I've started a Yeulentu Colony solarian in Society play, and I decided to take Gooey Engulf, mostly because it sounds so very gross. It has been fun to be a sticky, mossy giant turtle, but some things about it are not clear.
The rules are very similar to Swallow Whole but not quite.
You can Stride and move through spaces of any creatures in your path. Any creature your size or smaller whose space you move through can attempt a Reflex save against your Athletics DC to avoid being engulfed. A creature unable to act automatically critically fails this save. If a creature succeeds at its save, it can choose to either be pushed aside or pushed in front of you at the end of your movement. You can only attempt to Gooey Engulf the same creature once per turn. You can contain as many creatures as can fit in your space.
A creature that fails its save is pulled into your body. It is grabbed and slowed 1, and it must hold its breath or start suffocating. The creature takes 1d6 acid damage at the end of each of its turns while engulfed (this damage can be improved by hardlight handwraps as though it were an unarmed attack). An engulfed creature can get free by Escaping against your Athletics DC. An engulfed creature can attack you but only with an unarmed attack or weapons of light Bulk or less. You're off-guard against these attacks. If you take piercing or slashing damage equaling or exceeding one fourth of your remaining Hit Points from a single attack or spell, the engulfed creature cuts itself free. A creature that gets free by either method can immediately breathe and exits your space. If you fall asleep, are knocked unconscious, or die, all creatures you've engulfed are automatically released.
When a unit is pulled into my character's body, is it fully in there, like Swallowed Whole (sort of implies by the suffocation), or does the "Grabbed" imply that it's just sort of sticking out of me and can be attacked by my allies (and can attack other people within the constraints of Grabbed) The bombard soldier wondered if he could exclude me from his Area Fire if the enemy was literally inside my space.
Either way, this is a very strong 1st level effect that makes the character into a horror movie monster.
The Swallow Whole and Engulf creature abilities also give the grabbed condition, so I wouldn't interpret grabbed doing anything different than those abilities here.
The Swallow Whole and Engulf creature abilities also give the grabbed condition, so I wouldn't interpret grabbed doing anything different than those abilities here.
Okay, but does that mean that victims of either ability can or can't be targeted from outside? What does "off-guard" even mean in that context?
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Yes, the creatures "pulled into your body" can't be targeted with most abilities because there's no line of effect to the creature being engulfed or swallowed whole.
The main point of grabbed in this context isn't being off guard, its the immobilized condition and the chance to fail manipulate checks. I guess if you have two creatures engulfed they could fight each other and off-guard would be relevant but yeah that part of grabbed is pretty niche.
Okay, thanks for clarifying.