Forge of Fury DMing Question

[zyzzyr]

Hi all,

I'm running Forge of Fury today (if you're playing this module with another DM don't read this!)...

The animated rug in area 47 grapples its foes, and deals constrict damage. That part I've got. The part that confuses me is:

"The rug attacks by attempting to grapple up to three characters currently standing on top of it."

Huh? The rug gets three attacks in one round? I check the statblock, and its attack is +9 melee (2d6+7, slam) - thus only one attack per round.

Does the rug get three attacks in the initial round, or does three characters mean one at a time, up to a maximum of three?

I only have four characters in the party, so this is quite important. especially considering that the rug has a grapple check of +15!

Any help or clarification would be appreciated.

zyzzyr

 

[James McMurray]

I would say three attacks in the initial round, as past that point anyone not caught by it will probably move away.

also, what size is the rug? If it isn't big, it may only have one or two poeple on it when it animates and attacks.

 

[Uruk]

If I remember right the rug is pretty big, but once it's grappling there's not really anything to keep a character outside of it from just tearing it apart. It was pretty disappointing in my campaign.

 

[James McMurray]

Sounds like more of a flavor encounter that might manage to severely hurt one or two unlucky people.

 

[zyzzyr]

Wow, that was fast!

Hi James,

Thanks for the quick reply.

The rug is Huge - 20 ft. by 20 ft. in a 25 ft. x 25 ft. room.

The party is two spellcasters (wizard and druid) and two standups (fighter and bbn).

Also, the grapple itself makes me wonder about touch attacks. Are they automatically successful, or not? You're in contact with the person, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you can touch them. Or can touch attack spells not be cast because you need to attack the person - something you can't do in a grapple (can only damage, pin, or escape).

I also think it's a tad odd that you can guarantee a melee hit against a grappled opponent (provided you are not). That is, 1 & 2 are in grapple, and 3 swings at 2 - there is apparently no chance that he'll hit 1 by mistake. Odd. Double odd when you consider that 2 gets no cover bonus because of the grapple!

Anyone know of any way to account for these above, or does it not matter so much?

Thanks again.

zyzzyr

 

[Valmur_Dwur]

I don't know how much this will help you, I don't have the module at hand. You as the DM roll for initative(players and rug). Play it out, with the rug readying an action for the first one on it. Then if there are more than one due to circumstances give it up to 3 attacks the first round as the rug twists and turns around the pcs. If they make their grapple checks they are outside of the rug in the room on the regular floor. Next round they smack down the rug with some possible damage to the pc inside if you like I'd probable go with the damage as subdual instead of standard but that's me; My traps are set up for capture not kill. You need to know who, what, where, when, why, and how the person got to that point. Then you kill them

 

[Gizzard]

Does this monster have "Improved Grab" (as described in the rules section of the MM)? From your description, I am assuming so.

Anyway, if so, then he can Grapple one guy by using the standard Grapple sequence (do yourself a favor and flowchart this out on a piece of paper if you arent already familiar with these somewhat convoluted rules); then in subsequent rounds he can Grapple additional opponents by giving up -20 on all of his Grapple opposed rolls. You can also do things like move around, which arent allowed in a standard Grapple, if you have Improved Grab.

Its supposed to be used for big grabby monsters with tentacles like Otyughs. Basically, they are very grabby if they concentrate on one person, but they have a hard time holding down 3 people at a time because of the -20. So you dont have to worry as much about the +15 as it seems. Check out Gamestoppers #2 on the wizards site for an example this type of combat.