You cause tentacles to suddenly burst from the ground from under up to 10 Large or smaller creatures in range. You decide what the tentacles to look like (such as plants like leafy vines or wet seaweed, long tendrils made of earth or colored ooze, or even animated chains or rope), but this does not change their function. Each target must succeed on a Dexterity saving Throw or become grappled and restrained by the tentacles. While restrained in this way, the target can use their action to make a DC 15 Strength Saving Throw. On a success, the target frees itself.

The tentacles attempt to drag whatever they are holding into the ground. On initiative count 20, the tentacles pull the target(s) into the ground by 1 foot. For every foot the target is dragged under, the DC for the Strength saving throw increases by 2, as more and more tentacles wrap around the target. When the target is 1 foot from being dragged under (for example, a creature that is 5 feet high takes four turns to get to this point), the tentacles wrap around the targets mouth, preventing it from speaking, which in turn prevents spells with verbal components from being casted by the target. If the target is completely dragged under, they are unable to escape by themselves and unable to breathe. They are also dragged 3 ft. from the surface by the tentacles, and they remain wrapped around the buried creature, even after the spell ends.

The spell ends early if all of the creatures who were not dragged under escape, all creatures currently effected by the spell are dragged under, or by a bonus action. If the spell ends and there are still creatures that are grabbed by the tentacles but not dragged under, the tentacles freeze in place and cease to drag creatures down. If the spell is cast again, the tentacles resume, as long as those creatures are still in range.