How many Medium creatures can a Huge creature grapple at once?

[Sonofapreacherman]

How many Medium creatures can a Huge creature grapple at once? Moreover, how do you calculte such a thing?

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

That depends...

When grappling, you no longer threaten any area, and therefore cannot make an attack in order to start a new grapple.

Should you wish to be able to do so, you'd need a special ability, generally Improved Grab, which allows you to make a grapple check at -20. If you successfully do so, you may act normally. If you succeed against all current grappling opponents in this fashion, you may grapple a new opponent.

As for the theoretical limit, only four creatures may grapple any other creature. Except:

Multiple Grapplers
Several combatants can be in a single grapple. Up to four combatants can grapple a single opponent in a given round. Creatures that are one or more size categories smaller than you count for half, creatures that are one size category larger than you count double, and creatures two or more size categories larger count quadruple.

Thus, a Huge creature could be grappled by 4 other Huge Creatures, or 8 creatures of any size smaller than Huge.

EDIT: Is it just me, or are the Grappling rules the most complicated part of 3.X?

 

[Sonofapreacherman]

Originally Posted by SRD

Creatures that are one or more size categories smaller than you count for half, creatures that are one size category larger than you count double, and creatures two or more size categories larger count quadruple.

Doesn't this mean that 16 Medium creatures can grapple 1 Huge creature (if two or more size categories count quadruple)?

EDIT: Is it just me, or are the Grappling rules the most complicated part of 3.X?

Oh they're complicated all right, and I consider myself a rules lawyer.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Nope. Creatures "one or more sizes smaller count for half."

Not, "Creatures one size smaller than you count for half, creatures two sizes smaller than you count for one fourth, etc."