Bag of Holding Questions

[Dr. Cliché]

I've got a few questions with regard to a Bag of Holding:

1) Is it possible to tear/slash a bag of holding open from the inside? e.g. if you put an animal inside, would it be possible for it to claw at the sides of the extradimensional space, potentially rupturing the bag?

2) Assuming that the above is possible, would it be obvious to anyone carrying the bag that it had ripped, or would they only notice when they next attempted to put something inside it (or to retrieve something from it)?

3) If a creature is in the bag, does it effectively have access to anything else within the bag? e.g. if a man is trapped in the bag and thinks that the astral plane would be preferable, can he make use of a sword (or similar item) within the bag to try and cut his way out?

[Avonar]

The Bag of Holding as per the DMG cannot be damaged from the inside. Magic items in general are extremely hard to damage and break. As for being inside a Bag of Holding, well. It's not actually an extra-dimensional space, just bigger on the inside, so theoretically it could be possible for someone forced in there to try and climb out? That is all very much DM dependant however since there is no official information on what the inside of a Bag of Holding is like, though Jeremy Crawford did confirm it can be opened from the inside here. (https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/1034580941383954433)

[Sigreid]

I've got a few questions with regard to a Bag of Holding:

1) Is it possible to tear/slash a bag of holding open from the inside? e.g. if you put an animal inside, would it be possible for it to claw at the sides of the extradimensional space, potentially rupturing the bag?

2) Assuming that the above is possible, would it be obvious to anyone carrying the bag that it had ripped, or would they only notice when they next attempted to put something inside it (or to retrieve something from it)?

3) If a creature is in the bag, does it effectively have access to anything else within the bag? e.g. if a man is trapped in the bag and thinks that the astral plane would be preferable, can he make use of a sword (or similar item) within the bag to try and cut his way out?

1) Yes if they have a piercing or slashing attack or can get hold of something that does piercing or slashing damage. According to the description this will dump everything, including the creature on the astral plane.
2) Yes. the bag will no longer weigh 15 pounds as it will be truly empty.
3) Yes, it's a space. Though it would be up to the DM how easy it is to navigate or find anything.

[Amnestic]

The Bag of Holding as per the DMG cannot be damaged from the inside.

I disagree. The entry for the Bag of Holding doesn't say anything about not being damaged from the inside. It does say, however:


If the bag is overloaded, pierced, or torn, it ruptures and is destroyed, and its contents are scattered in the Astral Plane.

If overloading it breaks it, then clearly the bag can be damaged from inside the extradimensional space. So yes, I'd say that if you've got a piercing or slashing weapon, you can damage it from the inside.