Crocodile 5e: Stats, the Grappling Bite and Fighting in Water

A crocodile is a CR 1/2 Large beast with AC 12, 19 hit points, a 20-foot walking speed and a 30-foot swim speed. Its whole stat block is one attack: a +4 bite for 7 piercing damage that grapples the target (escape DC 12) and leaves it Restrained until it gets free. A Restrained creature is easier to hit, so every bite after the first comes with Advantage. The 2024 crocodile (SRD 5.2.1) has 13 hit points, bites for 6, and can only grab Medium or smaller creatures, but it can hold its breath for an hour instead of 15 minutes.

Table of Contents

• •Crocodile Stat Block (2014)
• •The Crocodile in the 2024 Rules
• •How Crocodiles Fight
• •How Many Crocodiles for a Low-Level Party?
• •How Players Beat Crocodiles
• •Crocodile vs Giant Crocodile
• •Crocodile Wild Shape
• •Crocodile Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Crocodile Stat Block (2014)

The SRD 5.1 crocodile.

The 2014 bite's grapple has no size limit: a crocodile can latch onto an ogre as easily as a halfling. While it holds someone, "the crocodile can't bite another target," so a crocodile that has a victim keeps chewing on that victim. Stealth +2 is modest, but murky water does most of the hiding.

The Crocodile in the 2024 Rules

What changes at the table:

• •It dies faster. 13 hit points instead of 19 is about two hits from a level 1 fighter instead of three.
• •Large targets are safe from the grapple. A druid in a Large form, a horse or an ogre takes the bite damage but isn't held.
• •The "can't bite another target" line moved. It's gone from the 2024 bite, but the 2024 grappling rules cover it: a creature that grapples with a body part, such as a maw, can grapple only one creature with it and can't use it on another creature until the grapple ends. The behavior is the same.
• •An hour underwater. A 2024 crocodile can wait at the bottom of a river for 60 minutes instead of 15.

How Crocodiles Fight

The first bite. +4 against AC 16 hits on a 12 or better, 45% of the time. On a hit the target takes 7 (or 6) damage and is Grappled and Restrained. Restrained means its speed is 0, it has Disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saves, and attack rolls against it have Advantage.

Every bite after that. The crocodile can only bite the creature it's holding, and that creature is Restrained, so the crocodile attacks with Advantage. The chance to hit AC 16 rises from 45% to about 70% (1 − 0.55 × 0.55). Expected damage per round against a held target:

Drag it under. A crocodile can move while holding its victim, dragging it along. In both editions that halves its movement unless the victim is two or more sizes smaller: a Large crocodile dragging a Medium character swims 15 feet per turn. Pull a character into deep water and the fight changes in the crocodile's favor:

• •A character without a swim speed has Disadvantage on melee weapon attacks underwater unless the weapon is one of the listed exceptions. In 2014 that's a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear or trident; in 2024 it's any weapon that deals Piercing damage.
• •Ranged weapon attacks past normal range automatically miss, and the rest have Disadvantage (2014 exempts crossbows, nets and thrown weapons like javelins and darts).
• •Fire damage is resisted by anything fully underwater, so the party's Fire Bolt does half.

Drowning is slower than it looks: a character holds their breath for 1 + Constitution modifier minutes (minimum 30 seconds), at least 5 rounds and usually 20 or more. The danger underwater is the damage and the penalties, not the air.

Ambush first. Crocodiles lie still near the bank and let prey come to them. Muddy water can reasonably count as Heavily Obscured (your call as DM), so a crocodile lying just under the surface can attack from hiding. In 2014 an unseen attacker has Advantage on its first attack; in 2024 a hidden creature has the Invisible condition, which gives the same Advantage. The ambush bite hits as often as a held bite: about 70%.

When to let go. Play a crocodile that drops below half its hit points as releasing its victim (no action needed) and slides back into deep water. Beasts don't fight to the death over one meal.

How Many Crocodiles for a Low-Level Party?

Each crocodile is 100 XP. For four characters, by the 2024 budget:

Three crocodiles can hold three of four characters at once, which is worse than the XP suggests: three Restrained characters have Disadvantage on every attack. In open water, treat the fight as one step harder than the table says.

