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Okay, GamerNation. I've had a lot of people ask me all about grappling. It's confusing, GMC! It's obtuse, GMC! It stole my lunch money, GMC!!

Well... while I'm happy to explain it. Again. I do think having a dedicated sticky thread for that explanation is a pretty good idea. Even I get confused about it sometimes - then I re-acquaint myself with it... and it all makes sense. Grappling isn't tough - and understanding it really helps us out.

Not only for gameplay, but for understanding how a lot of the new talents and feats (and weapons) CAN and SHOULD be used.


Gratefully, all the hard work has been done for me. The FAQ over on the WotC forums (compiled originally by RavingDork) has an EXCELLENT summarization of grappling, with questions, examples, and all that jazz. I'm summarizing all that... right here:


Grappling 101
Grappling seems to involve a lot of different rules: grab, grapple, pin, trip, crush, throw, opposed grapple checks, and different rules on escaping. For Yoda's sake, how does it all work!?

It’s actually simpler than it looks. There are only three "states":
- grabbed
- grappled
- pinned
All the other rules (pin, trip, grab attack, crush, throw, opposed grapple check, and escape) are just different ways of moving between these three states.

Untrained attackers can only grab. Trained attackers (those who have either the Pin or Trip feat) can improve their grabs into an improved hold called a grapple. Grapples are harder to escape from, and also allow you to immobilize your enemy, knock them prone, and even cause damage.

Grabbing an Enemy
How do you grab an enemy? Make an unarmed melee attack roll, as a standard action. If successful, the enemy is grabbed. An untrained attacker (one without the Pin or Trip feats) suffers a -5 penalty on the melee attack roll. A trained attacker (one who has either the Pin or Trip feat) suffers no penalty, AND can immediately try to improve his grab into a grapple, as part of the same standard action.

Being grabbed isn't very fun. A grabbed enemy cannot move from his square, and also suffers a -2 penalty on attack rolls unless he's using a natural weapon or a light weapon. The target remains grabbed until he escapes or the attacker lets go, or until the attacker improves the grab into a grapple.

Grappling an Enemy
When a trained attacker (one who has the Pin or Trip feats) makes a successful grab attack, he can immediately try to improve his grab into a grapple as part of the same standard action. Once a trained attacker has grabbed the enemy, both fighters immediately make an opposed grapple check. If the attacker's check result equals or exceeds the defender's result, the defender becomes grappled.

The effects of being grappled are exactly the same as the grabbed state: the target cannot move from his square, and also suffers a -2 penalty on attack rolls unless he's using a natural weapon or a light weapon. However , escape from grappled is much more difficult, and the attacker additionally gets the benefit of his chosen grappling style: Pin (possibly including Crush), Trip (possibly including Throw), or a close-range hit with a light weapon. The target remains grappled until he escapes or the attacker lets go, or until the attacker knocks him prone with the Trip feat.

Pinning an Enemy
A successful grapple can become a pin, if the attacker is using the Pin feat, and wins the opposed grapple check. (Note that any pinned target will always be grappled as well, since the attacker made a successful opposed grapple check to perform the pin.)

Being pinned STINKS. A pinned target cannot move or take any actions, and also loses his Dexterity bonus to Reflex Defense. The target remains pinned for one round, until the attacker's next turn. In each subsequent round, the attacker can try to maintain the Pin by making another opposed grapple check. If the attacker doesn't maintain the Pin, the target ceases being pinned but is still grappled.

Escaping!
So just how does the defender escape from a grab? From a grapple? From a pin?

Escaping from the grabbed state is easy: as a standard action, the defender can break free from a number of grabs equal to his level. No roll is required; success is automatic.

Escaping from a grappled state is harder: as a standard action during his turn, the defender must make an Acrobatics check, with a DC equal to the attacker's last opposed grapple check result. (As an unofficial house-rule, many GMs will allow the defender to make an Acrobatics check OR grapple check on their turn to escape a grapple.)

You can escape from being pinned only by winning the opposed grapple check during the attacker's turn. If the attacker fails to maintain his pin, the hold is reduced to a grapple.

