Has any RPG ever done grappling well? At all?

[ArghMark]

Riddle of Steel is a difficult to find system, but does the things you seem to want.

Handy for renaissance fighting stuff also.. there's no better system for saying "That guy is in plate? I throw him to the ground and stick a dagger in his eye-slit."

 

[Umbran]

I don't know if I would classify GURPS as "not cumbersome", personally.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I don't know if I would classify GURPS as "not cumbersome", personally.

Its modular. You can run it as basic or detailed as you want. The more detail desired, the more complex (thus cumbersome) it gets. At the very least you can adjust the complexity knob to suit your needs.

 

[Argyle King]

GURPS. Hero also pretty much does it all, albeit with less detail. But GURPS Martial Arts includes mechanics for every bone-breaking, joint-twisting, pildedriving, unbalancing, footsweeping move you can think of.

Martial Arts even has guidelines for creating new moves if you can't seem to find one from the multitude of techniques listed in the book.

 

[Jimlock]

I'm a real life professional ninja.

My Dm too does not let me do the things i do in real life..

It's disappointing...

 

[NewJeffCT]

I'm a huge grappling fan. I do it in real life.

Which is why it frustrates me when DMs ban me from using grappling characters either due to cumbersome rules or simply OP mechanics.


So, has there ever been an RPG which does grappling both quickly AND at least some what usefully. I don't want a rule system in which my only options are 'grapple and hit my opponent'.

I'd like to be able to break limbs, choke folks out either unconscious or to death. Ya know, the works. It doesn't need to have it all, but in a dream world it could.

While that would be cool, if you allowed that sort of thing with grappling, you'd have to allow somebody to hack off an arm or a leg (or a hand/foot) with a sword, bash somebody unconscious with a mace, slice open a throat with a garotte or a sharp knife, etc.

I think if you added too much in, the game would get too complicated.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Point of fact- HERO does allow weapon use while Grappling. I assume GURPS does, too.

 

[WHW4]

I've never had a real issue with standard 3.5 grappling. p60 in the 3.5 Rules Compendium lays it all out in two pages. It's like one modifier to keep track of (Grapple or Escape Artist).

I liken the experience of playing a grappling PC and knowing the grappling rules to playing a wizard PC and remembering what a random spell does.

 

[Dausuul]

It seems like grappling at its most basic level should not be hard to do. All you need are rules to a) let you grab hold of somebody, restricting their ability to run away, and b) deal damage with your bare hands to a grabbed target. Put these together and you've got the core of a grapple system.

Whether you get more detailed than that would depend on the main combat system. If standard combat is the classic, "Roll to hit, roll damage, you're done," the grappling system should be similar: Roll to grab, roll damage, you're done. It makes no sense to have detailed grapple rules if everyone else is using quick and abstract. On the other hand, if the main combat system has hit locations and maneuvers and parries and such-like, then grappling can be similarly intricate.

 

[Krensky]

Personally, I think Fantasy Craft hit it decently. Full round opposed Athletics check, with the victor getting to do something from a list of actions. The rules take up a little over one column and cover multiple opponents and let the grappler do all sorts of stuff. It doesn't directly allow breaking limbs or what not, but neither do the main combat rules. Due to how the rules work, the winner of the check gets the benefit regardless of who started it, sometimes the best option for a character with a low bonus to the roll in a grapple is to not make a grapple check and let their buddies help them out. Of course, if you're in a grapple the only thing you can do other then a grapple check are free actions.

It's strong, but not the be all and end all. It's a good argument for not dumping strength or ignoring the Athletics skill for non-melee fighters though. It's usually a good way to lock a character down for a few rounds though.