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Rug of Smothering 5e: Smother, Damage Transfer and the Escape Math
A rug of smothering is a CR 2 Large construct: an animated carpet with AC 12, 33 hit points (27 in 2024), a 10-foot speed and one attack. That attack, Smother, wraps a Medium or smaller creature, leaving it grappled, restrained and blinded and taking 10 bludgeoning damage at the start of each of its turns. The nasty part is Damage Transfer: while the rug holds someone, half of every hit the party lands on the rug goes to their own friend. In the 2024 rules it's called the Animated Rug of Smothering, loses its False Appearance and antimagic traits, and can choose to just hit for 10 damage instead of grabbing.
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 6
Languages —
Challenge 2 (XP 450; PB +2)
Traits
Antimagic Susceptibility.The rug is incapacitated while in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, the rug must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster's spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute.
Damage Transfer.While it is grappling a creature, the rug takes only half the damage dealt to it, and the creature grappled by the rug takes the other half.
False Appearance.While the rug remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal rug.
Actions
Smother.Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one Medium or smaller creature. Hit: The creature is grappled (escape DC 13). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, blinded, and at risk of suffocating, and the rug can't smother another target. In addition, at the start of each of the target's turns, the target takes 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
The 2014 rug has three traits, and each one matters:
•False Appearance. While it stays motionless, it's indistinguishable from a normal rug. No Perception check finds it.
•Damage Transfer. While it's grappling a creature, it takes only half the damage dealt to it, and the grappled creature takes the other half.
•Antimagic Susceptibility. It's incapacitated inside an Antimagic Field. If targeted by Dispel Magic, it must succeed on a Constitution save against the caster's spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute.
It's immune to poison and psychic damage and to a long list of conditions: blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, petrified and poisoned. It senses the world through blindsight out to 60 feet and is blind beyond that.
Smother.Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) Bludgeoning damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, the rug can give it the Grappled condition (escape DC 13) instead of dealing damage. Until the grapple ends, the target has the Blinded and Restrained conditions, is suffocating, and takes 10 (2d6 + 3) Bludgeoning damage at the start of each of its turns. The rug can smother only one creature at a time. While grappling the target, the rug can’t take this action, the rug halves the damage it takes (round down), and the target takes the same amount of damage.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
The 2024 rug sits in the SRD's Animated Objects group with animated armor and the flying sword. Same AC, CR and XP (450); everything else shifts.
2014 Rug of Smothering
2024 Animated Rug of Smothering
HP
33 (6d10)
27 (5d10)
Smother on a hit
Grapple only (Medium or smaller targets only)
10 bludgeoning damage, or a grapple instead if the target is Medium or smaller
Damage Transfer
Trait: rug takes half, grappled creature takes the other half
Part of Smother: rug halves the damage (round down), target takes the same amount
•No False Appearance. The 2024 rug has no rule that hides it. If you want the classic "the carpet attacks" ambush, you're relying on the party not checking the floor, or on a DM ruling that it can make a Dexterity (Stealth) check (it has no Stealth bonus, so that's +2).
•It can hit Large creatures. The 2014 Smother can only target Medium or smaller creatures, so a Large character was immune. The 2024 rug still hits anyone for 10; it just can't wrap up anything bigger than Medium.
•No Dispel Magic shortcut. The 2014 rug drops unconscious to a failed save against Dispel Magic, ending the grapple. The 2024 rug has no such weakness.
How a Rug of Smothering Fights
A rug of smothering plays as an ambush with one job: grab the first person who walks over it and hold on.
Wait. With a 10-foot speed it can't chase anything. In 2014, False Appearance lets it lie in the middle of a room until someone steps onto or next to it. Place it where people will stand: in front of a desk, a throne or a locked chest.
Wrap the squishiest target in reach. Smother is +5 to hit. Against a wizard with AC 12, that's 70%; against a fighter in AC 18 chain mail and shield, 40%. Go for the wizard, whose Strength is low and whose escape check is worst.
Hold on. Once wrapped, the target is grappled, Restrained and Blinded, and takes 10 damage at the start of each of its turns. A restrained, blinded creature attacks at Disadvantage and has Disadvantage on Dexterity saves. The rug doesn't need to do anything else; it can't use Smother again while it's holding someone anyway.
Let the party hurt their friend. Every hit on a grappling rug splits between the rug and its victim. The rug doesn't act on this. It doesn't have to. The players will figure out the problem after their first big hit.
About suffocation. The 2014 text says the victim is "at risk of suffocating," which under the 2014 rules means holding its breath: 1 + its Constitution modifier minutes, at least 30 seconds. In a normal fight that never runs out. The 2024 text says the target "is suffocating." SRD 5.2.1 defines Suffocation as a hazard: a creature can hold its breath for 1 + its Constitution modifier minutes (minimum 30 seconds) before suffocation begins, then gains 1 Exhaustion level at the end of each of its turns, and removes all of those levels once it can breathe again. Read against that definition, the wrapped victim starts holding its breath when the rug grabs it, and even the 30-second minimum is 5 rounds.
