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Are we to think of the tentacle as a coiled up spiritual weapon with reach which covers a 10 ft radius around a point, or is it like a 10 ft line, which can attack anything within 10 ft of this 10 ft line, making its covered area a 20 ft x 30 ft rectangle (or possibly 25 ft x 30 ft if on a grid) ?

I realize it doesn't occupy space, but it does say it's 10 ft long and can hit anything within 10 ft of it. Logically, we could assume the tentacle has one orientation, and it can only strike from a point 10 ft from its base. But a more literal reading of the feature might imply otherwise.

Is the attackable area a circle or a rectangle?

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The description talks about the same 10 ft twice

You choose a position where you put the 10 ft tentacle. Each turn it can attack. When the description says:

within 10 feet of it

what this means is 10 feet from the specific point you positioned it at. So this just restates the length or reach of the tentacle. It is not 10 + 10 ft.

The area is therefore a 10 ft radius circle.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ But the "it" is the tentacle, which is 10ft long. It doesn't say 10ft from the point it was summoned onto. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kakuna Rattata
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 18:21
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    \$\begingroup\$ @KakunaRattata D&D is not a physics simulator but generally we can assume that real world physics applies where sensible, i.e. where it can add upon the rules text without contradicting it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Anagkai
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 18:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ that's what my question was getting at. Would that physical assumption indeed be a contradiction of RAW? RAW literal Interpretation is 10ft from the tentacle itself. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kakuna Rattata
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 18:32
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    \$\begingroup\$ @KakunaRattata It doesn't contradict RAW. Like I wrote in my answer you could from just the words equally well assume that the description talks multiple times about the same 10 ft. \$\endgroup\$
    – Anagkai
    Commented Apr 6, 2023 at 18:43
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    \$\begingroup\$ @KakunaRattata: The tentacle is 10 feet long; that's why it can reach 10 feet horizontally (or vertically) from the point or square it's currently attached. Like a creature in that space with a reach weapon. That narrative / physical interpretation seems pretty clear. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Cordes
    Commented Apr 7, 2023 at 1:19

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