Can you grapple multiple targets?

[sam500]

I have also wondered about this. There are numerous examples of monsters that seem to be meant to grapple multiple opponents (many of them plants).
Take the Behir for example. So many limbs, and can swallow whole.
I actually play a aberrant wild shaping druid who turns into an observer beholder which gets 8 tentacle attacks each of which have improved grab.... how many opponents can I grapple?

 

[MountedCombat]

Actually, I'm looking at the rules as listed on D20pfsrd.com, and there is nothing about the grappled condition keeping you from initiating another grapple. In fact, there is a style, "Grabbing Style," the final feat of which says "When you are grabbing two opponents while using Grabbing Style, you can use your grapple to move or damage one or both opponents you are grappling, instead of just one."

 

[Dandu]

I do not believe Pathfinder existed in 2007, or that it uses the exact same rules.

 

[GMMichael]

The flaw in the thinking here is that monstrous octopi don't grapple; they entangle. Grappling rules are for characters that, anatomically, can wrestle.

Rulings, not rules.

By the way, I highly doubt that non-monstrous octopi will attack multiple opponents. They'll either try to eat a single opponent, or ink and flee.

For some bad action music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HNZePQosxU

 

[Hussar]

Heh, 2007 and I was doing "rulings not rules". Why was this necro'd?

 

[Dandu]

So that you would have a chance to face your sins.

 

[Imaculata]

You have to pay attention to the size category of the monster. If it's only large, then it would probably need more than one tentacle to grapple an opponent and hold him in place. This is why I always assumed grappling an opponent requires two hands, so a normal humanoid can only grapple one person at a time. Its like a wrestling match. Plus, how many people can you really focus on at a time?

If the monster is huge however, then it would probably need only one tentacle to grab a person, thus allowing him to grapple as many opponents as he has tentacles. But if this is the case, it is listed among his special abilities.