Constrictor Snake 5e: Grab, Squeeze and Hold One Character

A constrictor snake is a CR 1/4 Large Beast with AC 12, 13 hit points, 30-foot walk and swim speeds, and two actions to choose from each turn: a bite or a squeeze. Its 2014 Constrict is a +4 attack that deals 6 damage and grapples the target (escape DC 14), and the target is Restrained while grappled. The 2024 version is a DC 12 Strength save that deals 7 damage and only grapples (escape DC 12), with no Restrained condition. The 2014 snake locks one character down hard. The 2024 snake is easier to escape, but its save ignores armor, so heavy armor won't keep you out of its coils.

Table of Contents

• •Constrictor Snake Stat Block (2014)
• •The Constrictor Snake in the 2024 Rules
• •How Constrictor Snakes Fight
• •Running a Constrictor Snake Encounter
• •How Players Beat Constrictor Snakes
• •Constrictor Snake Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Constrictor Snake Stat Block (2014)

The SRD 5.1 constrictor snake:

The key line: "Until this grapple ends, the creature is restrained, and the snake can't constrict another target." The snake can still constrict the same target again, and while that target is Restrained, every attack against it, including the snake's, has Advantage.

The Constrictor Snake in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 snake also became an ambusher: Stealth +4 and a swim speed make a river bank or a flooded cellar a good hiding place.

How Constrictor Snakes Fight

Grab the right target. A save-based 2024 Constrict ignores armor, so aim it at the character with the worst Strength save. A wizard with Str −1 fails DC 12 on 1-12 (60%). A 2014 Constrict is an attack roll: against AC 16 it hits on a 12 (45%), and against AC 12 robes it hits 65% of the time. Both editions point at the same victim.

Then keep squeezing (2014). Once the target is Restrained, the snake's next Constrict has Advantage: about 70% to hit AC 16 for 6 damage. Its allies get Advantage too, and the Restrained character has Disadvantage on its own attacks and Dexterity saves.

Escape odds. Escaping takes the grappled character's action: a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against the escape DC.

Water is slower than it looks. The snake can drag its prey into the water, but dragging a Medium target costs it extra movement in both editions (half speed in 2014, an extra foot per foot in 2024). And a creature can hold its breath for 1 + Con modifier minutes. A character with Con +0 holds it for 1 minute, which is 10 rounds. The water matters as cover and terrain, not as a quick drowning.

Running a Constrictor Snake Encounter

The 2014 labels use the Dungeon Master's Guide multiplier in our encounter calculator. Two snakes holding two characters takes half the party out of the fight, so it plays harder than the 2024 "Low" suggests. The snake is a good partner for something that benefits from a held target: lizardfolk hunters, cultists, or a poisonous snake nest.

How Players Beat Constrictor Snakes

• •Free the victim by hitting the snake. It has 13 hit points. Two good hits end the grapple faster than the victim can escape.
• •Use the trained athlete. If the fighter or rogue gets grabbed, let them escape; if the wizard gets grabbed, kill the snake.
• •Prone doesn't help. Knocking the snake down doesn't end a grapple. Making it Incapacitated does.
• •Stay out of reach of the water's edge so it can't strike from hiding.

Constrictor Snake Encounter Ideas

The bathhouse. An old bathhouse in a city's lower ward has a flooded lower floor. A merchant's pet constrictor escaped down the drain months ago and has grown fat on rats. Now it's taking the attendants.

The temple guardian. A ruined temple keeps two constrictors in a sunken pool as guardians. A priest's riddle on the wall says the snakes won't attack anyone carrying the right offering. The offering was taken by the last group of adventurers.

The river crossing. A ford where the party has to wade waist-deep. One constrictor waits in the reeds. The fight happens in difficult terrain, with the party's packs at stake.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a constrictor snake in 5e?

CR 1/4 (50 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules, with 13 hit points.

How do you escape a constrictor snake?

Use your action to make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against the escape DC: 14 in the 2014 rules, 12 in the 2024 rules. Killing or incapacitating the snake also ends the grapple.

Does a constrictor snake restrain you?

In the 2014 rules, yes: you're Restrained until the grapple ends. In the 2024 rules, Constrict only gives the Grappled condition.

When can a druid Wild Shape into a constrictor snake?

In the 2014 rules at druid level 4, because it has a swim speed and level 2 forms can't. In the 2024 rules at level 2, because only a fly speed is restricted.

What's the difference between a constrictor snake and a giant constrictor snake?

The giant constrictor snake is CR 2, Huge, with 60 hit points and a much harder grapple. The constrictor snake is the CR 1/4 version for level 1 and 2 parties.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.