Grappling A Prone Opponent

[Ichaerus]

I have a quick question, and I hope i'm not repeating an already active thread, but I've never played a grappler, and I am looking forward to it. I was curious though, how do you handle grappling an opponent who is already prone, such as after a successful trip?

I imagine if you have multiple attacks, you could use one attack to trip, and the followup to start a grapple, but does the prone opponent get certain penalties, and if succesfull, are you going to go straight into a pin? May be an obvious answer, and I kinda suspect I already know it, but just wanted to be sure, as I can't find anything out there.

Also, if this is unspecified in the formal rules, but if people have house rules regarding this scenario, i'd love to hear them.

Thanks!

[Abciximab]

To paraphrase the FAQ - With multiple attacks you can disarm, sunder, trip, and grapple to your heart’s content.

Edit - Snip Info that is not pertinent (Curse you Cut and Paste) -

Being prone he would suffer -4 to his AC when you make your Melee Touch Attack to initiate the grapple.

[Elethiomel]

Originally Posted by Ichaerus

How do you handle grappling an opponent who is already prone, such as after a successful trip?

I am curious as to your phrasing, as you say "already" prone. As far as I know, neither grappling nor pinning causes anyone to become prone.

As Abciximab says, being prone gives a penalty to AC against melee attacks, which includes the melee touch attack to initiate a grapple, but this is also the only relevant bonus or penalty I can find regarding grappling an opponent that is prone.

Yes, you can use multiple attacks to first trip and then initiate a grapple, as Abciximab says.