The attacker can also perform grabs and grapples from a distance by using a net. If grabbed or grappled in a net, escape is a full-round action requiring a DC 15 Acrobatics check or a DC 20 Strength check.

Common Grappling Questions:
- So, I grab my enemy, then make my opposed grapple check to try and trip him, or pin him. If the defender wins the opposed grapple check, I get that he's not tripped or pinned, but does that mean he also escapes from the grab or the grapple? Nope. When the defender wins the opposed grapple check, that only means that the attack has failed: the attacker doesn’t get to Pin, Trip, or hit with a natural or light weapon. However the defender is still either grabbed or grappled, exactly as before.

- Okay, so I get that if I have the Pin or Trip feat, I can initiatiate grapple, but not actually pin or trip the target if I win. I can attack with a light or natural weapon, too. Cool! But when I make an opposed grapple check to strike that weapon, do I have to make an attack roll with the weapon, too? No. There are only three die rolls made: 1) A melee attack roll to grab (if the target wasn’t already grabbed, grappled, or pinned). 2) An opposed grapple check. 3) Damage dice for the weapon.

- Okay, when I'm being grabbed or grappled, can I still fight? Yes. (As long as you're not Pinned... see below). However, you cannot move from your square, and you suffer a -2 penalty on attack rolls unless using a natural weapon or a light weapon.

Common Pin Questions:
- When trying to maintain a Pin, does the attacker have to roll both the melee attack roll and the opposed grapple check, each round? Nope. A melee attack roll is only used to initiate a grab. If the target is already grabbed, grappled, or pinned, the attacker can proceed directly to the opposed grapple check.

- So, a pinned defender loses his Dexterity bonus to Reflex Defense. Does the attacker lose his Dexterity bonus, too? No. The attacker has more freedom of movement than the defender does.

- Wait a minute, while pinned, can I still... fight with a light weapon? Use a Force Power? Use Acrobatics to escape? Make a Strength check to break free? Use Adept Negotiator? Enter a Serenity trance? Block and Deflect? Cut my way out with a lightsaber? ANYTHING? Nope. Nothing. While pinned, the defender "can't move or take any actions." You're hosed until you escape. And the only way to escape from a Pin is by winning the opposed grapple check on the attacker's turn. Until then, you cannot do anything at all.

Examples
A lot of people tend to see this better "in action", so here's some examples just for you:

Example 1: Say that Gorak has the Pin feat, while Dack is the poor fellow who's getting his arm twisted.

Round 1 - Gorak wants to pin Dack:
- He makes an unarmed attack roll and succeeds (Dack is now grabbed).
- He makes an opposed grapple check and succeeds.
- Dack is now grappled, and also pinned for one round.
- Dack gets no actions for this round because he's pinned.

Round 2 - Gorak wants to maintain the pin:
- He tries an opposed grapple check to maintain his pin for another round, but fails.
- Dack is no longer pinned, but he is still grappled. Since Dack isn't pinned anymore, he can act. He tries to escape the grapple on his turn:
- He makes an Acrobatics check and succeeds.
- Gorak is no longer grappling Dack; he has escaped.

Round 3 - Gorak wants to grapple again, but instead of attempting a Pin this time, he just wants to stab Dack with a vibrodagger:
- He makes an unarmed attack roll and succeeds.
- He make an opposed grapple check and succeeds.
- Dack is grappled again, and also takes damage from the dagger.

On Dack's turn, he can attack Gorak (at a -2 penalty, since he's grappled) or he can attempt escape again with another Acrobatics roll.


Example 2: Straight from the archives and Episode 93 of the Order 66 Podcast, let's see how a good grappler can DESTROY a trained Jedi. Let's get into some serious detail, adding realistic round-by-round combat. Say that Martok the Destroyer (a Togorian with an 18 Str, Martial Arts I and II, Expert Grappler, Pin, Crush, and Rancor Crush) faces off against Master Shoran (a Togruta with Block and Deflect, Skill Focus [Use the Force], and 4 Force Trainings - giving him bevy of nasty force powers).

