must differentiate between "your speed is reduced by X" and "your speed is 0", and/or the ability only applies to direct reductions of speed, not to those from conditions. (But I don't know if the second is necessary nor sufficient, so I go with the first.)
"Your speed is 0" is the game-mechanical way of saying "you cannot move".
If it prevents the 0 speed from Grappled, it also prevents it from Petrified, Unconscious, and perhaps some number of bespoke conditions from monster abilities where that would completely not work.
In practice, with freedom of movement, you can clearly spend 5 move to escape from a normal grapple, and I'd just extend it to the hand and similar as well. With just the ring, you're stuck.
I'd rule that Freedom of Movement doesn't let you break the grapple from Grasping Hand since it's magical (Magical Effect), even when your Ring of Free Action or Freedom of Movement prevent speed reduction.
Both effects explicitly allow you to ignore speed reductions from magical effects. So I'm not sure how you get from "Grasping Hand is a magical effect" to "things that allow you to ignore a magical effect don't work on Grasping Hand".
In terms of the difference between "reduce speed" and "your speed is 0", I don't see any distinction within the rules. If they wanted a distinction, they could have made a condition such as "Immobile". Since they didn't, I'm forced to conclude that "your speed is 0" is a speed reduction just as much as piling on various -10 feet effects to zero would be.
I think I would rule that since the hand is an object, even if it is a magical object, the ring doesn't apply and the wearer remains grappled.
Bigby's Hand
Similarly, I wouldn't allow the ring to protect against a summoned creature. I would allow it to protect against Entangle.
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My houserulings.
Because Freedom of Movement says:
So even when your Speed is not 0, you can't escape the magical grapple in this scenario. Just my reading, though.