[RPG] Does Wild-Shaping break a grapple

dnd-5egrapplewild-shape

I had a halfling druid Wild Shape into a bear while being grappled by a roper. Would this have broken the grapple? I could see it breaking the grapple if he was being grappled by another small creature before turning into a bear, but a roper is a large creature.

Best Answer

No, wild shape does not automatically break the grapple.

Grappling applies the 'grappled' condition and conditions are not automatically removed when you wild shape.

Further, once you have the grappled condition, the restrictions on grappling target size does not matter. Only the listed ways under the condition's description, the grappler releasing the grapple, or 'escaping the grapple' will remove the condition. (PHB pg. 195).

From PHB Appendix A (pg 290)

Grappled

  1. A grappled creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
  2. The condition ends if the grappler is incapacitated (see the condition)
  3. The condition also ends if an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler or grappling effect, such as when a creature is hurled away by the thunderwave spell.

For wild shaping into a larger creature than the grappler, unless the grappler has the 'grappler feat' (PHB pg 167), which tell us that creatures larger than you automatically succeed escape attempts, you can use an action and automatically escape from the grapple.