Pulling a broom of flying.

[Lupine]

So, yesterday, my table was exploring a volcanic lair for a Red Dragon. Due to some magical traps protecting her Horde, the Adult Dragon became aware of intruders. And the Monk failed his stealth roll. They have an average level of 12, but there are 6 of them, making the fight pretty even (According to the almighty Kobold Fight Club)

Well crap. Party decided to run for the hills, before they got TPKed. Good choice. Problem is, even taking the dash action, there's not much a 30 foot speed warlock can do to escape an 80 foot fly speed dragon. The cramped tunnels helped, but it became clear that the Warlock was going to go down. The Monk's player asked "can I use my broom of flying to lift the Warlock, and drag the broom behind me at my speed?"

My ruling was "No, but.." My justification was that the broom is designed to move at a certain speed. Since the Broom is not a creature, it cannot "dash" and is thus limited in it's speed per round. Thus, attempting to move faster than that without any cost would break an already broken item. The "but..." in this case is that I would allow him to move the warlock at half speed, without encumbrance slowing him down.
Do you think I was right, or if not, how would you rule this?

(Note, all players made it out alright. the monk instead distracted the dragon by insulting it in draconic. After the dragon chased the monk a bit, the others escaped and hid away in separate cave, which the monk found, after he also exited the cave.)

[AttilatheYeon]

It's a fair ruling. Just make sure you're consistent and there shouldn't be any problems.

[JackPhoenix]

in this case is that I would allow him to move the warlock at half speed, without encumbrance slowing him down.
Do you think I was right, or if not, how would you rule this?

Perfectly RAW. You can move a grappled creature at half of your speed. Encumberance is not a factor in grapple.

[Lunali]

I'm confused, the broom has a speed of 50, moving at half speed would be slower than the warlock's normal speed.

Side note: Monks, if you want to fly, get winged boots. Sure they cost an attunement slot, but being able to move at your full speed makes them worthwhile.

[Christew]

Solid ruling, I dig it.


I'm confused, the broom has a speed of 50, moving at half speed would be slower than the warlock's normal speed.
Presumably everyone is dashing. The warlock is moving between 50 and 70 feet depending on race (already meets or beats the broom if the broom cannot dash). The monk is moving between 50 and 195 feet depending on race and level (Unarmored Movement and Step of the Wind). Per the OP, the monk would be dragging the warlock at half of the monk's speed (which would be worthwhile only if the monk's speed is more than double the warlock's).

[Lupine]

To the people asking, the Monk is a lightfoot halfling, and the warlock is a bronze dragonborn.

To JackPhoenix, the monk was not trying to pull the Warlock, but the broom itself, while the warlock held on for his life. Thus, I don't think grapple rules apply, except in how the monk was trying to circumvent them

To others asking, thanks for the back-up. I'm glad you agree with me.

[Lunali]

For other DMs in the future: There are a lot of enemies with speed greater than most PCs. If you want running away to be a reasonable option you don't need to find a way to fix that, you just need a reason why the enemies might not pursue. This could be things like territory concerns for low int creatures or worries about ambushes for high int ones.