| 3 people marked this as FAQ candidate. 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I've been searching high and low for specifics on how manacles interact with a character. There is only one statement that isn't about calculating the price or how to escape manacles, which is:
Manacles can bind a Medium creature.
When looking through conditions, there aren't that many that explicitly state a creature is "bound." To be specific, the two debuffs that include "bound" is Helpless, and Pinned. Since Pinned also states the creature cannot move, I doubt it's that. Since Helpless states the creature is at an opponent's mercy, I doubt it's that either since a manacled creature can run away.
Looking down the line, my strongest suspicion is that manacles are supposed to act as a Grappled effect, but that also mentions the creature cannot move, and there isn't a numeric value for manacles' Grapple CMB. This makes it hard to gauge if/how the manacles would disrupt spellcasting, if at all.
My question is: What exactly do Manacles do to a creature? Are there any penalties, and if so, what are they?
They should impose penalties on all Dexterity-based checks, all social interactions and add to the wearer's encumbrance.
Penalties to the Attack Bonus seem a given too. But while stabbing with a shiv might still be possible, a longbow is right out. So that's tricky.
I nearly forgot, the other question I had was the following:
Can a character pick the lock of their own manacles? If so, is there any penalty to it?
|
I nearly forgot, the other question I had was the following:
Can a character pick the lock of their own manacles? If so, is there any penalty to it?
I don't see why not. Of course whoever bound the character with manacles is unlikely to have provided Thieves Tools, so there will be a -2 penalty there. Also, any jailer worth their salt will have a guard posted to keep this lock picking to a minimum.
I don't see why not. Of course whoever bound the character with manacles is unlikely to have provided Thieves Tools, so there will be a -2 penalty there. Also, any jailer worth their salt will have a guard posted to keep this lock picking to a minimum.
I ask mainly because of this item's description:
These discreet tools, made of a metal alloy that springs straight once the tool is removed from the band, are sufficient to attempt Disable Device checks without penalty, and long enough to pick locks on manacles fastened around the wearer's hands (once she slips off the ring).
The second portion causes me to believe someone without any tools would not be able to reach their manacles' lock. In other words, no check would be allowed without tools unless they either had a free hand or prehensile tail.
Also, the penalty to unlocking something without any tools is a -2 to the disable device check and a +10 to the DC of a given lock. (-2 source, +10 source)
Edit:
My group is currently using a lesser form of the Grappled condition to put it on the same level as Fetters. To be specific:
-4 penalty to Dexterity
-2 to attack rolls
Cannot take actions that require both hands.
Cannot cast spells with somatic components.
Cannot cast spells with material components not in hand.
Must make a concentration roll of (10+ Manacles CMB + Spell Level) to cast any spell.
The part removed is the inability to perform attacks of opportunity. Assuming the escape artist roll to get free from manacles follows the same rules as grappling, then normal manacles have a +10 to grapple, while masterwork manacles would have a +15.