Swallow Whole and damage to the gizzard

[Laniius]

Ok, I'm going to be experimenting with Swallow Whole (either my animal companion or myself through wildshape/Shapechange). Does the damage to the gizzard count against your hitpoints, or is it tracked separately? After the swallowed creature cuts its way out, can the swallower swallow again? What is the best swallow whole form? I like the Nightcrawler (if using Shapechange) or Tendriculos (if using wild shape). Are there any fun ones in the other monster manuals?

[Hand_of_Vecna]

The damage is tracked seperatly and is not related in anyway to normal hp, on the negative side this damage can't be healed or reduced by dr. Each person has to seperatly cut their way out doing the full damage listed so there is no limitation to chain swallowing other than the creatures size based limit for how many creatures fit inside it.

I've never looked into optimizing swallow whole on a PC so I don't have any advice on forms.

[Mystify]

The damage is tracked seperatly and is not related in anyway to normal hp, on the negative side this damage can't be healed or reduced by dr.
Really? Can you provide a quote for that?

The FAQ specifically states that the damage to cut your way out applies to normal hit points. Why wouldn't a creature cutting their way out of you deal real damage? It also says that rogue gets sneak attack if swallow whole, since the creature does not have its dex to AC from there. However, it is dark, and the concealment would block a sneak attack. So if your rogue can see in the dark, or has a lightsource, or otherwise doesn't care about the concealment, then they can sneak attack their way out.