Alternate Grappling Rules?

[Valesin]

I think that the core 3.5 grappling rules are unwieldy and slow the game down unnecessarily. Does anyone know of any good alternate rules for grappling, either from a 3rd party publisher or from an available set of house rules?

 

[3d6]

Here's the rules I use. I got them from a forum somewhere and modified them for D&D. I think they're pretty simple compared to the normal special maneuver rules.

BRAWLING
A brawl attack is a kind of melee attack with an effect other than damage. Instead of an attack roll, you and your opponent make an opposed brawl check. If you win, your opponent suffers the effect of the brawl attack. Brawl attacks provoke an attack of opportunity from your opponent.

Brawl Check
A brawl check is 1d20 + level + Strength.

Reversal
If you fail your brawl check by 5 or more points, you open yourself to a reversal. A reversal allows your opponent to make a free brawl attack against you which is automatically successful. A brawl attack that involves movement cannot be used as a reversal.

BRAWL ATTACKS

Disarm
You grab an object from your opponent. You can either keep the object (if empty-handed) or drop the object anywhere adjacent to your opponent.

Escape Grapple (Must be grappling)
You break out of a grapple. You may use an Escape Artist check in place of a brawl check. Your check must beat all your opponents in the grapple. Failing to escape a grapple does not open you to a reversal. If you are pinned, a successful brawl attack just breaks the pin, but does not allow you to escape the grapple.

Grab
You begin grappling with your opponent. As part of the grapple, you move into your opponent’s square. Some brawl attacks require you to be grappling with your opponent. A grappling character cannot take any physical action other than a brawl attack or speaking, and cannot take attacks of opportunity.

Grapple Attack (Must be grappling)
You make an attack with a light or one-handed weapon.

Trip
You knock an opponent prone. Your opponent may use an Acrobatics check in place of a brawl check.

Move (Must be grappling)
You move the grapple, but you move at half speed.

Pin (Must be grappling)
You pin your opponent. Your opponent cannot perform physical actions other than attempting to escape the grapple (see above).

Bull Rush
You push an opponent back 1 meter. For every 5 points by which you won the check, you can push the opponent back an additional meter. You must move with your opponent. You cannot push the opponent back farther than your speed.

Overrun
You move though an opponent’s space by pushing him or her to the side. You may choose to use an Acrobatics check in place of a brawl check. This attack is made as part of movement, and does not take an action of its own.

Reposition
You grab an opponent and reposition them. You can either switch places with your opponent or place them in any empty space within your reach.

Sunder
You deal damage to an object carried by your opponent using your melee weapon.

Throw (Must be grappling)
You throw your opponent as a ranged weapon with a range increment of 2 meters. You must be able to lift your opponent as a light load. Your opponent deals 1d6 points of damage to anything he or she hits (and takes the same amount of damage), and you suffer a –4 penalty on your attack roll (as your opponent is an improvised weapon).

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

How about "Grappling For Beginners: How to Strike, Hold & Throw!" ?

See link to my review right about
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[Dannyalcatraz]

Without any judgement about "unwieldyness," I'm currently using the conversion guide in the back of HERO 4Ed's "Ultimate Martial Artist" to change the way I handle unarmed combat in general. It was originally intended to convert HERO martial arts maneuvers to 1 or 2Ed D&D, and there is no analogous appendix in the 5Ed version of the book to convert it to D20. Still, the base mechanics between D20 and earlier editions are similar enough to make it work.

The converted HERO martial arts system breaks martial arts maneuvers into their effects on your ability to make a successful attack (in D20, the bonus or penalty to your attack roll), your ability to defend yourself (the bonus or penalty to your AC), and the effect (damage, knocking someone down, initiating a grapple, etc.). You make one roll, get your result.

The tricky parts are that 1) there are some 30+ maneuvers of various sophistication (representing levels of training) and 2) some of them cover mechanical issues that are handled by Feats in D20 and 3) some of the maneuvers can be used with weapons.

Its not for everyone, but using such a system could allow you to have truly cinematic martial arts in your D&D game- every bit as potent and flashy as what can be done with weapons.

 

[Vrecknidj]

The whole system in D&D for grappling is way too complex. I want to eliminate the AoOs and all kinds of other stuff.

I agree that there need to be size modifiers and Str modifiers and all that. Maybe just skip all the details, make it a single opposed Grapple check between the two, and the winner pins the loser.

Sure, it sucks to be the loser, but you cut to the chase in one opposed roll, save a lot of time, and move on to the next thing in the combat sequence. Maybe give a +1 for each ally trying to help you out (whether you're the grappler or the grapplee).

Dave

 

[werk]

The whole system in D&D for grappling is way too complex. I want to eliminate the AoOs and all kinds of other stuff.

I agree that there need to be size modifiers and Str modifiers and all that. Maybe just skip all the details, make it a single opposed Grapple check between the two, and the winner pins the loser.

Sure, it sucks to be the loser, but you cut to the chase in one opposed roll, save a lot of time, and move on to the next thing in the combat sequence. Maybe give a +1 for each ally trying to help you out (whether you're the grappler or the grapplee).

Dave

What I'd recommend for you would be a gradiated table or something.

Grapple Attack (see table below)
A grapple attack is a simple touch attack, but the results determine the outcome.
Fail = AoO
1-5 = Grabbed - does not threaten
6-10 = Grappled - opponent loses dex bonus to AC and cannot move away
11+ = Pinned - as condition

To break a grapple a grappled foe must make a touch attack againt you.
Fail = Worse state (grabbed -> grappled -> pinned)
1-5 = Better state (pinned -> grappled -> grabbed)
6-10 = Is completely free
11+ = Reverse grapple (if they choose)

Something simple like that may work for you...you'd have to play around with the number ranges and conditions to see what works best at different levels, etc, this is just an example I threw out.