Swallow Whole & Hold Monster

[Ethanism]

Context: A (gargantuan) creature with the swallow whole ability is affected by hold monster. A (small) PC climbs down into its belly.

Questions:
* Is the PC still subject to the recurring damage from being swallowed whole while they are in its belly?
* Is the PC still subject to the grappled condition? If so, do they need to break the grapple to escape as per usual or can they simply climb out?

[Cavall]

Climbing into the belly of a nasty beast should have some effect. You're swimming around in some terrible stuff.

But you could simply climb out. It has no way to keep you down there.

[LordKailas]

I'm not sure the PC can crawl into the creature's belly to begin with. IRL a snake has to manipulate it's jaw a certain way in order to accommodate what it's eating. It then has internal muscles that expand and contract in order to work the creature into it's body.

You could probably crawl into it's mouth but since it's paralyzed it can't swallow. Not only that, but the pipe that leads to the stomach would probably be sealed so, you would not only have to cut your way into it's throat but then you'd have to forcibly crawl down into it's belly.

Assuming they do all of this, the character would then suffer the same effects as if they'd been swallowed normally since hold monster doesn't stop involuntary biological functions like breathing. So, they would gain the grappled condition at this point and suffer damage as normal. Since, once a creature swallows something via swallow whole it doesn't have to take any actions to "digest" the thing its swallowed.

[Kayerloth]

I'd go with LordKailas as far as having to deal with Grappled condition, ongoing damage etc. Most of the things happening once the creature has been swallowed and is beyond the mouth/chewing are involuntary and Hold Monster has no effect on the activity (or as he said the heart(s) would stop, breathing would cease etc. and that is not the case). To put it medically peristalsis would continue.