What happens to swallowed enemies when the wildshape ends?

[GiantOctopodes]

If a Druid is wildshaped into a Giant Frog, and the wildshape ends (either because the Druid hits 0 HP or because he reverts, or even let's say if he wildshapes into another form) while a creature he has swallowed is still inside him, what happens to that creature? Both if the creature is still alive, and if it's dead.

[Beleriphon]

If a Druid is wildshaped into a Giant Frog, and the wildshape ends (either because the Druid hits 0 HP or because he reverts, or even let's say if he wildshapes into another form) while a creature he has swallowed is still inside him, what happens to that creature? Both if the creature is still alive, and if it's dead.

For the sake of expediency the creature/corpse (I guess food at that point) is regurgitated, or magically expelled as part of the process of reverting.

[Gurka]

Clearly the Druid explodes, but with just enough time to pop off an ironic one-liner.

It's a wafer thin!

[DanyBallon]

In the case of a druid character, I'll give the player the choice, either the swallowed creature appear next to the druid, or the druid explode sending gore in a 10 foot radius :smallbiggrin: Otherwise, if the druid is an npc, the swallowed creature will reappear next to the druid.

[Kryx]

For the sake of expediency the creature/corpse (I guess food at that point) is regurgitated, or magically expelled as part of the process of reverting.
Agreed. As you transform back the creature comes up.

[Daishain]

Well that would certainly be pleasant if the wildshape lasted for several hours.

"As _____ reverts to his base form, bones appear next to him covered in a reddish gooey substance. As you watch, it begins to ooze and spread over the ground."

If the wildshape was maintained for an even longer period, this might actually cause physical damage, as cells get repaired/replaced with materials taken from the swallowed creature.

[GiantOctopodes]

Well that would certainly be pleasant if the wildshape lasted for several hours.

"As _____ reverts to his base form, bones appear next to him covered in a reddish gooey substance. As you watch, it begins to ooze and spread over the ground."

If the wildshape was maintained for an even longer period, this might actually cause physical damage, as cells get repaired/replaced with materials taken from the swallowed creature.

Yeah, I'd originally been thinking "of course it appears next to it", but further introspection made me think of Druids wildshaped for days at a time (especially if they're Elves and thus don't need to sleep, which would end the wildshape). After a week, does the corpse still reappear? We don't normally have food eaten by the Druid while a bear or whatever else reappar, after all. So, is it a matter of it just not fitting in the stomach of the Druid in the natural form? What about, then, if they wildshape from the frog into an Elephant? Does it remain in the stomach? If a Druid in wildshape form of an Elephant eats too much, then reverts to human (or whatever) form, does the feed appear on the ground next to the druid, or explode out?

So, I'm certain the creature comes back up if it's still alive (no annihilating live enemies by ending a wildshape, for all sorts of reasons, balance not being the least of them). But is having foodstuffs regurgitate when ending a wildshape really the call that you would want to make? I'm still torn, because if it *doesn't* reappear, a) the Druid can make for a heck of a corpse disposal method for covering up a murder and b) the equipment of a swallowed enemy is guaranteed lost. However, if it *does* reappear, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to make that consistent across wildshape rules in general, such that I'm not making a weird exception for the giant frog.

[Kwinza]

There's no logical reason to expect anything other than the druid exploding. Much like if you polymorphed a bad guy in to a rat, put that rat in a very tiny force cage, then dismissed the polymorph, you get bad guy mince meat.

[Daishain]

There's no logical reason to expect anything other than the druid exploding. Much like if you polymorphed a bad guy in to a rat, put that rat in a very tiny force cage, then dismissed the polymorph, you get bad guy mince meat.
Most cases that explicitly define what happens when you use a spell to stick one thing inside of another involve the subject being expelled to a nearby empty space, taking a bit of bludgeoning damage along the way. mince meating an enemy as described is up to DM fiat, it is not the default outcome.

Logical? perhaps not, but then again neither is turning something into a rat in the first place.

[Shining Wrath]

First of all, this is not a physics or chemistry problem, because matter is not conserved during Wild Shape. A druid can be of radically different size, the necessary material just appears or disappears.

Two possible interpretations occur to me.
1) The swallowed creature is now part of the druid. When the Wild Shape ends, the excess matter simply disappears like all other excess matter. If a wood elf druid weighs 130 pounds and turns into a 500 pound giant frog, 370 pounds comes from somewhere to form the frog, and return to that same place when the frog disappears. If the frog swallows a 200 pound hobgoblin, 570 pounds returns to wherever it is the 370 pounds would have gone. Hobgoblin is simply gone, his friends don't even get to give him a proper burial.
2) The swallowed creature is not part of the druid, in which case it appears in a space next to the druid.