Attacking Nets

[Parlan]

Something came up in my game the other day regarding Nets. To sum up, a
creature got hit and entangled by one, and the DM figured the monster would
want to cut its way out.

What are the rules for this? We couldn t find anything about it
specifically, other than that the net has 5 hp.

On one hand the creature had a natural slashing weapon, so it should have
SOME chance to cut through the net.

On the other, the net was designed/used for gladiator fights, so presumably
it is SOMEWHAT difficult to cut, even by combatants armed with swords or
axes or stuff.

Any thoughts?

 

[Darklone]

Yeah, net hitpoints and hardness are silly.

I'd ask for a Sunder attempt to attack the net though.

 

[Parlan]

Yeah, net hitpoints and hardness are silly.

I'd ask for a Sunder attempt to attack the net though.

It seems like you should also rule that only a slashing weapon could be used to make the attempt too.

 

[d20Dwarf]

On the other, the net was designed/used for gladiator fights, so presumably
it is SOMEWHAT difficult to cut, even by combatants armed with swords or
axes or stuff.

Any thoughts?

Nets are hard to replicate in D&D because of this. In a real world gladiatorial fight, taking 6 seconds to hack your way out of a net meant instant death on most occasions. In D&D, it's just one round of getting hit, so unless you're a kobold it's not going to be that big a deal.

I don't have time to work up good rules, but nets should grapple their opponents, forcing a grapple check to do anything, just as if you were grappled (perhaps opposed by the net thrower's initial touch attack roll?). So unless you had a tiny slashing weapon in hand when the net hit you, you're going to have to make grapple checks to draw the weapon and then grapple checks to actually cut the net. I dunno, this is all just off the top of my head.

 

[Darklone]

Simply rule that someone who gets damaged at the Sunder attempt will not be able to damage the net without a concentration check or something...