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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DanSTC" data-source="post: 664484" data-attributes="member: 10206">Here are some house-rules feats related to grappling that I came up with this afternoon.  I'll need some advice on balancing and tweaking them, of course.Latch to bodyYou latch onto the people you grapple, giving you a distinct advantage.PREREQ: None.Benefit: You can hop onto other creatures when you initiate a grab, giving you a +2 bonus to your grapple attempt.  Otherwise, hopping onto a creature functions like a normal grapple attempt, except that your opponent may move around at his normal movement speed with you in tow no matter if you succeed or not.  (Adding your weight to his encumberence.)Special: This ability stacks with Incredible grapple and skilled grappler.Improved grappleYou are expert at grappling your opponents before they can react.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed StrikeBenefit: You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when initiating a grapple.Normal: Attempting a grab provokes an attack of opportunity.Special: This ability functions differently than improved grab, where a creature with improved grab may start a grapple as a free action with a successful attack that deals normal damage.  Meanwhile, improved grapple merely removes the attack of opportunity.Skilled grapplerYou are well-trained in grappling.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved GrappleBenefit: In opposing ability checks to win a grapple, you gain a +2 competence bonus.Special: This ability stacks with Latch to Body.One-armed headlockYou can grapple an opponent with a single arm.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Strength 13+Benefit: When successfully grappling an opponent, you may keep one of your hands free to perform other actions, such as attacking, casting spells, grapple a second opponent, and so on.  You suffer the usual penalties for two-weapon fighting and a -2 penalty to maintain your grapple when making use of this feat.Leghold pinYou may use your legs to grapple an opponent, keeping your hands free.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Latch to BodyBenefit: When attempting to pin an opponent (see "Pin" on page 137 of the PHB), you may opt to use your legs instead of your arms.  Doing this leaves both your hands free to use for other actions, but you are effectively immobilized.Agile grapplerYou are adept at defending yourself while grapplingPREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Dodge, Dex 13+Benefit: You do not lose your dexterity bonus to your armor class while grappling.Mobile grapplerYou can drag your pinned victim just about anywhere.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved GrappleBenefit: When successfully pinning your opponent, you may move at your normal movement speed, dragging your victim with you.Normal: When pinning your opponent, you may only move by making a successful opposed check and escaping.Swing the bodyYou can use your grappling victim's body as an improvised weapon.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Strength 13+, Base attack bonus +6 or higherBenefit: When you successfully grapple an opponent for a full round, you may make a strength check (DC 10, plus or minus 5 for every size category larger or smaller your victim is compared to you) to swing his body around and use him as an improvised weapon, using your secondary attacks as if you had made a full-attack action.  Your grappling victim does not suffer any damage from being used in this manner.  (Other than damage that might come from merely touching something harmful, such as a creature that secretes corrosive chemicals from its body.)  Your strength bonus is added to your damage rolls.DAMAGE/ADDITIONAL REACH* DEPENDING ON VICTIM'S SIZE CATEGORY:Fine - None/0Diminutive - 1/0Tiny - 1d2/0Small - 1d4/5Medium - 1d6/5ftLarge - 1d8/10ftHuge - 2d4/15ftGargantuan - 2d6/20ftColossal - 2d8/25ftSPECIAL: A willing ally who readies an action to cooperate may be used as a weapon in this manner using this feat, and may opt to use his normal unarmed damage in place of the usual damage.EXTRA-SPECIAL: While grappling multiple opponents, you incur the usual two-weapon fighting penalties to attack.*Additional reach stacks with whatever your natural reach is.  Therefore, if you are a medium-sized creature using "swing the body" on a small or medium-sized creature, the attack will give you a 10-foot reach.Puppeteer grabPREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, One-armed Headlock, Strength 13+You are able to make use of your grappling victim's weapons.Benefit: When you have one arm free while grappling an opponent, you may grab one of his arms and use whatever weapon he holds to attack with.  To do this, you must make either a strength or dexterity check opposed by your victim's strength check.  All attacks using your opponent's held weapons suffer a -2 penalty.  You may only attempt to do this once per round.(SIDE NOTE: In theory, this feat would best be used in conjunction with the parry feat from the Dragon magazine swashbuckling issue to quickly defend yourself while unarmed.)Reverse holdYou are especially good at turning your opponent's grapple against him.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved GrappleBenefit: When you make a successful escape artist check to escape the grapple or pin, you may attempt an action as though you had actually won the opposed grapple check that round.  For this feat to function, the creature who originally grappled/pinned you must be no bigger than one size category compared to you.Special: If you also have the Incredible Grappler feat, you may use this feat against opponents up to two size categories larger than you.Incredible grapplerYou are adept in grappling against creatures of greater size than you.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Skilled GrapplerBenefit:  When grappling against a creature of at least one size category larger than you, their size modifier is reduced by four.Special: This ability overlaps (does not stack) with Skilled Grappler.Choke holdYou can choke the life out of your victim.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved GrappleBenefit:  When you successfully win a grapple attempt against your opponent, you can attempt a choke hold.  Choking the victim requires that they actually have a neck, and that they require oxygen to survive.  (Thus, undead, constructs, outsiders and oozes are immune to choke.)  To begin choking, roll a touch attack.  Due to you clasping your hands around the victim's throat, the victim now gets a circumstance bonus of +4 to escape artist checks to break out of the choke.  Once you have begun choking for a full round, the victim must make a constitution check (DC 10) every round that you manage to maintain the choke hold.  Each round, the DC of the constitution check increases by 1.  When the victim finally fails his constitution check, he falls unconscious as if he had suffered enough subdual damage to drop him to 0 hp.  However, if the choke is maintained after the victim falls unconscious, the victim drops to -1 hp and begins dying.  To maintain a choke hold, you must win an opposed grapple check each round to maintain the choke.  If the victim wins an opposed grapple check, the choke hold is effectively broken, but the grappling continues as normal.Body throwYou can grab your opponent and fling him to one side.PREREQ: Improved Unarmed Strike, Base attack bonus +1 or greaterBenefit: If you successfully win a grapple check against your opponent, you can choose to throw him aside directly into any of the squares adjacent to you.  When being thrown, your victim must succeed at a tumble or balance check (victim chooses one) opposed by another attack roll by you, or be knocked prone by the throw.  Throwing an opponent effectively ends the grapple as if you had escaped.  (Which means you can take whatever movement you get.)PROtip: Throwing another character out a window or off a cliff can be great fun! Comments?</blockquote>

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