Round 1 - Martok wants to pin Shoran:
- He makes an unarmed attack roll and gets a 23, beating Shoran's Reflex Defense.
- Shoran reacts, using Block, and gets a 27, negating Martok's grab attempt.
- Martok's standard action is now wasted, and he angrily withdraws.
- On Shoran's turn, he uses Force Slam, and hits Martok with it hard! Ouch! The togorian is now prone, damaged, and very angry.

Round 2 - Martok wants to pin Shoran again:
- He spends a move action to stand, and charges Shoran, making an unarmed attack.
- He makes an unarmed attack roll, and (with his charge bonus) gets a 24, beating Shoran's Reflex Defense. But Martok remembers the last round, and spends a force point to add to his attack roll - bringing the total to 28.
- Shoran reacts, using Block, but doesn't roll as well (only a 24). Shoran's player declares he's going to use a Force Point to add to his roll, but the GM reminds him, "You can't spend Force Points when it's not your turn". Shoran's player mentaly kicks himself for not taking Force Readiness.
- Martok, having successfully grabbed his foe, attempts to turn it into a grapple immediately, rolling a grapple check of 30. Shoran's opposed grapple check is only a 20.
- Shoran is now pinned, takes 10 points of damage and moves -1 step down the condition track (thanks to Crush and Rancor Crush), and cannot take any actions on his turn.

Round 3 - Martok maintains his pin:
- Martok rolls another grapple check to maintain his pin, and gets a 29. Shoran's opposed check is only a 21.
- Shoran remains pinned, can't take any actions on his turn, takes another 11 points of damage, and moves another -1 step down the condition track.

Round 4 - Martok maintains his pin:
- Martok rolls another grapple check to maintain his pin, and gets a 31. Shoran's opposed check is only a 18.
- Shoran remains pinned, can't take any actions on his turn, takes another 9 points of damage, and moves another -1 step down the condition track (he's now at a -5 on the condition track).

Round 5 - Martok maintains his pin:
- Martok rolls another grapple check to maintain his pin, and gets a 27. Shoran's opposed check is only a 15 (gotta love that condition track penalty).
- Shoran remains pinned, and can't take any actions on his turn. Martok rolls very high on his damage, dealing 17 points! This actually just beats Shoran's modified Damage Threshold (thanks to the condition track penalty) and moves him -2 steps down the condition track.
- Shoran is now unconscious, having been "choked out" by the togorian.

Round 6 - Martok's victory:
- Martok screams in rage and pride over the fallen jedi as a free action.
- As a full-round action, Martok performs a coup de grace, snapping his foe's neck with ease!
- Remember, he says... no one messes with Martok the Destroyer!

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Peace, Love, and Good Gaming!

You make it sound so simple...lol

I don't think any D20 system has handled grappling particularly well so far. I'm glad my players tend to shoot stuff or hit it with a lightsaber...

Eh... it's more a matter of vague wording in the grappling rules most of the time. Grappling is represented and handled pretty well in this iteration of the d20 rules I feel. Most players tend to get bogged down in the details most of the time and make it more confusing than it actually is (though it could probably have gotten more than just a couple of paragraphs in the Core Rulebook).

This makes it crystal clear though. Thanks for the thread, GMC.

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Thanks for posting this here Chris. Nice to have this in an easy-to-reference spot that won't go poof by summer's end

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"If you've never seen an elephant ski, then you've never been on acid."
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Contributing Author of the GSA
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Follow me on Twitter at @donovan421

One house rule that I use in relation to Pin is that I allow the pinned character to attempt a grapple check to escape as a standard action on their turn, but that's really about it. I know it weakens Pin slightly, but the when normal rule came up it was really not fun for a couple of players to just be continuously pinned throughout two to three consecutive rounds with the ability to take NO actions because they only get one chance to break Pin per round instead of two chances. I'm also toying with the idea of allowing some uses of the Force, but that gets very slippery very fast and would probably negate the benefits of Pin completely against a wide range of Telekinetic and Mind Bending Force users (which is easily over 90% of typical player-run Force users). You really don't want to negate Pin entirely since it took a Feat for the character to get it.