The 2014 guidelines (from the Dungeon Master's Guide, used by our encounter calculator) put two crocodiles at 200 XP × 1.5 = 300, Hard for four level 1 characters, and three at 300 × 2 = 600, past Deadly (400). For four level 2 characters, three crocodiles are exactly Hard (600).

Good level ranges: level 1 to 3 as the main threat, level 4 and up as one hazard in a bigger scene (a crocodile in the moat while lizardfolk shoot from the walls).

How Players Beat Crocodiles

• •Escape the grapple. The held creature uses its action for a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against DC 12. A fighter with Athletics +5 succeeds on a 7 or better (70%). A wizard with Acrobatics +2 succeeds on a 10 or better (55%).
• •Or let the party do it. The grapple ends if the crocodile is Incapacitated. Killing it is often faster: AC 12 is easy to hit, and the 2024 crocodile has only 13 hit points.
• •Stay on land. A crocodile walks at 20 feet, slower than any standard character. Back away from the water's edge and shoot.
• •Catch it while it drags. A crocodile hauling a Medium character covers only 15 feet a turn, so the party can keep up along the bank and keep attacking it.
• •Beast spells work. Animal Friendship works on a crocodile in both editions (Intelligence 2). Speak with Animals tells you where the nest is, and food thrown into the water is a reasonable distraction.
• •Weak saves. No save proficiencies in 2014 and only Constitution in 2024. Wisdom +0, Intelligence −4, Charisma −3.

Crocodile vs Giant Crocodile

The giant crocodile's tail can't target the creature it's holding, so it holds one character and batters another in the same turn. The 2014 tail knocks a target Prone on a failed DC 16 Strength save; the 2024 tail knocks any Large or smaller target Prone with no save. The giant crocodile fits levels 4 to 6; the plain crocodile is a level 1 to 3 threat or a pack around the big one.

Crocodile Wild Shape

The 2014 SRD uses the crocodile as its example form for a level 4 druid. In 2024 the swim speed is allowed from level 2, but CR 1/2 still means level 4. It's a strong pick for holding one enemy in place: grapple, restrain, then bite with Advantage while the party piles on. In 2024 the size limit applies, so it can't grab a Large enemy, and the druid keeps their own hit points (plus temporary hit points equal to their druid level) instead of taking the crocodile's 13. For a druid who wants hands and climbing instead, see the ape.

Crocodile Encounter Ideas

The ferry crossing. The ferry rope across a slow brown river has been cut, and the party has to pole a raft across 120 feet of water. Two crocodiles wait under the surface. A character who falls in becomes the target. Characters on the raft can stab down at the crocodile holding a friend, but every turn the crocodile drags its victim 15 feet farther from the raft.

The moat. A minor lord stocks his castle moat with three crocodiles and feeds them every morning at dawn. The party's infiltration plan goes through the moat. If they watch first, they'll see the crocodiles gather at the feeding gate, which leaves the far side of the moat empty for about ten minutes.

The temple pool. A sunken shrine has a sacred pool where an old crocodile lives. It's never harmed the priests, who feed it, and they will be furious if the party kills it. It also swallowed the key the party needs. Getting the crocodile to cough it up without killing it is the puzzle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a crocodile in 5e?

A crocodile is CR 1/2 and worth 100 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules.

How do you escape a crocodile's grapple?

Use your action to make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against DC 12. On a success you're no longer Grappled or Restrained. The grapple also ends if the crocodile is Incapacitated or chooses to let go.

How long can a crocodile hold its breath in 5e?

15 minutes in the 2014 rules and 1 hour in the 2024 rules.

What's the difference between a crocodile and a giant crocodile?

A crocodile is a Large CR 1/2 beast with one grappling bite. A giant crocodile is a Huge CR 5 beast with 85 hit points, a 21-damage bite and a tail attack it can use on a second target while it holds the first.

Can a crocodile grapple a Large creature?

In the 2014 rules, yes: the bite grapples any creature it hits. In the 2024 rules, no: the bite only grapples Medium or smaller targets.

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.