A Wizard's question on Grapple

My wizard keeps getting grappled.
I cast a couple of spells and every bad guy out there targets me for a grapple.
It seems like every combat ends that way for me... (I swear this character has seen negative hitpoints more often than positive ones... ugg)

PROTECT MY WIZARD

So, I've got a question:

What is your best way of getting a wizard out of a grapple (or not getting him grappled to begin with). I'm a 7th level caster with a good AC (I have a high touch AC), my strength is also pretty good for a wizard, but with the low BAB my grapple check modifier isn't high.

I make as good a use of cover and other party members as possible (we have two party members that Enlarge on the first sign of combat and that tends to be a good wall of flesh... but not even that always stops creatures from running through threatened zones to reach me!)

I've got Dimension Door. I thought this was going to be the perfect fix to being grappled. I've used that spell as often as I can to get out of grapples, but in this last encounter, two Large creatures grappled me and did enough damage to knock me out before I got to cast the spell.

I need another alternative.

Items,
Spells,
Tactics,
...
I can't really use any Feats b/c my feat selection is already pretty limited (unless someone comes up with a magic item that will emmulate a Feat, that'd be okay -- my DM is very accepting of new magic items in the campaign world).

Thanks for the help.

Get yourself a ring of freedom of movement. The freedom of movement spell makes you grapple-immune.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/rings.htm#freedomofMovement
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/freedomofMovement.htm

If you can't afford the ring, cast grease.

SRD said:

A creature wearing greased armor or clothing gains a +10 circumstance bonus on Escape Artist checks and on grapple checks made to resist or escape a grapple or to escape a pin.

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IanB said:

Get yourself a ring of freedom of movement. The freedom of movement spell makes you grapple-immune.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/rings.htm#freedomofMovement
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/freedomofMovement.htm

Click to expand...

Freedom of Movement.
Great spell! I guess I had not read it before. I can't believe I missed it. I will have to look into getting it put in a different item than a ring 'cause my fingers are all tapped out, but that seems to be the absolute trick.


I also like the +10 bonus with grease

Thanks!


Any other suggestions?

Keep dimension door prepared; it only has verbal components. And it will always be useful. The Sudden Still metamagic feat is also handy for these situations.

He's already said he has used DD.

Really, your best bet is to talk to your fellow players. Privately. Talk to them about the DM targetting you for grapples. See if they can't be persuaded to tighten up their formation a bit more.

Kaledor said:

My wizard keeps getting grappled.
I cast a couple of spells and every bad guy out there targets me for a grapple.
It seems like every combat ends that way for me... (I swear this character has seen negative hitpoints more often than positive ones... ugg)

PROTECT MY WIZARD

So, I've got a question:

What is your best way of getting a wizard out of a grapple (or not getting him grappled to begin with). I'm a 7th level caster with a good AC (I have a high touch AC), my strength is also pretty good for a wizard, but with the low BAB my grapple check modifier isn't high.

I make as good a use of cover and other party members as possible (we have two party members that Enlarge on the first sign of combat and that tends to be a good wall of flesh... but not even that always stops creatures from running through threatened zones to reach me!)

I've got Dimension Door. I thought this was going to be the perfect fix to being grappled. I've used that spell as often as I can to get out of grapples, but in this last encounter, two Large creatures grappled me and did enough damage to knock me out before I got to cast the spell.

I need another alternative.

Items,
Spells,
Tactics,
...
I can't really use any Feats b/c my feat selection is already pretty limited (unless someone comes up with a magic item that will emmulate a Feat, that'd be okay -- my DM is very accepting of new magic items in the campaign world).

Thanks for the help.

Click to expand...

Step one: what spells do you use in the first few rounds of combat? And who else is in your party? What do they do?

A. Tactics
If you're a 7th level wizard and the first few rounds of combat are you casting enlarge person on your allies, then that's part of the problem. It's a great tactic at 1st or 3rd level, but by 7th level, you need something better than enlarge person as an opening move. You could learn mass enlarge person and enlarge your entire party in the opening round. That would save you time as well as give you +5 on your grapple checks. (+1 strength, +4 size). At the same time, it stays well within the parameters of your current tactics so the party wouldn't need to adjust too much. Other possibilities include: haste on your party--if the fighters blenderize the bad guys more quickly, maybe they won't risk the AoOs, slow on the enemies (this will cut down on their ability to close with you and make them easier targets for the fighters; in any event, they won't be able to close with you AND attack), solid fog/stinking cloud/wall of ice/sleet cloud to control the battlefield and slow the enemies' approach to you, and fireball (preferably empowered with a metamagic rod) to simply kill your enemies before they reach you.

B. Your allies
Deterence. If there's a 7th level rogue with even marginal melee skills in your group, grappling you is like voluntarily failing a save against fireball. It's sneak attack city for the rogue. (Targets in a grapple are denied their dexterity vs. enemies outside of the grapple). If he's got two weapon fighting, just haste him, park him next to you and wait for the bad guys to grapple. One or two blenderized foes later, grappling you won't seem like such a good target.

Prevention. If you've a 7th level cleric in the group, have him cast freedom of movement on you. At 10 min/level, it should work for any battle you are expecting or have minimal warning about.

Introduce your party's fighters to the concept of tripping too. If they are enlarged melee fighters, they should be competent at this even without Improved Trip. If they DO have Improved Trip, people trying to make it past them should end up on the ground and get pounded to a paste before they even have the opportunity to provoke more pounding by standing up on their next turn. If they have decent dexterity and enemies are simply sucking up the first AoOs so that others can get by, suggest that they pick up Combat Reflexes.

C. Spells of your own
consider a few possibilities:
1. blink (or a stilled blink for use after you're grappled) will give you a 20% miss chance on your spells but it should keep you from being grappled.
2. polymorph. Taking the form of a troll won't solve all your problems, but it will make you a much better grappler and enable you to rend your enemies after they fail their grapple checks.
3. Dimension door. This has been mentioned already. It's the best "get out of grapples" spell in a wizard's arsenel.
4. fly, sudden fly, and overland flight. If your enemy can't reach you, they can't grapple you. Use sudden fly to fly up to a ledge or the top of a tree. Use overland flight to remain aloft for the entire battle. Casting fly during a battle is probably a waste of an action, but if you have a chance to prepare, you can do it before the battle--provided you're not running out of spells.

D. Prevention you can do:
Make sure you are able to take an AoO at all times. If your DM doesn't let you threaten with a quarterstaff in a round you cast a spell, ditch the staff for a club or dagger. (And get the club or dagger made masterwork). If your enemies don't have Improved Grapple, a successful AoO will prevent the grapple.

And if, after all this, you're still unable to avoid being grappled, at least be grateful that grapples deal non-lethal damage. If nothing you can do stops your enemies from grappling you, at least they aren't killing you.

Nail said:

He's already said he has used DD.

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I knew I should have spent more skill points in reading comprehension!

Don't forget (Empowered ) Fire Shield.

If "Run and grapple if you find someone in mage robe" is popular tactics in your campaign world, disguising is one good option. Actually wearing armor and carrying weapons (by taking some fighter-mage type prestige class) is an obvious choice but simple illusion spells and items such as Hat of Disguise (1,800gp) will do a good trick. If you look like a bulky warrior in spiked armor, opponents usually don't want to commit grapple.