3.5/PF- A quick quesion on Swallow Whole

[AzazelSephiroth]

Hey Playgrounders,
I just ran into a scenario and I have been wondering what the official ruling consensus is, as I cannot find the answer on the PF srd or the 3,5 srd.

If a creature is swallowed they can cut their way out with a piercing or slashing weapon and doing a certain number of hp in damage to a creature.
Is that hp damage subtracted from the creatures total?

example... A monster with (hp100) swallows the pc, the pc takes the noted acid damage etc for being in the stomach. On the pc`s turn they attack with their dagger and do 20 damage (yes a mighty dagger indeed) easily enough to escape. Has the monster lost 20 hp (hp80)? or is the pc just free and the creature is just fine (hp100)... albiet with a whole in their stomach?

Thanks all in advance!

[maximus25]

Seems like it would be at 80hp.

You're still attacking it, it just requires 20 hit points of damage to escape the stomach.

[Kuulvheysoon]

Yeah, you're hurting it.

I DM'd for a halfling swordsage and when he faced a dragon, he literally leapt into it's mouth because it was easier to hurt from inside. Rinse, repeat, and you've got one dead dragon.

[legomaster00156]

Yeah, you're hurting it.

I DM'd for a halfling swordsage and when he faced a dragon, he literally leapt into it's mouth because it was easier to hurt from inside. Rinse, repeat, and you've got one dead dragon.
This wasn't a Paladin? This seems like very Paladin-like behavior to me.

[Khedrac]

Swallow Whole (Ex): If a creature with this special attack begins its turn with an opponent held in its mouth (see Improved Grab), it can attempt a new grapple check (as though attempting to pin the opponent). If it succeeds, it swallows its prey, and the opponent takes bite damage. Unless otherwise noted, the opponent can be up to one size category smaller than the swallowing creature. Being swallowed has various consequences, depending on the creature doing the swallowing. A swallowed creature is considered to be grappled, while the creature that did the swallowing is not. A swallowed creature can try to cut its way free with any light slashing or piercing weapon (the amount of cutting damage required to get free is noted in the creature description), or it can just try to escape the grapple. The Armor Class of the interior of a creature that swallows whole is normally 10 + 1/2 its natural armor bonus, with no modifiers for size or Dexterity. If the swallowed creature escapes the grapple, success puts it back in the attacker’s mouth, where it may be bitten or swallowed again.Nothing in that says any damage you do is not applied to the creature so if you do 20 damage then it's down 20 hit points.

[Kuulvheysoon]

This wasn't a Paladin? This seems like very Paladin-like behavior to me.

Well, the character was fluffed as a paladin, but he wanted a sneaky LG type and didn't want to bother with Shadowbane Inquisitor/Stalker. So he was an LG (Strongheart) Halfling Swordsage.

His (eventual) death was pretty epic, if I recall correctly.

[Dire Panda]

Definitely paladin behavior. The pally in my last campaign was quite fond of that strategy - so much so, in fact, that when the player illustrated her she jokingly put "CAUTION: Harmful or fatal if swallowed" on her shield. There was a nice little hazard symbol, too. I'll see if I can dig that image up.

On topic: Common sense dictates that carving up a monster's innards should hurt it just as much as a broadsword to the face. Medically speaking, puncturing its digestive system should be a death sentence without healing magic - not only does acid spill out onto its other organs, but it's guaranteed a nasty bacterial infection if it survives. Then again, I don't remember reading about hit points in any medical journal...

[That_guy_there]

Yeah, you're hurting it.

I DM'd for a halfling swordsage and when he faced a dragon, he literally leapt into it's mouth because it was easier to hurt from inside. Rinse, repeat, and you've got one dead dragon.

I agree with the cutting your way out damage is subtracted from total HP idea... and it does get rediculous like Kuulvheysoon's exmple.

This is constantly happened in my epic Dragonslayer campaign. It started making me really angry when the entire party (except for the Stone Giant hulking hurler) decided that this was going to be the only tactic they used. The Monk mastered this tactic because according to him: he couldn't hit many of the dragons' "external AC" easily enough, so he'd get swallowed, deal enough damage to cut his way out and then not exit. The muscular action closed the wound and he started again.

[Khedrac]

This is constantly happened in my epic Dragonslayer campaign. It started making me really angry when the entire party (except for the Stone Giant hulking hurler) decided that this was going to be the only tactic they used. The Monk mastered this tactic because according to him: he couldn't hit many of the dragons' "external AC" easily enough, so he'd get swallowed, deal enough damage to cut his way out and then not exit. The muscular action closed the wound and he started again.
I am curious - what was the monk wielding? The requirement is cutting/slashing weapon - and since you are grappled I don't think you can draw a new weapon. Admittedly with the monk not wanting to come out the lack of cutting/slashing may not be an issue, however without him occasionally making a hole and grabbing a new breath of air, how long could he hold his breath?

[That_guy_there]

I am curious - what was the monk wielding? The requirement is cutting/slashing weapon - and since you are grappled I don't think you can draw a new weapon. Admittedly with the monk not wanting to come out the lack of cutting/slashing may not be an issue, however without him occasionally making a hole and grabbing a new breath of air, how long could he hold his breath?

He had the feat that allowed him to alter the type of damage he dealt with his unarmed attacks (I cant remember its name at the moment) and had an energy immunity ring so he was only concerned about the crushing damage, which i forget how he minimized. He always plays high con characters too (once a wizard with an 18 Con and used Charisma as his dump) so he had at least 15 rounds of combat before suffocating.