Grappling for Dummies

[Lord Pendragon]

A few questions about grappling, for one who has never quite gotten the hang of it:

If Fighter and Monster are grappling, and Ranger wants to attack Monster, is there a chance he'll hit Fighter instead? Are there any penalties to the attack at all? If so, what are they?

Thanks for any clarification.

 

[Jhyrryl]

A few questions about grappling, for one who has never quite gotten the hang of it:

If Fighter and Monster are grappling, and Ranger wants to attack Monster, is there a chance he'll hit Fighter instead? Are there any penalties to the attack at all? If so, what are they?

Thanks for any clarification.

If it's a ranged attack, roll randomly to see who is being attacked. Regardless of who is getting attacked, and whether it's a melee or ranged attack, someone involved in a grapple looses his Dex bonus to AC.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

If it's a ranged attack, roll randomly to see who is being attacked. Regardless of who is getting attacked, and whether it's a melee or ranged attack, someone involved in a grapple looses his Dex bonus to AC.

Okay, so:

1. If it's a ranged attack, then either grappler has an even (50%) chance of being struck, regardless of who the attacker was aiming for.

2. Both grapplers lose their Dex Bonus to AC.

What about melee? Can a knight with a greatsword strike out at a grappled foe without worrying about hitting his friend (maintaining the grapple)? Is Cover of Concealment involved in any way?

 

[reapersaurus]

As i understand and remember reading, if it's melee, than there are no penalties to hit whichever target he wants.

 

[Jhyrryl]

Okay, so:

1. If it's a ranged attack, then either grappler has an even (50%) chance of being struck, regardless of who the attacker was aiming for.

Correct.

2. Both grapplers lose their Dex Bonus to AC.

Correct.

What about melee? Can a knight with a greatsword strike out at a grappled foe without worrying about hitting his friend (maintaining the grapple)?

Yes.

Is Cover of Concealment involved in any way?

No.

Relevant reading is 3.5 PH, page 151, Table 8-6: Armor Class Modifiers.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

Both grapplers lose their Dex Bonus to AC.

IMG, the monk likes to grapple opponents and then the rogue sneak attacks the grappled victim. It works very well, usually.

 

[Andromeda Sprain]

If it's a ranged attack, roll randomly to see who is being attacked.

A week ago we had this same question pop up. We all thought it worked that way, but none of us could find where it stated that in the rulebooks. It's driving me nuts. Do you happen to have a page reference so I can sleep again?

AS

 

[Andromeda Sprain]

Darn double post.

 

[Andromeda Sprain]

Ignore my previous post. It seems you are presentient. I just found it on table 8-6 on PH page 151.

Thanks.

AS

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Thanks for all the clarification, guys.

Now I just need to practice some grappling in-game to get the info to stick. The main problem is that I hardly ever see it used, so I have to brush up on it every once in a while.