Burrow Speed: distinguish earth from solid rock

SRD 5.2.1 · Movement

At the table

  1. Read the creature’s Burrow Speed and the material of the proposed route.
  2. The general permission covers sand, earth, mud and ice.
  3. For solid rock, find an additional trait that explicitly permits burrowing through it.

Example decision

A creature with a Burrow Speed reaches a continuous solid-rock barrier. Its traits say nothing about burrowing through rock. Can the speed alone carry it through?

No; solid rock requires a permitting trait.

Solid rock is expressly excluded unless a trait allows it. The creature can seek a route through a permitted material, use another capability, or stop at the barrier. A numerical speed describes how fast permitted movement occurs; it does not remove the material restriction.

Watch for this mistake

The rule also does not state that every burrowing creature leaves an open tunnel usable by others. Check its actual trait before describing a persistent passage.

Ask the table

What material is on the route, and does the creature have any special tunneling permission?

Source rule

A creature that has a Burrow Speed can use that speed to move through sand, earth, mud, or ice. The creature can’t burrow through solid rock unless the creature has a trait that allows it to do so. See also “Speed.”

Source: SRD 5.2.1, 178. Online guide.

Source and reuse

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

The explanation, example and table prompt are Table Ready adaptations; source text has been reflowed. This guide and its printable card are available under the same CC BY 4.0 license. Independent reference; no official affiliation. These rules are optional for our system-neutral adventures.