D&D General I hate five-foot passages!

[Hussar]

They couldn't use an opportunity attack if they did get one. They readied an action which includes movement and attack, so the squeezing has ended and the person entering the room is attacked with the reaction.

Nope. When you squeeze, you squeeze the whole time. A readied action cannot include movement and attack. It can only include one of those.

First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your speed in response to it. Examples include "If the cultist steps on the trapdoor, I'll pull the lever that opens it," and "If the goblin steps next to me, I move away."

(bold mine)

So, no, your readied action could be a move or it could be an attack. So, if you attack, you're still squeezing, so it's at disadvantage and the PC's move up and block you in the corner, forcing you to squeeze the whole time. If you move (and that movement has to be specified when you take the ready action) you potentially eat an AO but also must take that move, meaning that you abandon the cover.

 

[Lanefan]

It's hard to use a 10-foot pole properly in such a situation.

Poke the Slaad?

Like poking the bear, only now with More Danger!

 

[Lanefan]

Nope. When you squeeze, you squeeze the whole time. A readied action cannot include movement and attack. It can only include one of those.
(bold mine)

So, no, your readied action could be a move or it could be an attack. So, if you attack, you're still squeezing, so it's at disadvantage and the PC's move up and block you in the corner, forcing you to squeeze the whole time. If you move (and that movement has to be specified when you take the ready action) you potentially eat an AO but also must take that move, meaning that you abandon the cover.

Does expanding or un-squeezing to fill the space you'd normally be occupying anyway really count as movement, though?

 

[tetrasodium]

Does expanding or un-squeezing to fill the space you'd normally be occupying anyway really count as movement, though?

Yes because squeezing is a thing imposed by location barring intangibility or something

 

[Hussar]

Does expanding or un-squeezing to fill the space you'd normally be occupying anyway really count as movement, though?

Squeezing is always explained in terms of movement, so, yeah, I'd argue that you would have to. Of course, it depends on your readied action as well. If your readied action is "I attack when someone comes within reach" (the only reasonable readied action in this case), then the baddie is already within 5 feet of you, meaning you can't unsqueeze since you'd be occupying the opponent's square, which you can't do.

Additionally, the slaad only gets the one readied action. Meaning that everyone else can just walk past it once that readied action has gone off. Again, this is a death sentence for the slaad, since the rest of the party can move in, attack, then move back out again. Basically, at best, the slaad gets a single attack on a single PC, chosen by the group, while the rest of the party gets to dogpile it. All with the slaad getting disadvantage on all attacks and the party gaining advantage on theirs.

 

[Rabulias]

The slaad can squeeze into the corner like it squeezes into a 5 foot hallway. That eliminates the seen square.

This is a dubious ruling, IMO. I had always read squeezing as being physically constrained by walls/floors/ceiling while moving through a smaller space and not something you could choose to do within your space. The penalties while squeezing certainly seem to support my interpretation (your ability to move is constrained by external forces). The rules make no mention of squeezing in other circumstances.

 

[Lanefan]

Squeezing is always explained in terms of movement, so, yeah, I'd argue that you would have to. Of course, it depends on your readied action as well. If your readied action is "I attack when someone comes within reach" (the only reasonable readied action in this case), then the baddie is already within 5 feet of you, meaning you can't unsqueeze since you'd be occupying the opponent's square, which you can't do.

Which also seems off in terms of realism, as if the Slaad is so much bigger can't it just push the PC out of its way when it un-squeezes to its usual size?

Were it me, I'd rule that when a creature is squeezing itself by choice (rather than being forced to by a confining environment) its reach extends to what it could normally reach if it wasn't squeezed, but if it uses that reach it is now un-squeezed; and that un-squeezing counts as a free action. Oh, and squeezing by choice wouldn't confer disadvantage on the squeezer's attacks unless the intent is to remain squeezed afterwards.

Additionally, the slaad only gets the one readied action. Meaning that everyone else can just walk past it once that readied action has gone off.

Again unrealistic, though true by strict rules. Bleah.

Again, this is a death sentence for the slaad, since the rest of the party can move in, attack, then move back out again.

Yeah, the rules might allow this but there's no way in hell I'd let it happen in practice. If they want to try a conga-line attack like that they're going to be tripping over each other in the doorway.

 

[Lanefan]

Yes because squeezing is a thing imposed by location barring intangibility or something

Except here we have a creature simply trying to take up less space in an otherwise open area, similar to a person trying to make himself small in a corner by crouching down; leaping to his feet as part of an attack in this case would be a free action, right? Well, same goes for ol' Mr. Slaad here, IMO.

 

[tetrasodium]

Except here we have a creature simply trying to take up less space in an otherwise open area, similar to a person trying to make himself small in a corner by crouching down; leaping to his feet as part of an attack in this case would be a free action, right? Well, same goes for ol' Mr. Slaad here, IMO.

We might be talking about different locations. The doorway I'm seeing is one down two east of the slaad with a 66/66 PC in it, that's a position 100% going to be squeezing without question.

I'm unaware of any reason that the slaad couldn't simply attack through the little white door icon representing a door but staying in the room to do that is also the definition of self harm because the PCs can move through each other to shuffle around.

Where are you talking about the slaad trying to squeeze or whatever

 

[MerricB]

We might be talking about different locations. The doorway I'm seeing is one down two east of the slaad with a 66/66 PC in it, that's a position 100% going to be squeezing without question.

I'm unaware of any reason that the slaad couldn't simply attack through the little white door icon representing a door but staying in the room to do that is also the definition of self harm because the PCs can move through each other to shuffle around.

Where are you talking about the slaad trying to squeeze or whatever

Believe it or not, it's trying to squeeze into the corner of the room above the door. (So become a 1x1 figure rather than a 2x2 figure). (In my image, it would squeeze into its top-right square).

Which I don't allow - squeezing is something that happens as you navigate a tight space, not something you can just do.

But even if it were allowed, it doesn't help the slaad. At least not if you understand the rules - which a few people on this thread have shown they absolutely do not.