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Big Mind Flayers & improved grab

   
Big Mind Flayers & improved grab

So, hopefully this is a quick and easy question. (In my normal long-winded style.)

The description of the mind flayer's Improved Grab ability mentions that if it successfully hits with a tentacle attack on a Small, Medium or Large creature it can attempt to start a grapple as a free action. The Monster Manual goes on to say that if the mind flayer can do this to larger creatures, but only if it somehow has a way to reach the foe's head. (Through Levitation, for example.)

It does not mention being able to do this trick to tiny or smaller creatures (maybe stooping down or something), so I assume that it cannot be done and the mind flayer would have to initiate a grapple normally if it wanted to chow down on a toad familiar's brains or something.

So, here's the question: do you take this to mean that the mindflayer can only use improved grab on creatures that are greater than or equal to one step smaller than mind flayer? So, if the mind flayer is shrunk down to Small size, it could use improved grab on a tiny creature, and still be able to try the same trick on a titan (however ill-advised?).

Conversely, if the mind flayer grew to Colossal size (through giant size or some similar spell), would it only be able use Improved Grab on creatures of Gargantuan and large size?

Quote:
Originally Posted by OverdrivePrime View Post
It does not mention being able to do this trick to tiny or smaller creatures (maybe stooping down or something), so I assume that it cannot be done and the mind flayer would have to initiate a grapple normally if it wanted to chow down on a toad familiar's brains or something.

So, here's the question: do you take this to mean that the mindflayer can only use improved grab on creatures that are greater than or equal to one step smaller than mind flayer? So, if the mind flayer is shrunk down to Small size, it could use improved grab on a tiny creature, and still be able to try the same trick on a titan (however ill-advised?).

Conversely, if the mind flayer grew to Colossal size (through giant size or some similar spell), would it only be able use Improved Grab on creatures of Gargantuan and large size?
Ok, I'd say that yes, a small can do Tiny, Small, or Med, a large can do Med, Large, Huge.

As to smaller things, I've always thought that a M-Flayer wouldn't eat the brain of creature more than 1 size smaller than the mindflayer is, as it would be too small for it a) to get all 4 tentacles on, and b) wouldn't have enough nutrient value to be worth it.

I would say any mindflayer can use improved grapple on a creature within one size category of it. It can grapple other creatures normally.

And yes, a small mindflayer could try to grapple a gargantuan enemy if it can reach the head, but the size difference would most likely force it to fail anyway.

Of course, that's just me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sleet View Post
I would say any mindflayer can use improved grapple on a creature within one size category of it. It can grapple other creatures normally.

And yes, a small mindflayer could try to grapple a gargantuan enemy if it can reach the head, but the size difference would most likely force it to fail anyway.

Of course, that's just me.
Thats pretty much the standard rules, although a small wouldn't necessarily fail, although it would have one hell of a disadvantage, but all it has to do is hold on for 3 turns and it kills the creature (the grapple with a tentacle, the attaching of the other 3 tentacles, and the kill)

Depends, they're considerably better if the Illithid is strong and the creature is weak. But not that great.

True. Assuming similar strength, the small mind flayer would get a -4 and the gargantuan creature a +12, so the flayer needs to get 16 higher, then 14, then 12, and then 10, since it gets a +2 to attach another tentacle (at least I would hope that counts despite the size difference). Definitely not easy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sleet View Post
True. Assuming similar strength, the small mind flayer would get a -4 and the gargantuan creature a +12, so the flayer needs to get 16 higher, then 14, then 12, and then 10, since it gets a +2 to attach another tentacle (at least I would hope that counts despite the size difference). Definitely not easy.
Not so, an illithid can attack all 3 remaining tentacles with 1 grapple (or at least Mindflayers of Thoon can)




 

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