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So I've been toying around with the rules for grappling, and I've come to make some drastic changes to how grappling works. At times, grappling can become too cumbersome to the flow of gameplay, and at times can be a pretty sub-par/inferior action option in combat.
So here's what I've done to streamline the grapple action and process a little. With this new grapple mechanic, the Reposition and Drag combat maneuvers no longer exist. Feel free to share your thoughts.
GRAPPLE
As a standard action, you can attempt a grappling maneuver against an adjacent foe, hindering his combat options or forcing him to move to a different location. Humanoid creatures without two free hands attempting to grapple a foe take a –4 penalty on the combat maneuver roll.
If your check is successful, you perform one of the following grapple actions:
Move: As long as your target is no more than one size category larger than you, you can move your target 5 feet to a new location. For every 5 by which your grapple check exceeds your opponent's CMD, you can move your target an additional 5 feet. You can move up to half your speed with the target if you wish, but you must have the available movement to do so. If you moved with your target, at the end of your movement, you can place your target in any square adjacent to you or adjacent to your reach. If you move your target beyond your reach, you cannot maintain the grapple.
If there is another creature in the way of your target’s movement, you must immediately make a grapple check to move that creature as well. You take a –4 penalty on this check for each creature being moved beyond the first; if you are moving with your target, the penalty is reduced to –2 for each creature being moved beyond the first. If you are successful, you can continue to move the creatures a distance equal to the lesser result, but they must be moved in the same direction. An enemy being moved in this way does not provoke an attack of opportunity. You cannot move a creature into a square that is occupied by a solid object or obstacle. If you attempt to place your foe in a hazardous location, such as into an open fire or over a pit, the target receives a free attempt to break free of your grapple with a +4 bonus.
Chokehold: Unless your target is already grappled by you, unaware of you, or otherwise unable to defend against your grapple attempt, you cannot perform the chokehold grapple action. If you can wrap your arms or garrote around your target’s neck, you begin suffocating the target, cutting off its air and blood supply to its brain. While the target is held in the chokehold, it cannot breathe or speak, the penalty to Dexterity and attack rolls and combat maneuver checks imposed on the target while it is grappled increase by 2, and the target may take only a single standard action each round (it can still take free, swift and immediate actions, but not full-round actions). While you are performing a chokehold, you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC.
Each subsequent round you maintain the chokehold with a successful grapple check, you inflict an amount of nonlethal damage to your target as if you had hit with an unarmed strike or natural attack. At the end of each of your target’s turns after you have maintained the chokehold, it must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the amount of damage you inflicted in the previous round) or fall unconscious. If the target breaks free or is released after the first round of the chokehold, it becomes staggered for 1d3 rounds.
As long as you continue to maintain the chokehold, the target must continue to make Fortitude saves, even after it has fallen unconscious. If the target fails its Fortitude save while unconscious, it drops to –1 hit point and is dying. If the target fails its Fortitude save while dying, it dies.
Any creature that does not breathe, has no discernible neck, is immune to bleed damage, or is immune to critical hits is immune to the effects of your chokehold. When the grapple is ended, so is the chokehold. You must have two free hands or be using a garrote to attempt a chokehold.
Damage: You can inflict damage to your target as if you had hit with your unarmed strike, a natural attack, or an attack made with armor spikes or a light or one-handed weapon. This damage can be either lethal or nonlethal.
Restrain: You can hold onto one of your target’s limbs (arm, leg, tentacle, wing, tail, jaws, etc.), preventing your target from using that limb to take actions for 1 round. This action can also be used to cover your target’s mouth if it is a humanoid creature, preventing it from speaking or shouting for 1 round. While restraining your target, you do not gain the +4 circumstance bonus on your grapple check to maintain the hold on the following round.
Pin: If you have your target restrained, you can give your opponent the pinned condition (see Conditions). Despite pinning your opponent, you still only have the grappled condition, but you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC.
Tie Up: If you have your target pinned, otherwise restrained, or unconscious, you can use rope to tie him up. This works like a pin effect, but the DC to escape the bonds is equal to 20 + your Combat Maneuver Bonus (instead of your CMD). The ropes do not need to make a check every round to maintain the pin. If you are simply grappling the target, you can attempt to tie him up in ropes, but doing so requires a combat maneuver check at a –10 penalty. If the DC to escape from these bindings is higher than 20 + the target's CMB, the target cannot escape from the bonds, even with a natural 20 on the check.
Maintaining a Grapple: If your opponent is adjacent to you at the end of your turn, you can choose to maintain your hold on your opponent. If you do, both you and the target gain the grappled condition (see the Appendices). Although both creatures have the grappled condition, you can, as the creature that initiated the grapple, release the grapple as a free action, removing the condition from both you and the target. If you do not release the grapple, you must continue to make a check each round as a standard action at the beginning of your turn to maintain the hold. If your target does not break the grapple, and you are grappling your target with two or more hands, you get a +4 circumstance bonus on grapple checks made against the same target in subsequent rounds. If your check to maintain the hold is successful, you continue grappling the foe and you may perform one of the above grapple actions as part of the standard action spent to maintain the grapple. If your target ever leaves your reach while grappled (if either you or your target is forced to move beyond your reach, for example), the grapple breaks.
If You Are Grappled: If you are grappled, you can attempt to break the grapple as a standard action by making a combat maneuver check (DC equal to your opponent's CMD; this does not provoke an attack of opportunity) or Escape Artist check (with a DC equal to your opponent's CMD). If you succeed, you break the grapple and can act normally. Alternatively, if you succeed, you can become the grappler, grappling the other creature (meaning that the other creature cannot freely release the grapple without making a combat maneuver check, while you can), and may perform one of the above grapple actions as part of the standard action spent to overtake the grapple. Instead of attempting to break or reverse the grapple, you can take any action that doesn't require two hands to perform, such as cast a spell or make an attack or full attack with a light or one-handed weapon against any creature within your reach, including the creature that is grappling you. See the grappled condition for additional details. If you are pinned, your actions are very limited. See the pinned condition in Conditions for additional details.
Multiple Creatures: Multiple creatures can attempt to grapple one target. The creature that first initiates the grapple is the only one that makes a check, with a +2 bonus for each creature that assists in the grapple (using the Aid Another action). When maintaining the grapple, only the creature that initiated the grapple makes a check, with a +2 bonus for each creature that assists in the grapple (using the Aid Another action).
Each time an initiating creature’s grapple check is successful, and it performs the chokehold, damage, pin or restrain grapple action, each creature that assisted in the grapple may perform either the damage or restrain grapple actions (their choice), once per round as a free action without making a grapple check. Any damage inflicted by an assisting creature is added to the Fortitude save DC of the creature resisting a chokehold. If the initiating creature performed the move grapple action, each creature that assisted in the grapple may move with the initiating creature as long as they have movement remaining.
When breaking free of, or escaping from, a grapple with multiple creatures, the grappled creature must break free or escape from only the creature that initiated the grapple, but the initiating creature’s CMD increases by +2 for each creature assisting it in the grapple.
Multiple creatures can also assist another creature in breaking free from a grapple, with each creature that assists (using the Aid Another action) granting a +2 bonus on the grappled creature's combat maneuver check.
Any feedback you guys are able to provide would be immensely helpful.
Bump.
No comments?
I like it! Nice, all-in-one inclusive package.
A little complex, but thats just the nature of the beast.
Which parts do you find complex? I'll see if I can't simplify those things further.