When the initiator of a grapple is knocked prone, is the person they are grappling also knocked prone?

[Torivor]

I'm currently running a Mummy's Mask adventure and my group is about to encounter an Adherer (bestiary 3). Adherers have the grab special ability due to their stickiness, allowing them to grapple without being grappled. My group intends to use a lot of trip attacks on this thing to keep it prone and easier to bludgeon to death on the floor. But what happens if the Adherer is grappling a PC and is knocked prone? I don't think the adhesive is very stretchy so I'd imagine the PC would be forced to the ground as well, but I can't find anything in the rules to that effect. Anyone here know of a rules reference I could follow?

[wraithstrike]

There is no rule for it because it's not a normal situation.

I'd say they don't have to go prone because you can grapple someone who is already prone without gaining the prone condition yourself, and the grapple rules don't go into detail about how you're holding them in place. It just says it happens.

In this case I'd guess you're imagining that they're body to body, but the adhesive could have some elasticity. That could mean the person is still attached, but not glued to the adherer.

[willuwontu]

Only the person knocked prone is prone. The other grappler is unaffected their proneness.

[thorin001]

Conditions are completely independent. You would not ask if one grappler goes blind does the other one do so, so why would you ask for the prone condition?

[Azothath]

Adherer CMD is 19.
Adhesive skin gives a +8 racial bonus to grapple.
A sword stuck to an adherer requires a Str check DC17 to pull off and provokes an AoO.
Adherer gets a free grapple check when someone tries to trip it with natural weapon or unarmed strike. Then there's the Reflex DC every time you hit the thing to trip it with a weapon.

[Shiroi]

Honestly the best way to deal with a sticky thing you can barely identify is to cover it with a sheet and beat it with a baseball bat until it goes away.

That being said, this could go either way as a DM rule. Azothath has excellent advice about how hard this will be to pull off, but I will add that going prone (with or without the PC being dragged to the ground with it) may affect it's CMD by the dropped dex, if I recall.

[zza ni]

remember that grapple in pathfinder has changed from 3.5 edition. in 3.5 you had to go into the same space and grapple was more like Greece-roman grapple. in pathfinder a grapple mean getting hold of. like grabbing an arm or leg etc. pinning is the whole body immobilizing thing (and still not need to be in same space).

[ckdragons]

Does a racial bonus to grapple (CMB) also apply to CMD vs grapple?
Attempting to escape an Adherer's grapple would be against CMD 19 or CMD 27?

[cuatroespada]

my understanding is that if it also improves your CMD it will say so. improved grapple and greater grapple both say they do while things like the sticky evolution do not.

[blahpers]

A grapplee becoming prone has no effect on the grappler's, er, proneness.

*paging the "Succubus in a Grapple" thread, come in "Succubus in a Grapple" . . .*

[Azothath]

the flavortext of the adherer has changed dramatically (from 3.5). Before they were just sticky curiosities. With the new write-up their sticky tendrils may be able to reach through a simple covering like a bag (ethereal webs). It's up to the GM. What it comes down to is how annoying are they?