It wouldn't surprise me if it were one action, partly because a Gibbering Mouther is so very slow (10' on land!) and engulfing is its shtick. Also it could easily be kited w/ only a 30' spit attack unless it grabs hold of a foe early, preferably while somebody's Confused.
If it could Engulf multiple PCs (like say if someone built an upgraded version size Large+), then it'd probably be important to change Engulf to the two actions it is by default. But balanced against its Jaws attack, they aren't so different in power level. (A party of Sprites might disagree...)
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There is a possibility, that this is a mistake in the write-up.
But there are several reasons that make it less powerful as it seems.
1) The Gibbering Mouther has Base Speed 10
2) Engulf can only be done once per round on each different PC
3) On a successful Reflex Save you can decide to end in the path of the monster and end it's movement
4) The Gibbering Mouther is medium. It can only engulf a single medium or small creature and can't use the engulf after that
So yes - theoretically it could move three times 20 feet and try three times to engulf a different target.
Practically this would only work on a large open field with three Sprite characters (tiny). Otherwise the first success would stop any further engulfs (already full) or the first fail might stop it (getting in the way - say a narrow corridor - can't engulf that one again)
So as written it likely will engulf one character sooner or later - but that ends it. Unless you are a group of sprites - in this case - was nice to have known you.
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Thanks thod and Castillano for your responses.
1) The Gibbering Mouther has Base Speed 10
If engulf is one action RAW this creature would never take the Stride action since it doesn't need to actively engulf someone. It could just make the engulf action to move 20 ft. Which might be why it's a base speed of ten!
There is a possibility, that this is a mistake in the write-up.
2) Engulf can only be done once per round on each different PC
The engulf ability says `once per engulf action`. This is the biggest reason why I thought that perhaps it was a mistake. I don't mind if it's one action to do engulf, but you could just go back and forth over the same clustered players over and over again which is terrifying.
Unless you are a group of sprites - in this case - was nice to have known you.
Great imagery!
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If engulf is one action RAW this creature would never take the Stride action since it doesn't need to actively engulf someone. It could just make the engulf action to move 20 ft. Which might be why it's a base speed of ten!
Think about it like a coiled up snake. The Gibbering Mouther is a slow moving mass - unless you get too close (20 feet or less) and it suddenly moves a lot quicker to engulf you as hunger propels it to new speeds (ok - 20 still isn't lightning fast but at least dwarven fast).
I would cry 'foul' if it would use engulf if there is not a single opponent inside 20 feet. RAI it should be clear that engulf would need someone.
So the save distance would be 45 feet away. Double Stride plus engulf would move it a max or 40 feet.
I'm aware that some players - if they would have the ability - would latch onto such an oversight in the way that the rule is written.
Edit:You are right - I misinterpreted the once in a single use to once in a single round (which it also would be with 2 actions). Not sure if I misread or subconsciously interpreted it that way from the 2 actions and that it can't be done more often.
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Think about it like a coiled up snake. The Gibbering Mouther is a slow moving mass - unless you get too close (20 feet or less) and it suddenly moves a lot quicker to engulf you as hunger propels it to new speeds (ok - 20 still isn't lightning fast but at least dwarven fast).
Awesome, I am going to use this analogy if it comes up in the future! Thanks again.
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(3) On a successful Reflex Save you can decide to end in the path of the monster and end it's movementWhere do you get this? I don't see how you're able to stop a "lunging" Gibbering Mouther with a successful Reflex save, only that you end up at the end of its movement.
When I ran a set of Mouthers, I was allowing them to path over as many targets as they wanted with an Engulf action (well, as many as you could fit in a 20ft move speed), with the caveat that they'd stop either at the end of their movement or if they successfully engulfed a target.
That was me reading too quickly and reading 'to the end of the monster’s movement' as 'to end the monster's movement'.
You handled it correctly. Someone else noted it but it was way, way past the hour you can edit and correct yourself.