The Swallow Action

[Koningkrush]

Do all creatures technically have the Swallow ability? This question came to mind when I noticed the gargantuan sized Roc with its piercing-damage Beak attack. If this gargantuan bird came across a small-sized halfling standing in the middle of a field, would it violently thrust its beak into it repeatedly and fly away or would it actually consume/swallow it? Would it always 100% of the time in all cases wait until it is absolutely sure the halfling is dead before it does (the dead halfling corpse becomes an object, at which point I can just say it happens without any rolls involved)?

If I were to give the ability to a creature, I don't know how much acid damage would be involved nor the Constitution save for X amount of damage in a single turn. I'm assuming it would first have to spend a full action doing a normal grapple, and then spend another full action Swallowing assuming the creature hadn't broken out of the grapple yet.

Another example might be a tiny sized frog coming across a tiny sized PC (psionics Diminution ability). The frog has no swallow ability, or any actions at all for that matter.

[sir_argo]

D&D is not a physics game. While it may sound right, you have to think of it in terms of game mechanics. Example, you can drink an entire flagon of ale as a free action during combat (PHB p.190), but it takes an action to drink a 1oz potion. If you think of it in terms of physics, you would ask, "Why can I drink 16oz of ale for free, but it takes me soooooo long to drink just a 1oz potion?" The answer is that drinking a flagon of ale has no material effect on the combat, while the potion is giving you a spell effect (similar to casting a spell) and they wanted that to take an action.

To your question, if you allow the Roc to swallow the halfling whole before the halfling is dead, you have just given the Roc a new trait that it didn't have before. Now mind you, you can always add that. You could write in on the Roc's character sheet a new trait that allows it to swallow small creatures whole on a critical, or something like that. Honestly, you can make up whatever you want for the effects of being swallowed whole. You're making it up, so have at it. Personally, I'd go with you are restrained and take 1d8 each round. This would actually give the Roc an incentive to kill it's prey before swallowing because if it doesn't, the prey could attack it from inside the stomach.

[StoicLeaf]

technically yes but I think it comes down to what's the creatures modus operandi.

Birds of prey don't swallow their prey whole; they will generally attack something that their claws are good at killing outright, then rip parts of flesh off the corpse.
Rocs used to be mounts for giants, they probably eat horses, maybe even Bullettes, if one were attacking a halfling I don't think it would deviate from its nature just because the target was so small.

A frog on the other hand has no teeth, it pretty much tongue grabs something and swallows it. But at that point you aren't using the frog's stat block anymore, you've probably switched it for something meatier to represent the size difference, just grab something with swallow.

[Mith]

D&D is not a physics game. While it may sound right, you have to think of it in terms of game mechanics. Example, you can drink an entire flagon of ale as a free action during combat (PHB p.190), but it takes an action to drink a 1oz potion. If you think of it in terms of physics, you would ask, "Why can I drink 16oz of ale for free, but it takes me soooooo long to drink just a 1oz potion?" The answer is that drinking a flagon of ale has no material effect on the combat, while the potion is giving you a spell effect (similar to casting a spell) and they wanted that to take an action.


I think the idea is that it takes a few moments for the potion to take effect. Not saying that the initial readthrough doesn't make it odd, but I think there can be a Watsonian answer to that problem.

[Dappershire]

I think the idea is that it takes a few moments for the potion to take effect. Not saying that the initial readthrough doesn't make it odd, but I think there can be a Watsonian answer to that problem.

Or potions are just naaaasty.

[Mellack]

Most creatures do not have the swallow ability, because despite the name it is more accurately swallow whole. Most creatures tear apart or otherwise break their food into smaller chunks. So a size large dire wolf would not swallow a halfling whole, but rip them into pieces to eat.

[KorvinStarmast]

I was worried that this was some sort of pron thread, and am pleased to see that it is instead a game mechanics discussion. I'm with Mellack on this one.