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General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
AoO's in an Improved Snatch/Grab?
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<blockquote data-quote="spacemonkey" data-source="post: 1933846" data-attributes="member: 13180"><p>I don't, but I do see where it says (in the Improved Grab entry) </p><p></p><p>"The creature has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use the part of its body it used in the improved grab to hold the opponent. If it chooses to do the latter, it takes a –20 penalty on grapple checks, <strong>but is not considered grappled itself</strong>; the creature does not lose its Dexterity bonus to AC, still threatens an area, and can use its remaining attacks against other opponents."</p><p></p><p>Herein lies the problem, for if the creature (dragon in this case) is not considered grappled, then it has to be treated as an adjacent but non-grappling combatant (even though certain parts of it are involved in the grapple, the creature itself is not -for game purposes).</p><p></p><p>Does this mean it is not hindered by normal grapple rules? Yes. Take a look at the improved grab ability. I can see where kjenks is coming from on his stance that ONLY other creatures are threatened by the posessor of the improved grab feat, but I read it differently. I think that line was put in to emphasize the fact that the user of improved grab is not considered grappled, and therefore threatens as normal - the fact that they did not specify you threaten the grappled opponent seems irrelevant, as they did not specify that you don't either. They did specify that you are not considered grappled. A difficult read overall, but I would be tempted to rule that the snatcher can indeed attack the snatchee with his other weapons, though I would add in a -4 for cover (as most of the snatchee would be covred by your own teeth or such). </p><p></p><p>Does this make snatch super powerful? Not really. Remember that to snatch the wizard in the first place, the dragon in question must be:</p><p></p><p>* Huge size or larger</p><p>* 3 sizes larger than the creature snatched (assuming a medium wiz, that's gargantuan)</p><p>* taking the -20 penalty to grapple checks</p><p></p><p>This dragon <strong>should</strong> totally outclass the mage physically. A spellcaster of his sort shouldn't be anywhere the dragon can get to him if possible.</p><p></p><p>So we have a gargantuan dragon snatching a medium (or small) wizard - is he hosed? Yes.</p><p>Should he be? Yes. The dragon can go to town on the wizard for a round, then the wizard can try to break free (he's got a chance at least because of the -20 taken by the dragon, even if its other bonuses are hefty). Then the dragon (who has been using his move actions, probably with flyby attack, to ascend this whole while) uses his breath weapon on the mage (no save if snatched) then drops the mage from whatever altitude he has achieved (free action) and goes back to put the hurt on fighter-boy. Meanwhile the mage prays he prepped feather fall today and the rest of the party preps for a fight with a freakin' dragon.</p><p></p><p>That's the way I read it anyway - it isn't especially clear and I'm certainly willing to admit there are other interpretations. I'm using snatch here, as I couldn't find where Improved Snatch is, but the basics should be the same.</p><p></p><p></p><p>So to summarize and answer the original question with the interpretation above, the mage in question trying to cast a spell would:</p><p></p><p>* try to cast on definsive, or take an AoO (dragon has mageslayer feat)</p><p>* if hit (very likely), make concentration check for being damaged while casting</p><p>* if that concentration check is successful, make another to cast while grappled</p><p></p><p>That's a maximum of 2 concentration checks, which is comparable to casting while threatened while on unsure footing/earthquake or something similar. The checks may be a bit more difficult here because the mage is being mauled instead of trying to walk across a pitching ship deck, but that's the situation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="spacemonkey, post: 1933846, member: 13180"] I don't, but I do see where it says (in the Improved Grab entry) "The creature has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use the part of its body it used in the improved grab to hold the opponent. If it chooses to do the latter, it takes a –20 penalty on grapple checks, [B]but is not considered grappled itself[/B]; the creature does not lose its Dexterity bonus to AC, still threatens an area, and can use its remaining attacks against other opponents." Herein lies the problem, for if the creature (dragon in this case) is not considered grappled, then it has to be treated as an adjacent but non-grappling combatant (even though certain parts of it are involved in the grapple, the creature itself is not -for game purposes). Does this mean it is not hindered by normal grapple rules? Yes. Take a look at the improved grab ability. I can see where kjenks is coming from on his stance that ONLY other creatures are threatened by the posessor of the improved grab feat, but I read it differently. I think that line was put in to emphasize the fact that the user of improved grab is not considered grappled, and therefore threatens as normal - the fact that they did not specify you threaten the grappled opponent seems irrelevant, as they did not specify that you don't either. They did specify that you are not considered grappled. A difficult read overall, but I would be tempted to rule that the snatcher can indeed attack the snatchee with his other weapons, though I would add in a -4 for cover (as most of the snatchee would be covred by your own teeth or such). Does this make snatch super powerful? Not really. Remember that to snatch the wizard in the first place, the dragon in question must be: * Huge size or larger * 3 sizes larger than the creature snatched (assuming a medium wiz, that's gargantuan) * taking the -20 penalty to grapple checks This dragon [B]should[/B] totally outclass the mage physically. A spellcaster of his sort shouldn't be anywhere the dragon can get to him if possible. So we have a gargantuan dragon snatching a medium (or small) wizard - is he hosed? Yes. Should he be? Yes. The dragon can go to town on the wizard for a round, then the wizard can try to break free (he's got a chance at least because of the -20 taken by the dragon, even if its other bonuses are hefty). Then the dragon (who has been using his move actions, probably with flyby attack, to ascend this whole while) uses his breath weapon on the mage (no save if snatched) then drops the mage from whatever altitude he has achieved (free action) and goes back to put the hurt on fighter-boy. Meanwhile the mage prays he prepped feather fall today and the rest of the party preps for a fight with a freakin' dragon. That's the way I read it anyway - it isn't especially clear and I'm certainly willing to admit there are other interpretations. I'm using snatch here, as I couldn't find where Improved Snatch is, but the basics should be the same. So to summarize and answer the original question with the interpretation above, the mage in question trying to cast a spell would: * try to cast on definsive, or take an AoO (dragon has mageslayer feat) * if hit (very likely), make concentration check for being damaged while casting * if that concentration check is successful, make another to cast while grappled That's a maximum of 2 concentration checks, which is comparable to casting while threatened while on unsure footing/earthquake or something similar. The checks may be a bit more difficult here because the mage is being mauled instead of trying to walk across a pitching ship deck, but that's the situation. [/QUOTE]
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