Freedom of Movement

[tearnImale]

So if I, a grappler, grapple someone and I am wearing a ring of freedom of movement, does that prevent the other creature from even being able to try and escape my grapple?

[Yomabo]

No.

[tearnImale]

Yomabo wrote:

No.

Could you elaborate on that?

[Kaouse]

Are you asking if they still get the grappled condition, but automatically defeat it on their turn?

[Kayerloth]

Freedom of Movement effects you, you're the one wearing the Ring. It doesn't give anyone else its protection.

[Scott Wilhelm]

Yomabo wrote:

No.

Yes:

Freedom of Movement wrote:

All combat maneuver checks made to grapple the target automatically fail.

I guess the GM might allow you to make a Grapple Check to Escape and not to gain control of a Grapple. But per RAW, that looks to me like all Grapple Checks fail.

You can still make an Escape Artist Check to escape the Grapple.

[Java Man]

Quoting from the grapple rules:
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.

The above is not an attempt to grapple the grappler, and hence freedom of movement will not prevent it.

[Scott Wilhelm]

Java Man wrote:

Quoting from the grapple rules:

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.

The above is not an attempt to grapple the grappler, and hence freedom of movement will not prevent it.

That Combat Maneuver is a Grapple Combat Maneuver, isn't it? You don't make a Steal Attempt to break a Grapple, do you?

Freedom of Movement says, "checks made to grapple the target automatically fail."

The question is: are all "Grapple Checks" checks "made to Grapple?"

If the answer is yes, then you cannot use a Grapple Check to escape a Grapple: you can only make an Escape Artist Check.

If the answer is no, then you can attempt to escape the grapple in any way you want, but you can't use a Grapple Check to attempt to gain control of the Grapple when Grappled by someone under a Freedom of Movement dweomer.

Part of the reason I think the answer is "yes" is that the Grappling rules say

Grappling wrote:

If you succeed, you break the grapple and can act normally. Alternatively, if you succeed, you can become the grappler

This suggests that you make the Grapple Check first, then decide whether you are taking control or slipping free after, and a Grapple Check that can put a wearer of a Ring of Freedom of Movement into the Grappled Condition automatically fails, and that's all Grapple Checks.

The unofficial Grapple Flowchart supports Java Man's interpretation.