A nature cleric vs a Sahuagin and his shark

[Markh3rd]

So what would happen if a nature cleric charmed a Sahuagin's Shark? It says that the shark is friendly to you and your allies you designate. But Sahuagin stat block says that sharks will not attack them. It also states that a Sahuagin can command a shark telepathically. So would the shark just be neutral and not do anything? Or could the Sahuagin command it to aid him? What are the possible outcomes?

 

[iserith]

So what would happen if a nature cleric charmed a Sahuagin's Shark? It says that the shark is friendly to you and your allies you designate. But Sahuagin stat block says that sharks will not attack them. It also states that a Sahuagin can command a shark telepathically. So would the shark just be neutral and not do anything? Or could the Sahuagin command it to aid him? What are the possible outcomes?

If the shark is charmed by the cleric's Charm Animals & Plants channel divinity and is also an ally of the sahuagin, then it seems reasonable that the shark will not attack the cleric and those the cleric designates, nor will it attack the sahuagin, regardless of the cleric's commands (which the shark can't understand anyway).

If you're the DM, you could (if it would be fun for everyone and help contribute to an exciting, memorable take) say the sahuagin gets angry at the shark and gives it a taste of its claw for its impudence. After all, the sahuagin view the entire aquatic realm as their kingdom. The damage will break the cleric's charm effect.

 

[Markh3rd]

Charm effects only end if the caster or his allies attack it. Not just any damage. I believe that is correct anyway, since the sahuagin doesn't count in that description he can't break the charm effects. It would still be funny though!

 

[iserith]

Charm effects only end if the caster or his allies attack it. Not just any damage. I believe that is correct anyway, since the sahuagin doesn't count in that description he can't break the charm effects. It would still be funny though!

The class feature says "...it is charmed by you for 1 minute or until it takes damage." It does not specify where the damage must come from.

 

[TarionzCousin]

I'm dyslexic, so I read the title as "A nature cleric and his Sahuagin shark ... (walk into a bar)."

I was very disappointed to not see a joke.

 

[Markh3rd]

You are correct! I wonder why any other charm type spell works differently. Is it because of the potential amount of creatures you can charm that they wanted to reduce it's effectiveness? Seems harsh considering the cleric is using a channel divinity to be able to do this effect. And even then only in very specific circumstances would it be useful. So what about animal friendship or dominate beast?

 

[Markh3rd]

Also this would imply that even the nature clerics capstone ability would cease to work as soon as the creature took damage, so what good is this ability at all?