Grappling Ants

[sdt]

So my character is having a picnic when 20 or so ants sneak up and grapple him. I can oppose their grapples and squish them one at a time, but I loose my Dex bonus to AC while doing so; i'm subject to any sneak attacks by nearby thieves. Is this correct? It does not seem reasonable to loose your Dex bonus to AC from creatures so much smaller than you.

 

[Kazuel]

If we're talking about regular ants, then they shouldn't even be considered grappling. Grappling only counts (if I'm not mistaken. and if I am mistaken, well then I want all my comments stricken from the record. Then I want said record to be burned. After all that is said and done, I want the ashes of the records scattered.) if the victim is constricted in any form, ie not free to move as they would like to. Now, maybe if there were enough ants they could cause a distraction bonus to other attacks or something like that.

 

[Zaruthustran]

So my character is having a picnic when 20 or so ants sneak up and grapple him. I can oppose their grapples and squish them one at a time, but I loose my Dex bonus to AC while doing so; i'm subject to any sneak attacks by nearby thieves. Is this correct? It does not seem reasonable to loose your Dex bonus to AC from creatures so much smaller than you.

Hee hee! Funny example. But it's impossible for any ant to actually start the grapple.

From the SRD on "Grapple":

"Step 3: Hold. Make an opposed grapple check as a free action. If you succeed, you and your target are now grappling, and you deal damage to the target as if with an unarmed strike.

If you lose, you fail to start the grapple. You automatically lose an attempt to hold if the target is two or more size categories larger than you are."

Ants would almost certainly fail the opposed grapple check, but that's a moot point because they're so tiny. They couldn't even grapple a halfling.

-z

PS: see sig.

 

[sdt]

Hee hee! Funny example. But it's impossible for any ant to actually start the grapple.

From the SRD on "Grapple":

"Step 3: Hold. Make an opposed grapple check as a free action. If you succeed, you and your target are now grappling, and you deal damage to the target as if with an unarmed strike.

If you lose, you fail to start the grapple. You automatically lose an attempt to hold if the target is two or more size categories larger than you are."

Ants would almost certainly fail the opposed grapple check, but that's a moot point because they're so tiny. They couldn't even grapple a halfling.

-z

PS: see sig.

Thank you Zaruthustran. I figured there was a rule to keep the ants away, but I couldn't find it. I blame the Player's Handbook; the typing is too small.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Swarms can't grapple.

 

[Kazuel]

"the typing is too small."

Maybe the ants could grapple the text, just a thought.

 

[dcollins]

...I loose my Dex bonus to AC...

... and that's spelled "lose".