Grapple as a standard action?

[DonAdam]

What if grappling were a standard action rather than an attack action?

It would seem that this would go a long way towards taking away it's instant wizard kill abilities.

Furthermore, having done a wee bit of Brazilian Juijitsu, being able to try to pin someone multiple times in six seconds doesn't make much sense to me; grappling attacks tend to be much slower than punches or swinging a weapon.

Furthermore, I also propose the following wizard/sorc spell:

Greased Pig
Wizard/Sorcerer 0
School: Transmutation
Components: V
Casting Time: Move-equivalent action
Range: Personal
Target: Caster
Duration: 1 minute
Spell Resistance: No (harmless)

The caster gains an oily sheen over himself and all of his equipment; he gains a +10 bonus on all escape artist checks to escape a grapple. He does not gain the bonus on any other checks, as the oil is not slippery enough.

Is the bonus too big? Should the duration be shortened?

 

[demiurgeastaroth]

Furthermore, having done a wee bit of Brazilian Juijitsu, being able to try to pin someone multiple times in six seconds doesn't make much sense to me; grappling attacks tend to be much slower than punches or swinging a weapon.

You can only pin someone once, though you might get 4 attempts in one turn - each roll might represent the positional struggling going on trying to get the Pin.
How do you get six attempts anyway (quite aside from the fact one of you grappling attempts must be to get a holdf before you can pin.

Duration: 1 minute

This is a problem. For a cantrip, it should probably be your next action only.

he gains a +10 bonus on all escape artist checks to escape a grapple.

This is probably too big.
I dn't think Wizards need an extra way out of a grapple (Dimension Door works for me, but if its too high level see if you can invest in a Bracelet of Friends and give it to a friend.)
But, if such a spell were to be used, maybe the duration would be okay if it only affected one grapple check (win or lose), and making it level 1 or 2 would allow the bonus to be that large (specificying it as an Escape Artist bonus may also be desirable).
Even so, probably should be a level 1 spell.

Darren