D&D 5E Slow vs legendary actions

[delph]

Hi, I'm coming up with a question I've got last season. We met a group with legendary actions - 2 attacks, 2 attacks from legendary actions, and 1 commander attack (give attack with reaction to another companion), so they've been attacking us with 4 attacks per turn...
I've use Houd of ill omen on the boss and then Synaptic Static - all of them failed. Druid was casting hold persons for 2 times. But it was still hard... After a battle, we brainstormed how about to use slow on them. Are they losing their "legendary actions" or not?

On its turn, it can use either an action or a bonus action, not both. Regardless of the creature's abilities or magic items, it can't make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn.
Are legendary actions creatures' abilities or stay above this wording?
Thanks for yours opinions.

 

[jeffh]

The first three words of what you quoted ("On its turn...") are the important bit here, not the part you bolded. (Though the theme is reiterated at the end of the bold part - "during its turn.") Legendary actions are not taken on the creature's turn, and thus the whole quoted section is completely irrelevant to them.

As far as I can tell, according to RAW Slow has no effect whatsoever on Legendary Actions.

Personally I might rule that it reduced the number of them the creature could take by one, but that would be explicitly a house rule; there's absolutely no way to get that out of a literal reading of the spell's description.

 

[Shiroiken]

Personally I might rule that it reduced the number of them the creature could take by one, but that would be explicitly a house rule; there's absolutely no way to get that out of a literal reading of the spell's description.

Same. To me, this provides the intent of the spell against a Legendary Monster, even though the actual wording doesn't work that way.

 

[Blue]

I'm a bit different - Legendary actions are intentional to balance out action economy for solo encounters. As such, if single target spells effected both the main action and a solo action, it would have the effect of making them multi-target spells for free in a more traditional combat.

Slow, Confusion, and the like should only affect "one creature's worth" of actions - not the main action and then also the legendary action.

 

[Reynard]

The first three words of what you quoted ("On its turn...") are the important bit here, not the part you bolded. (Though the theme is reiterated at the end of the bold part - "during its turn.") Legendary actions are not taken on the creature's turn, and thus the whole quoted section is completely irrelevant to them.

As far as I can tell, according to RAW Slow has no effect whatsoever on Legendary Actions.

Personally I might rule that it reduced the number of them the creature could take by one, but that would be explicitly a house rule; there's absolutely no way to get that out of a literal reading of the spell's description.

The easiest thing to do, i think, and what I would do if it came up in game is just have each legendary action cost one more "legendary action point" or whatever they call it in the MM.

But also, why didn't the creature use Legendary Resistance?

 

[Rabulias]

But also, why didn't the creature use Legendary Resistance?

I would guess they used them all up against the following:

I've use Houd of ill omen on the boss and then Synaptic Static - all of them failed. Druid was casting hold persons for 2 times.

 

[delph]

But also, why didn't the creature use Legendary Resistance?

Because I've started with "So they are nicely close together, hit dice for inteligence saving throw." And he miss that "intelligence" and thought it was fireball and said it was his mistake so let it to be... that's how I delivered it to enemies.
And as I mentioned in the first post - they were something like a legendary group. Not a few legendary NPCs together. They had group legendary actions and can use indomitable (but failed many times. GM was almost angry about how bad he goes with dices that night) only their leader have legendary resistance.

 

[jeffh]

The easiest thing to do, i think, and what I would do if it came up in game is just have each legendary action cost one more "legendary action point" or whatever they call it in the MM.

I don't see how that's any easier (or harder) than my suggestion.

What it does do is make Slow much more powerful against such creatures than my suggestion. Most creatures get three legendary actions (of those that get any at all), and while my suggestion would reduce that to two, yours, in effect, reduces it to one. (It has to spend two to take its first legendary action, then it only has one left, which isn't enough to take a second.) It's also kind of inelegant that yours will nearly always force them to have one of their legendaries go to waste.