As a follow-up to this thread, I have a couple of additional questions about creature with burrow speeds, and grappling/swallowing/suffocating hapless adventurers.
To help answer this question, here is the entry for Burrow speeds from the MM:
A monster that has a burrowing speed can use that speed to move through sand, earth, mud, or ice. A monster can't burrow through solid rock unless it has a special trait that allows it to do so.
Tim, for the purpose of these scenarios, is your average human adventurer without any special movement abilities. He is corporeal, resides on the Material Plane, has no fly/swim/burrow speed, and is currently not affected by any magic.
Now, my questions:
An earth elemental is standing on solid rock. It grapples Tim, and then uses its Earth Glide ability to move into the solid rock, attempting to bring Tim with it. What happens?
(According to the previous thread, the elemental would continue into the ground but Tim would be stopped.)
An earth elemental is standing on loose dirt. It grapples Tim. It does not activate its Earth Glide ability, but instead uses its 30ft Burrow speed to move with Tim 15 feet directly down into the dirt, and then leaves him there. Does this work?
Same as 2, but the terrain is solid ice instead of loose dirt. Does this work?
Same as 2, but Tim is wearing a Ring of Earth Elemental Command, and has unlocked its additional properties, allowing him to move through solid earth or rock as if it was difficult terrain. If he could not be brought into the ground before, can he be now?
A purple worm is in loose sand. It uses its Bite action, and swallows Tim whole. It then burrows 30 feet directly down using its movement. On Tim's turn, he deals 30 damage to the worm from inside of it, and it regurgitates him. Where does Tim exit, and does he begin to suffocate?
- Same as 3, but the terrain is solid ice instead of loose sand. Where does Tim exit, and does he begin to suffocate?
