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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 6016240" data-attributes="member: 1645">We should probably ask how we want grapples to play out.  What are the most common grappling "scenes" from adventure fiction?One common scene involves a tentacled monster grabbing a victim and pulling it toward imminent doom -- underwater, into its gaping maw, whatever.  For this, we just need a to-hit roll, and the victim gets moved against his will each turn, maybe takes some damage, maybe gets a Str check against getting moved.  And, most importantly, a good sword stroke can chop off the offending tentacle.  (The 3E roper monster implements this just fine.)Another common scene involves a giant constrictor.  For credibility's sake, the victim has to slowly die if he gets wrapped up in the first place.  The snake's attack is a bit like a Rogue's sneak attack, only the damage is delayed, so the rest of the party can kill it before the victim expires.Another common scene involves some giant monster grabbing the victim with one hand, to carry off or to toss in its mouth.  In the fiction, this doesn't seem especially damaging, and the victim generally keeps fighting.  Our hero escapes by getting in one last poke in the eye before getting swallowed, or one fireball down its gullet, etc.For a lot of kung-fu action, the grappling isn't really mechanically grappling at all.  The last attack that finishes off a mook happens to throw him on his head, or into a table, or whatever.So, when do we actually see something like a true grapple?  When our hero gets overwhelmed "by sheer weight of numbers".  That's a bit like running out of hit points against low-level opponents.</blockquote>

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