D&D 5E Can a Boggle Step Through it's Dimensional Rift?

[Lakesidefantasy]

I always imagined they did, but now I'm not so sure. If the rift can be up to 10 ft. wide I don't see why they can only stick a portion of their body through.

Dimensional Rift. As a bonus action, the boggle can create an invisible and immobile rift within an opening or frame it can see within 5 feet of it, provided that the space is no bigger than 10 feet on any side. The dimensional rift bridges the distance between that space and any point within 30 feet of it that the boggle can see or specify by distance and direction (such as “30 feet straight up”). While next to the rift, the boggle can see through it and is considered to be next to the destination as well, and anything the boggle puts through the rift (including a portion of its body) emerges at the destination. Only the boggle can use the rift, and it lasts until the end of the boggle’s next turn.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It doesn't say the rift can be 10 feet wide, just that the rift can only exist inside a relatively small and enclosed space that is up to 10 feet wide on a side. In fact, we don't know how big the rift is at all, other than it's the right size for a boggle to stick a body part through.

Its schtick is that it sticks its hand in a mousehole and pulls the wizard's wand out.

I would say no to boggles teleporting around. This is a monster that goes back to module A2 (with much better art). We know how it's supposed to work RAW. It's Spot, not Warp.

The original boggle encounter in A2 had one or more boggles (my copy is put away) in a honeycombed room where they could stick their hands into holes and just rob the players blind without warning.

 

[jasper]

yes in is the description. A finger our itself. Now is smart enought to use this tactically????/
Dimensional Rift. The boggle creates an invisible and immobile rift within an opening or frame it can see within 5 feet of it, provided that the space is no bigger than 10 feet on any side. The dimensional rift bridges the distance between that space and a point within 30 feet of it that the boggle can see or specify by distance and direction (such as “30 feet straight up”). While next to the rift, the boggle can see through it and is considered to be next to the destination as well, and anything the boggle puts through the rift (including a portion of its body) emerges at the destination. Only the boggle can use the rift, and it lasts until the end of the boggle’s next turn.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

The way I've been running them (the 2 or 3 times I've done so), is to have them dive between our characters' legs and teleport elsewhere. This is after they reach into our backpacks and steal random things.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The way I've been running them (the 2 or 3 times I've done so), is to have them dive between our characters' legs and teleport elsewhere. This is after they reach into our backpacks and steal random things.

That's a fun idea, but it's not RAW. If you're playing them this way and enjoying it, you don't really need to worry about rulings on the ability description.

 

[pukunui]

I always imagined they did, but now I'm not so sure.

According to the description in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, they can: "A boggle can create magical openings that enable it to travel short distances or to pilfer items that would otherwise be beyond its reach." (my emphasis)

That same sentence also appears in their Monsters of the Multiverse description: "Twisting Space. A boggle can create magical openings to travel short distances or to pilfer items that would otherwise be beyond its reach. To create such a rift in space, a boggle must be adjacent to a space defined by a frame, such as an open window or a doorway, a gap between the bars of a cage, or the opening between the feet of a bed and the floor. The rift is invisible and disappears after a few seconds — enough time for the boggle to step, reach, or attack through it." (again my emphasis)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

According to the description in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, they can: "A boggle can create magical openings that enable it to travel short distances or to pilfer items that would otherwise be beyond its reach." (my emphasis)

That same sentence also appears in their Monsters of the Multiverse description: "Twisting Space. A boggle can create magical openings to travel short distances or to pilfer items that would otherwise be beyond its reach. To create such a rift in space, a boggle must be adjacent to a space defined by a frame, such as an open window or a doorway, a gap between the bars of a cage, or the opening between the feet of a bed and the floor. The rift is invisible and disappears after a few seconds — enough time for the boggle to step, reach, or attack through it." (again my emphasis)

Huh. Either there's an argument in-house about this, or the ability description needed another pass.

But yeah, @Lakesidefantasy's interpretation seems like a 100% correct one, based on those two citations.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

Thank you Puknui for casting light on Jasper's garbled transmission from the void:

yes in is the description. A finger our itself. Now is smart enought to use this tactically????/

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yes, so long as it can do the Hokey Cokey.