At the same time, you don't want a power gamer solider to get his hands on every mini-boss or BBEG to come along and wrestle those characters into submission on a very regular basis. I understand you want to keep those guys back and that they can break free once per round on the pinning character's turn or that other pressures from other characters or things on the battlefield can be applied to the Pinning character. However, it's a pretty rough tactic that gets old pretty quickly because it tends to not be as fun for the other players. Also, keeping a critical bad guy "back" or not exposed is difficult if the person is at the scene at all because most battlemats are 24x32 squares allowing most characters to cross it or maneuver through it rapidly with the Move-Charge combo. Map-less encounters or encounters that go beyond this typical size or which have actual barriers can also help keep important NPCs relatively "safe" at least long enough for them to be memorable, instead of pwned or even qwned. Elevation can be a deterrent factor, but a cheap jet pack can solve that. Finally, the grapple and Pin actions are very definitely action-soak tactics, so if your important NPC gets mired up in it, you can expect that the rest of the party will easily blaze on the somewhat helpless NPC or the NPC's leaderless mooks in the meantime.

Basically, if your group has a player character who Pins, expect ANY important NPC to be easily subdued, captured, and/or killed during any encounter in which said NPC appears on equal terms, or even slightly NPC-favored terms, unless the NPC has a high grapple check to resist the grapple checks or a high Reflex Defense to avoid the grab-grapples in the first place.

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Nice thread Mr. Chris. I always enjoy the GM 101 threads.. usually some interesting info I may have skimmed or overlooked.

i think you should do a collection of these articles, along with the GM guiding podcasts (like the list and cover episodes) into a GM Chris's GM'ing masterclass. For GMs.

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Vader: "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the force".
Motti: "Dude, not cool. Everyone worked really hard on this thing".

Wow, this is so clear even I understand it.

I may have to make myself a grappling bad guy to torment my PCs with now, thanks GMC you have made their lives that much more painful

A player in my group is rolling up a Togorian Martial Artist. This post will come in handy.

These rules allow my Gamorrean thugs that work for the Crime Lord that my PCs owe money to all that more scary...

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Magic missle... when you absolutely, positively have to attack the darkness... accept no substitutes

30/9/11 We will survive.

Makes me wanna roll up a Soldier Hutt Grappler

heheh wonder if I can argue that since someone pinned under a Hutt is pretty much imbolie with no effort from the hutt once he's there and suffocating. The Hutt has his hands free and can blast away at his enemies all the while feeling the struggles under his bulk get weaker and weaker


You could actually really put the fear of god into a PC group by getting a dozen dedicated grapplers to pretty much pin and choke out the entire party as they watch the turns pass failing their grapple checks.
Player" Common there no way out of this, none of us have any actions"
GM" I did warn you that you'd walked into a hand to hand combat training hall and the locals all looked fairly efficient at pinning each other "


The nice part about that particular scenario is that if you pin the entire party until they are all unconscious, you don't need to make it a TPK and can instead have them wake up .... somewhere nasty instead hehehe

That'd be VERY powerful. To let him maintain it as a free action, is a bit much. But as a move action... hmm... I think this is worthy of a house-ruled species feat.

Smother
You've learned to use your bulk as a Hutt to maintain your successful pin on grappled foes with ease.
Prerequisites Pin, must be a Hutt
Benefit After successfully pinning an opponent that is your size category or smaller, maintaining your Pin on subsquent rounds only costs you a move action.
Normal Maintaining a pin on subsequent rounds requires a standard action.

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Peace, Love, and Good Gaming!

...I had a very "couragous" Hutt NPC do something like this to a hostile Yuuzhan Vong in a game once. Poor guy couldn't reach any of his weapons to get the hutt off.

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Current Co-Host of All Wings Report In, the Official Podcast of the Rebel Legion SW costuming club
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Love it!

There may be a Hutt grappler showing up in an adventure at some point.

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Indeed! Hutt grappler FTW!

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Giving the Suul family a bad name since '98!!

It will come in extremely handy... I look forward to getting to the level where I can efficiently use grapple now.