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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Primitive Screwhead" data-source="post: 3017607" data-attributes="member: 20805">Grappling for Beginners, by Russell Morrissey (AKA Morrus)Caveat: Morrus did not give me a free copy, nor did he admit to stealing my ideas from a HR thread that got lost in the crash… really it did! <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing    :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" />However, he is bribing for reviews with comp copies of his next book, which I was going to buy anyway.Anyway, on with the review!In short: If your group prefers smoother combat and is willing to replace Core rules mechanics.. why haven’t you bought this already?  This PDF listed as the author’s first solo publishing attempt has a clear vision and gets down to brass tacks pretty quick. The goal is easy, simplify the Core Grappling mechanic and present it in a no-nonsense fashion. I believe Morrus hits the mark on both counts here.With only 10 pages to work with, minus 1 nicely done cover and 1.5 worth of OGL text… there really is not much room to redo a mechanic that has such broad consequences. Readability is high, altho I am one who likes pure crunch. There are no example/fluff pieces in the work but I see no reason for them. The mechanic is simple enough that no overdone play-by-play will make it easier to understand.Playability looks promising. The system does eliminate most of the confusion around grappling altho a few new numbers need to be added to your character sheet. Fortunately these are easy enough to add on the fly as long as you have a handy size modifier chart.Or you can just remember to modify by 4 points for each size category off from Medium.Crunch… The system takes the complicated core rules and turns them into 3 options, Strike, Hold, or Throw. Each option is figured by a D20 roll vs a DC. In fact, the system is so simple that if I say any more there will be no reason for you to buy the book!  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Critical Hits:    The system is easy and simple to use. No more stopping mid game to look up in a book to figure out a grapple result.Critical Miss:    Grapple is a base level mechanic for a lot of various things. The PDF is improving as Morrus quite willingly updates based on feedback, so far adding on the interaction of bull-rushes and other special actions. A pending monster web-enhancement works on how critter special abilities like Improved Grab interact with the new rules. I believe the rules will be much better fleshed out in about a month as players find the one-off abilities not already covered. Overall:    This variant Grapple mechanic is a definite add to my game. Suggestions for improvement:    Tidy up the paging so that major items, like Feats or ‘Other Combat Options’ all fit on one page.    Add a page of ‘status cards’ that show the Held and Grappled states on easy to cut out cards for handing to players… This would be a nice shtick for the ‘…for beginners’ series and wouldn’t take up all that extra space.Primitive ScrewheadAdmitted Crunch Lover and Tweak-a-holic <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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