[RPG] Can Bigby’s Hand move creatures that are Grappled into the air

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Bigby's hand can grapple via Grasping Hand. This allows:

The hand attempts to grapple a Huge or smaller creature within 5 feet of it. You use the hand's Strength score to resolve the grapple. If the target is Medium or smaller, you have advantage on the check. While the hand is grappling the target, you can use a bonus action to have the hand crush it. When you do so, the target takes bludgeoning damage equal to 2d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier.

With a strength of 26, can it move creatures? Not only do you get the action, but you can:

When you cast the spell and as a bonus action on your subsequent turns, you can move the hand up to 60 feet and then cause one of the following effects with it.

So, after a grapple, could I move it 60' in the air? Then next turn move it another 60' and cause the crushing damage? At some point while it's way up in the air, release the grappled creature for falling damage?

Best Answer

Yes, Bigby's hand can move in any direction even while grappling

Jeremy Crawford has clarified:

Q: is Bigby's Hand actually flying e.g. is it's movement speed = flying speed? The spell doesn't seem to describe it as neither "walking" nor "flying"

A: Bigby's hand doesn't have a speed. As the spellcaster, you can magically move the hand in any direction.

So, all other issues aside, you can indeed move the hand into the air.

Bigby's Hand has a specific ability, Grasping Hand, that allows it to grapple creatures.

The hand attempts to grapple a Huge or smaller creature within 5 feet of it.

Barring any specification from the spell, there is no reason to think that this grapple does not follow the rules of grappling which say:

When you move you can drag or carry the grappled creature with you your speed is halved

Thus, there is no reason why the hand could not drag a grappled creature.

The hand is not affected by the grappling speed penalty

Bigby's hand is not a creature, it is a spell effect which has the ability to grapple. As clarified above, it does not have a speed. Since it does not have a speed there is nothing to penalize and that part of the grappling rule cannot affect it. So, the distance you can move the hand (60 ft) is not at all affected by the grappling speed penalty.

Consider this: would you reduce the distance a creature could teleport if it had reduced speed? No. Because that movement is magical movement specified by the spell effect and unrelated to speed in any way. The same exact concept applies to the hand.

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