| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
I'm looking at the Snapping Turtle style feats.
While using the Snapping Turtle Style feat with at least one hand free, you gain a +1 shield bonus to AC.
This seems to imply that you can still use the feat without a free hand, but it just doesn't give you any benefit. Which is where the next one comes into play.
While you are using the Snapping Turtle Style feat, the shield bonus the style grants to your AC applies to your CMD and touch AC. Whenever an opponent misses you with a melee attack while you are using the Snapping Turtle Style feat, you can use an immediate action to attempt a grapple combat maneuver against that opponent, but with a –2 penalty.
Notice it says "while you are using the Snapping Turtle Style feat" without clarifying whether you need a free hand. Naturally you wouldn't get the shield bonus. But as written, it would appear that you can still get the grapple attempt, even if you don't have a free hand. This could be important if, say, you're already grappling someone and therefore using both hands. What do you think? Have I found a loophole in RAW?
Even if you say you need a free hand and would therefore be taking a -4 penalty on your grapple checks, it sounds like this would let you get a free grapple check if the guy you're grappling decides to attack you and misses.
In an unrelated case, would Snapping Turtle Clutch allow you to grapple someone who missed their attack of opportunity against you? AoOs count as melee attacks, right? With Dodge and Mobility, this could form a nasty trap. Simply provoke an AoO, and assuming they miss—bam! You've got them in your clutches.
Not so much a loophole as an omission. PRD does not explicitly state that you must have a free hand to "use" the Snapping Turtle Style feat, though I believe that's the intent.
I think you are correct in assuming that you still get a free grapple check as you assert: "it sounds like this would let you get a free grapple check if the guy you're grappling decides to attack you and misses."
And in your third case, yes, an AoO is generally a melee attack, and therefore the "trap" should work as stated.
|
Grappling doesn't actually require two hands. I'm 99% sure that the description of grappling is just your one hand holding onto the enemies arm or something. It's not full on wrestling until you get to the pinned condition. Even then you're one hand is still free; you as the one doing the pinning still only has the grappled condition.
Something I just learned, you can still attack even while you have someone grappled, you just take your penalties from the grappled condition.
So if you have a way to maintain the grapple during your round, (greater grapple), or a full attack by a maneuver master monk making the bonus maneuver a grapple check to maintain, you can actually attack with your one free hand.
So yes, while you have someone grappled and you are in in the snapping turtle style, you'd get your +1 bonus to AC, and if they miss you, you can make a grapple check as an immediate action.
I'm also pretty sure that you could snap another attacker with it and have two creatures grappled at the same time. When it's your turn, hopefully you can maintain them both (with greater grapple).