DM ruling, not rules text: if you read "is suffocating" as already out of breath, the victim gains 1 Exhaustion level at the end of every turn it stays wrapped, which is −2 to its escape check for every round. That is much harsher than the glossary definition. If you use it, tell the players before the rug moves.
The Escape and Damage Transfer Math
Escaping. The victim uses its action for a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against DC 13. Restrained and Blinded don't affect that check.
Victim's best Athletics or Acrobatics bonus
Chance to escape each turn
+5 (proficient fighter or rogue)
65%
+3
55%
+0
40%
−1 (typical wizard Athletics)
35%
An ally can use the Help action to give the victim Advantage on that check. In 2024 the helper must be proficient in the skill being used (Athletics or Acrobatics).
Damage Transfer. Under the 2014 rules, a party that wants to kill a grappling rug with 33 hit points has to deal about 66 damage to it, and the victim takes the other 33. Under the 2024 rules, every hit is halved and rounded down, and the victim takes the same amount: a 15-damage hit means 7 to the rug and 7 to the victim. A 2024 rug with 27 hit points needs about 54 damage in total, with 27 going to the victim. Add the rug's own 10 damage a turn and a 2nd-level character usually drops to 0 hit points before the rug does.
That's why the right answer is almost never "attack the rug." Free the victim first, then kill the rug at full value.
Running a Rug of Smothering Encounter
A rug of smothering is worth 450 XP. For four characters on the 2024 budget:
Encounter
XP
Where it fits
One rug
450
Moderate at level 2 (600 budget); above High at level 1 (400)
The haunted study (rug, armor and swords together) is the classic build, and it's harder than its XP. The rug pins one character as Restrained, which gives every other attacker Advantage against that character. Animated armor punching a wrapped wizard is a fast way to start death saves. Check the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide rating in our encounter calculator; four creatures get a ×2 multiplier there.
Use a rug at level 1 only with care. A single 2014 rug wrapping a 1st-level wizard deals 10 damage a turn, and most 1st-level wizards have fewer than 10 hit points.
How Players Beat a Rug of Smothering
•Free the victim, then hit the rug. The grapple ends if the rug is incapacitated or the victim escapes. Once it's not holding anyone, Damage Transfer stops working and every hit counts in full.
•Dispel it (2014 only). Dispel Magic forces a Constitution save at +0 against your spell save DC. At DC 13 the rug fails 60% of the time and falls unconscious for a minute, which ends the grapple. The 2024 rug doesn't have this weakness.
•Check the floor (2014). False Appearance beats Perception. Whether Detect Magic reveals it is a DM ruling, since the SRD doesn't say an animated rug has a magic aura. Prodding every rug with a 10-foot pole before stepping on it is the low-tech answer; how the rug reacts to being prodded is up to the DM.
•Psychic and poison don't work. It's immune to both. Vicious Mockery deals no damage; only its Disadvantage rider on the rug's next attack can matter. Fire, slashing and bludgeoning all work normally.
•Shatter works well in 2024. Constructs have Disadvantage on the save against the 2024 Shatter. Aim it so the victim isn't in the 10-foot sphere, or accept the split.
•Big characters are safe in 2014. A Large character can't be smothered by the 2014 rug at all.
Rug of Smothering Encounter Ideas
The audience chamber. A minor noble's empty audience hall has a long red carpet leading to the throne. The carpet is fine. The small square rug in front of the throne, where petitioners kneel, is the rug of smothering. Whoever kneels first to search the throne finds out.
The housekeeper's revenge. A retired wizard's housekeeper animated the hall rug to keep muddy boots out of the house. She's been dead for years. The rug still attacks anyone who walks in without wiping their feet. A boot scraper sits right by the door, and the party can learn the rule from her old notes.
The bundle.Bandits hauled a rolled carpet out of a manor raid and dumped it in their camp. At night it unrolls and smothers one of them. The party arrives the next morning to find a terrified camp, one dead bandit and a rug lying flat by the fire, with the survivors begging someone to deal with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a rug of smothering?
A rug of smothering is CR 2 (450 XP) in both editions. The 2014 version has AC 12 and 33 hit points; the 2024 Animated Rug of Smothering has AC 12 and 27 hit points.
How does Damage Transfer work?
While the rug is grappling a creature, damage dealt to it is split. In 2014 the rug takes half and the grappled creature takes the other half. In 2024 the rug halves the damage (rounding down) and the grappled creature takes the same amount.
How do you escape a rug of smothering?
Use your action to make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against DC 13. The grapple also ends if the rug is incapacitated. In 2014, Dispel Magic can knock it unconscious, which frees you.
Does a rug of smothering have False Appearance in 2024?
No. False Appearance and Antimagic Susceptibility are 2014 traits. The 2024 Animated Rug of Smothering has no traits at all; its damage split is written into the Smother action.
Can a rug of smothering grab a Large creature?
No. Both editions limit the grapple to Medium or smaller creatures. The 2014 rug can't attack a Large creature with Smother at all; the 2024 rug can still hit it for 10 bludgeoning damage.
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.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.