Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kanosint 12-25-05, 04:32 PM	Hello. Though I am rather new here, I've been playing (well, mostly DMing) for quite a while, but I have something I hope you can help me with. (Mods, if this does not belong here, please move this...) You see, I'm running a home-made campaign, lots of wilderness and such (I don't want to go into details now), and two of my players are larger than usual: one large anthro Giant Constrictor, and one tauric anthro Large Viper-Giant Constrictor Snake (yes, I allowed with some penalties, and such, plus, it's mainly RP campaign, so the fact that they're slightly more powerful is not frowned upon)... So we have one Large and one Huge... Now, you see, we have a Small character too (anthro Otter), and, well, the title says it all: the snakes would like to eat her... It makes perfect sense, and this wasn't the first time I pondered about this: why can't everything with a bite attack or something Swallow Whole? What would you do in my situation? Mainly interested in how I would calculate damage... Yes, I know this is an odd question, sorry about that.
Xeviat-DM 12-25-05, 04:53 PM	Without getting into discussions about furries and vore, I'll make this quick. A snake doesn't have the swallow hole ability because it takes a snake quite a bit of time to swallow something; much more than a single round's worth of grappling. But, I do think a human can swallow a fly no problem, so a medium character can swallow a fine object easily; maybe they can even swallow a diminunative object (I forget the exact sizes of the sizes). That's 3 size categories different. So, I guess you could say that a creature could use the swallow hole ability on any creature three sizes smaller than it (large could swallow a tiny creature, huge a small, gargantuan a medium). Getting the creature into your mouth is another problem; for a human one would need to start the grapple, probably pin, then move the creature to your mouth, grapple with your mouth (a penalty I'd say), then a grapple check to swallow. And since this is making me a little sick to my stomach, I'll end it here.
Kanosint 12-25-05, 05:47 PM	Hmmm, is it that obvious? But yes, no discussions about that pls. :D Anyways, yes, I agree on the size categories and such, but seeing that they already have Improved Grab, they don't have to worry 'bout penalties... 't is a relief that others would've ruled the same mechaniks to the swallowing itself... The damage still confuses me greatly, however... Anyone have anything to say about that topic? Thanks in advance.
Xeviat-DM 12-26-05, 04:52 AM	Check out the different monsters with swallow hole attacks and compare the acid damage they deal to their size. Snakes should probably deal less bludgeoning damage than other creatures because they do kill before they swallow (and some snake venom starts the digestion process). Anyway, good luck.
Milburn 12-26-05, 11:41 AM	A Python should definately be able to swallow whole, but some animals just do not have the capability. Then again, Pythons kill first... Anyway, why do the characters want to swallow each other?! Also, you swallow WHOLE.
Kanosint 12-26-05, 02:54 PM	Not always true, the victims are not always dead, they could be merely unconscious... Most people think that snakes actually crush their victims, this, however, is untrue, they just squeeze tighter and tighter until the victim can no longer expand its lungs, which leaves unconscious, but not always dead... 't is a common misconception, though. Errr, but enough about that... As to why they want to swallow the otter, simple: they regard her as nothing else but food... She may praise herself lucky that the two are of rivalising tribes, they won't strike until the other one strikes... And so far there is no logic in the Acid/Bludgeoning damage from Swallow Whole attacks... If I'm missing something here, please, do tell...
Arnkel 12-26-05, 06:30 PM	The Otter-person would probably be unconcious at the start of the devouring process, but would be dead soon after it's head was swallowed if only from lack of oxygen. Depending on the species, A snake's esophagus and stomach actually does a fair amount of crushing as countless snake owners who have had to clean up regurgitated mice/rats/rabbits can tell you. It's not a quick process either, the "preperation"(biting and waiting for it to stop, or constriction) of the prey takes awhile in and of itself. Feeding probably takes 6d4 rounds -1 round for each size category difference(though the snake can't really consume anything more than 1/6 its size). Acid damage really doesn't start to take effect until the snake has a chance to relax in a nice warm area. To avoid party strife of this type in the future, you may want to have your snakemen prey imprint, i.e. recognize only a small number of creatures as prey(The Ball/Regal Python is a notoriously picky eater), and tend to ignore other species regardless of actual nutrional value. Don't forget that some species(mostly those with "king" in their name) eat other snakes!
Xeviat-DM 12-27-05, 12:47 AM	Actually, some snakes can eat other snakes that are just about thier size.
Arnkel 12-27-05, 01:40 PM	yeah, forgot about that.