So the Jotund Troll scoops up the Rogue, nom-nom-nom... gulp. No more Rogue.
Here is the relevant info for cutting your way out:
The Armor Class of the interior of a creature that swallows whole is normally 10 + 1/2 its natural armor bonus, with no modifiers for size or Dexterity.
Now, the Jotund Troll is not DENIED its Dexterity bonus, per se. It just doesn't apply in this case.
Does Sneak Attack apply when Swallowed Whole?
I let it, because it was awesome. He starts hacking at this thing's guts from the inside, Bleeding Attack, Flensing Strike... snik-snik-snik.
So, its belly spills open, and the Rogue says, "Do I have to exit, or can I stay in and carve?" So legit.
It was a race to see if the Rogue could kill the Troll before he died from Suffocating or the Swallowed Whole damage per round...
Eventually the Troll's upper body falls to the ground, leaving its legs upright with a bloodied Rogue standing on the stump of its waist.
Did I do that right? It was awesome, regardless, but I would at least like to know for future reference.
This has been discussed before, I'd start with those old threads for inspiration.
I did, but reading the rules threads is like eating glass. If I wanted unrelenting argument, I would still be with my EX... but I'm not, and I don't want to spend my time reading other people's bickering. I glanced over several threads in the search I made, and it was all inconclusive bull$#!+... like 90% of all the threads in the rules arena.
I posted this in General Discussion specifically to avoid such nonsense, honestly.
Ah, about my impression of those threads. In the context of what you are after I dig your call. The one point made in those glass eating marathons of value to me was the idea that the swallowee needs darkvision or some other way to see clearly enough to make sneak attacks, but this whole topic is the land of GM fiat and rule of cool, so YMMV.
The Rogue in this case is a Dhampir, so he has Darkvision. And his weapons were doing fire damage to stop the Troll's Regeneration... allowing Bleeding Attack to function, and thus Flensing Strike to keep shaving away at the Troll's natural armor.
There were even allies adjacent to the Troll (on the outside, obviously)... so flanking?
I do like that Darkvision rule, though. That is fun, and I will probably use that from now on.
That rogue had too many tools that were perfect for the situation, seems lame for them not to work. I would rule that the natural armor reduction from flensing strike only applies to other attacks from the inside however.
Flanking, hmm, there are some weird cases of what does or doesn't confer flanking bonus, my first impression is the swallowee neither provides nor benefits from flanking, but there are other instances weird enough that I'm not inclined to argue the point.
"A creature (...) is (...) denied its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attacks from creatures it cannot see." CRB pg. 561
Unless the troll is actually an eldritch abomination with eyes inside its stomach, made of glass, or has some lifesense ability, it can't see the Rogue.
It could be argued that the Rogue wouldn't be able to use their weapons to an optimal amount in the extremely confined space.
That's actually RAW, but it is already covered: "A swallowed creature keeps the grappled condition", and thus suffers a -4 to dexterity, a -2 to attack rolls, can't move (duh), and "can take no action that requires two hands to perform".
As far as I am concerned, anything stupid enough to swallow someone skilled in dealing precision damage deserves the pain it is about to receive. That being said, that character had better have a small weapon available that deals piercing damage if they want to make use of it (due to the confined space).
Custom "Assassin's-Creed-type" bracers that are loaded with Liquid Blades. The bracers cast Lead Blades upon activation, and are enchanted with Flaming... because liquid lead is hot. Lol.
I would say "why not?" myself, and Derklord provides extremely concise RAW proof as well.
Needing to see makes no sense. You're surrounded by vulnerable organ tissue. You literally can't miss.
Flanking also doesn't make much, given that you can't divide your attention between someone you're actively fighting and someone you're passively trying to digest. But for a lil' old +2, you could chalk it up to severe indegestion.
The argument against is that the “stomach” isn’t a creature. But it is a vital part of a creature, so you could still deal precision damage to the creature but it wouldn’t count against the gut hit points.
That seems like quite the stretch just to deny Sneak Attack.
Technically every place a character targets isn't A creature, just a vital part of the whole creature... unless it's an area attack.
Technically every place a character targets isn't A creature, just a vital part of the whole creature... unless it's an area attack.
