[RPG] Can a Goblin boss redirect attacks to non allied goblins

combatdnd-5emonsters

Goblin bosses can use their reaction to redirect a successful attack against them to another goblin within melee range by swapping places with the other goblin. (Source: MM)

RAW this ability does not state (unless I've missed it) that the goblin receiving the damage, that was originally intended for the Goblin boss, has to be an ally of the Goblin boss. This seems to imply that an enemy Goblin boss could use this ability to redirect a successful attack against a PC playing a goblin (Source: VGM) or a party allied NPC goblin?

Is this a correct RAW understanding, or have I missed something?
Has there been any official or semi-official clarification (Sage advice, relevant tweets, etc) that show whether this reading is "rules as intended"?

Best Answer

You are right

The text says the following

Redirect Attack. When a creature the goblin can see targets it with an attack, the goblin chooses another goblin within 5 feet of it. The two goblins swap places, and the chosen goblin becomes the target instead.

The text doesn't mention that "another goblin" has to be an ally of the Goblin Boss, then it would say "another allied goblin" or something similar, and it also doesn't say that the goblin has to be opposed to the creature attacking the Goblin Boss.

Therefore the Goblin Boss can also choose a PC Goblin that happens to be close by or an NPC that is opposed to the Goblin Boss.

As a DM I wouldn't do this because it feels to me like this is not the intention behind the ability. I have always imagined this to be "grab an unsuspecting ally and hold him in front of me as a shield", which is already difficult, but grabbing an enemy or hiding behind them is a lot harder because they are actively fighting you.

Also, as nitsua60 mentioned in the comments, the MM was published roughly 3 years before VGtM, which first allowed PCs to choose Goblins as a race. This means that the fact that players could play Goblins was likely not taken into account - because at that point there was no such option - which means that they didn't have to think about this when wording the ability and none of the playtesters could have come up with this usage inside the framework of the existing official rules.

Additional information from Jeremy Crawford, mentioned by Rubiksmoose:

@JeremyECrawford Could an enemy Goblin Boss use its Redirect Attack reaction to swap places with a goblin PC or PC-allied NPC?

The goblin boss's Redirect Attack doesn't specify whether the affected goblin is a friend or foe. It works on any goblin within 5 ft. #DnD

RAW - No, Otto's Irresistible Dance is not a Charm spell

It does not say that the target will be "charmed", and the condition it imposes is significantly different than the description of the "Charmed" condition.

OID:

A dancing creature must use all its movement to dance without leaving its space and has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws and attack rolls. While the target is affected by this spell, other creatures have advantage on attack rolls against it.

Charmed:

A charmed creature can't attack the charmer or target the charmer with harmful abilities or magical effects. The charmer has advantage on any ability check to interact socially with the creature.

A dancing creature can attack the caster (with disadvantage -- and that disadvantage applies to any attack, not just against the caster) and can cast AoE spells that include the caster and anyone else they choose in the target area with no penalty. They just can't move freely. A charmed character can move freely but can't attack or target the caster.

Furthermore, if it were a Charm spell, it would not be necessary to specify that "[c]reatures that can't be charmed are immune to this spell." That appears to be listed as a special exception.

RAI - No, Otto's Irresistible Dance does not impose the Charmed condition

Jeremy Crawford has tweeted saying:

Being charmed means being subjected to the charmed condition

Since OID does not impose the Charmed condition, the Fey Ancestry resistance to "being charmed" does not apply.

What makes sense?

Webster's dictionary says:

charm: to affect by or as if by magic : compel

Magically forcing someone to dance seems to fall completely within that definition.

I would give those with Fey Ancestry advantage on saves against all enchantment spells that compel the user to do something that is not their own free choice. This includes many spells that do not specifically say they are "charms" or that they impose the "Charmed" condition, such as command, compelled duel, and yes, Otto's irresistible dance. I believe those all fall within the common sense and dictionary definitions of "charmed" in this context, and there's nothing in the description of Fey Ancestry that says it only applies to things that grant the "Charmed" condition.

[RPG] Does the Goblin Boss’s Redirect Attack provoke an opportunity attack

Yes, if the second Goblin is not within the Reach of the thing making the opportunity attack

It seems a bit weird, however the criteria for triggering an opportunity attack are:

You are moving out of the reach of a hostile creature
This movement is from one of your Actions, Bonus Actions, Movement or Reaction
You have not taken the Disengage action
You are not Teleporting

For this question we can discount Point 4, as the Goblin Boss can't teleport.

We'll also ignore Disengaging for now.

For Point 2, the movement is by the Goblin Boss' Reaction, which fulfills that criteria

For Point 1, if the swapping with the second Goblin does not cause the Goblin Boss to leave the Reach of any hostile creature, it will not trigger an Opportunity attack. In the diagrams below, the first set of movement will not trigger an opportunity attack, while the second set will.

EG    ->    EB
B           G


EBG   ->    EGB

E - Enemy; 
G - Goblin; 
B - Goblin Boss

Note that wherever the second Goblin is moved from, it does not trigger an Opportunity attack from anything as its movement is forced by the Goblin Boss.

As for using Disengage (via Nimble Escape), it only stops OAs for the rest of your Turn, not the entire Round.

So, if someone had Readied an action to hit the Goblin Boss when the Boss did a specific thing, then the Goblin Boss did that thing on the Boss' turn, and in Reaction the Boss used Redirect Attack, that would not trigger an OA, wherever it moved, as it is still the Boss' Turn so Disengage is still in effect. But normally, Disengage would not help for this.