So, running a 3.5 AP which I wont name to hopefully avoid obscure tentacle spoilers - which I hand wave on the fly to run under Pathfinder. All well and good. To complicate matters things started largely in 3.5, and for the most part have transfered drip by drip to Pathfinder as things have gone on.
This sometimes - and rarely these days - brings up little rule changes that drop into the world like a lead weight. Thunk.
Grappling. Specifically the capability to now hack away with not just a light weapon ( and the rest of it ) , but now you can use your trusty one handed weapon of choice too. Fine and dandy, the rule is in, hack away with your usual weapon oh frontline melee fighter types who specialise in one handers.
The problem I see now is that monsters that kind of rely on groovy grapple attacks, and generally, the eating of people whole have been nerfed because of that subtle rule shift. This is of course especially true when trying to take a 3.5 grapple monster and use it under Pathfinder. But it makes me wonder if the whole tentacle beast grabbing you, locking up the fighter and his favourite one handed weapon - forcing him to switch to his sharpened hair pin has not now been totally chucked out - and a less dramatic hack away as you like series of events has replaced it. I feel this is a shame. I like tentacle monsters that pin your arms to your side.
My thinking follows the line that : Grapples now don't force a change of tactics on the part of someone being grappled. If they were happy hacking away before, they may well take the risk of being in a grappled state, and continue to happily hack away - they have lost none of their optimum hacking capability. A melee PC who has specialised on a particular one handed weapon can now freely use that, plus all their feat bonuses accrued for it et al, as opposed to switching to a secondary, less buffed, less optimal small weapon - or gasp, having no such secondary weapon at all to rely on.
Grapples now are a much riskier proposition for The Bad Guys. You better have a very good chain of events planned for that grapple - a good pay off, otherwise chances are you have probably done yourself a disservice - unless you are facing some two hander PC.
I understand the rules shift was to make a lighter touch grapple - holding hands as opposed to wrestlemania - but I feel it has penalised a whole bunch of tentacled monsters who enjoyed grabbing people and eating them.
Is it just me ? Are grapple monsters now less of a threat than they were ? Are they buffed under a Pathfinder system to counter it ( certainly the pathfinderised stats of the beast that I saw did not seem to take account of the grapple change ) ? Sensible suggestions other than just increasing hit points of the critter ? Was the consideration of grapple type monsters being less effective / less dramatic tested ?
Whilst I guess its not a huge deal, the rule change has made me frown whilst the lead fighter has made kalamari of the tentacle beast - and pretty much made zip all difference to the tactics employed. It seems something has been lost in the move . . . I preferred the desperate stabs of a pathetic little weapon whilst being strangled. Much more satisfying.
Think of the Tentacle Beasts !
On a related note. Whats the deal with cutting yourself out of the belly of the beast - is that open to one handed weapons now too, or do you finally have to fall back on your hairpin of sharpness +1. I was despondent about the whole one handed grapple hacking and just ruled you could continue to hack your way out with your weapon of choice. No need for hairpins.
Round 1
PC - Ill hack at it with my sword
Me - You have chopped bits out of it. It smacks you around the head with a rubbery tentacle and grabs you.... you are grappled.
Round 2
PC - Ill hack at it with my sword
Me - Bits are chopped out of it. It swallows you whole
Round 3
PC - Ill hack at it with my sword
Me - You chop your way out and stand in front of it.
So, the PC's subtle tactics were to hack at it with a main weapon, followed by hacking at it with a main weapon, before the tour de force of hacking it at with a main weapon. And round we go again.
Mmm. Yes. Does that seem wrong ? It seems wrong . . .
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I do not know about the grappling mechanics, but I do know that in order to cut your way out of a stomach you still need a light piercing/slashing weapon.
"This hairpin is just such a great match with your eyes that it would be a shame if you didn't buy it. Oh! It says here that you can also use it to cut your way out of some creature's digestive tract. Who knew?"
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Gaining the grappled condition does have some affect:
Grappled: A grappled creature is restrained by a creature, trap, or effect. Grappled creatures cannot move and take a –4 penalty to Dexterity. A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and combat maneuver checks, except those made to grapple or escape a grapple. In addition, grappled creatures can take no action that requires two hands to perform. A grappled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level), or lose the spell. Grappled creatures cannot make attacks of opportunity.
So -2 to all attacks, no AOO , -4 to dex. Most monsters that use grapple also do damage each round automatically.
Now swallowed creatures cannot use one handed weapons (look at swallow whole in beastiary). They must use light or piercing. That changes your routine above. Even worse they leave their main weapon behind in the creature if they change weapons then.
So -2 to all attacks, no AOO , -4 to dex. Most monsters that use grapple also do damage each round automatically.
Yeah I'm aware of the penalties, but between two grapplers it makes no difference ? Both of you get the grappled condition, both of you suffer the penalties, so sure your to hit goes down, but then so does the AC required to land the hit. Swings and roundabouts, small potatoes. Indeed assuming we have One Big Bad, and a party of PCs, the Big Bad gets to drop its defences against the whole party, whilst only one member of the party takes the penalties... but doesn't stop them from attacking. So, big disadvantage. Admittedly thats always been a disadvantage, but now, you don't even stop the person you are grappling. Grappling feels to me like a much more marginal, why do I even bother type task under PF.
As for automatically doing damage, you still need to land that grapple maintenance, and tbh, if its stopping you from making a full attack, you are probably not doing your best output from a monster's point of view. Meanwhile, your opponent slashes you to ribbons . . . I think I even read that you can perform a full round action whilst grappled, assuming it only takes one hand. So the grappled opponent can really wail on you.
"This hairpin is just such a great match with your eyes that it would be a shame if you didn't buy it. Oh! It says here that you can also use it to cut your way out of some creature's digestive tract. Who knew?"
Lol, ok, so back to secondary weapons for being swallowed. Hmmm.
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Grapple is effective. I have had characters die to it. PCs have killed with it. Even in PF.
The pinned condition is also nothing to laugh at for creatures who do not swallow whole. You can take verbal and mental actions.
Finally, if you have a party and ONE big bad then your big bad will have problems no matter what you do. Have grappling minions and a big bad to take advantage of it or the reverse. Have a pair of multi grapplers like Otyugh (if you party is too high advance them).
But if you have one creature grappling against a party of four then that thing will die quickly.