Technically, you can only attack the creature and can only attack parts of it as a special action. It’s just the way the simplification for the combat system works. Like how a creature at 1 hitpoint moves just as well as a creature at 1000 hit points.
IF we are using the optional Called Shots rules at all, then:
Chest/Easy/-2
Heart/Challenging/-10
Virals/Tricky/-5
And each specific target would come with its own special rider effects:
Chest
Called shots to the chest are aimed at the well-protected center of mass of a creature. Called shots to the chest are easy (–2 penalty).
Called Shot: A called shot to the chest deals no additional damage, but any skill checks caused by the hit (such as an Acrobatics check while balancing or a Climb check while climbing) take a –2 penalty.
Critical Called Shot: A critical hit to the chest deals 1d4 points of Constitution damage and fatigues the target. A successful Fortitude saving throw (made after the Constitution damage is applied) negates the fatigue. The creature also suffers the effects of a called shot to the chest.
Debilitating Blow: A debilitating blow to the chest deals 2d4 points of Constitution damage and exhausts the target. A successful Fortitude saving throw (made after the Constitution damage is applied) reduces the exhaustion to fatigue. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the creature’s internal injuries deal 1 point of Constitution damage in any round the creature takes a standard action. The internal injuries can be healed by either a DC 25 Heal check or by healing as many hit points as the debilitating blow dealt, whether by magical or natural means. The creature also suffers the effects of a called shot to the chest.
Heart
A called shot to the heart represents an attempt at a killing blow. If the hit isn’t either a critical hit or a debilitating blow, the attempt fails and is just a normal hit. A called shot to the heart can be used for any small, likely fatal location on a creature, such as the only weakness on an unimaginably ancient red dragon. Called shots to the heart are challenging (–10 penalty).
Called Shot: A called shot to the heart is just a normal hit with no extra effect.
Critical Called Shot: A critical hit to the heart pierces the organ, causing exhaustion and 1d4 points of Constitution bleed damage. A successful Fortitude save reduces this to fatigue and 1 point of Constitution bleed damage. In either case, stopping the bleeding requires either regeneration (spell or special ability), magic healing that heals as many points of damage (from one or more sources) as the original blow dealt, or a successful DC 20 Heal check that takes 1d4 rounds to complete.
A critical hit to the heart against a vampire made with a piercing weapon composed entirely of wood leaves the vampire impaled through the heart by the weapon if it fails its Fortitude save, with effects as described in the vampire monster details.
Debilitating Blow: A debilitating blow to the heart destroys it, instantly killing any creature that relies on its heart to survive. Creatures that succeed at a Fortitude save suffer exhaustion and take 1d6 points of Constitution damage and 1d4 points of Constitution bleed damage, as do creatures that can survive without a heart. A debilitating blow to the heart against a vampire made with a piercing weapon made entirely of wood affects the vampire as a critical hit to the heart; for example, it still receives a Fortitude save to avoid the consequences.
Vitals
The vitals correspond to the abdomen on a humanoid: critical organs not well-protected by bone. Attacks on the vitals can also include dastardly “low blows.” Vitals for non-humanoid creatures can include nearly any location that is relatively hard to hit, poorly protected, and debilitating if struck. Called shots to the vitals are tricky (–5 penalty).
Called Shot: A called shot to the vitals leaves the target sickened for 1d4 rounds. A successful Fortitude save reduces this duration to 1 round. While sickened from the blow, the target cannot run or charge.
Critical Called Shot: A critical hit deals 1d4 points of Constitution damage. In addition, the target is nauseated for 1d4 rounds and sickened for 1d6 minutes. A successful Fortitude saving throw negates the nauseated condition. While the target is sickened from the blow, it cannot run or charge.
Debilitating Blow: A debilitating blow to the vitals deals 1d6 points of Constitution drain, nauseates the target for 1d4 rounds, and sickens it for 2d6 minutes. A successful Fortitude save reduces the drain to damage and the nausea to 1 round. If the save fails by 5 or more, the target is disemboweled or otherwise horrifically wounded, and takes 1 point of Constitution bleed damage. The Constitution bleed damage caused by a debilitating blow to the vitals can only be stopped by regeneration (spell or special ability), magical healing that heals as many points of damage (from one or more sources) as the original blow dealt, or a DC 20 Heal check that takes 1d4 rounds to complete.