How often does the grapple mechanic come up in your game?

[Warbringer]

You had a mage with Improved Unarmed Strike? Without it the mage wouldn't threaten and wouldn't be able to take an AoO.

Interesting question... The vampire, with slam, has unarmed strike so threatens. When he dominates someone else, does he get to keep the unarmed strike?....

Re grapple.

Don't use it much. I like the idea, but it seems out of place with the rest of D+D combat.

 

[Mystery Man]

Interesting question... The vampire, with slam, has unarmed strike so threatens.

Except a slam isn't an "unarmed strike"

 

[Victim]

We have grapples in many fights, but my character is built to use them.

 

[Arnwyn]

It very rarely comes up in our group.

And it is never initiated by the players.

 

[davidschwartznz]

I sure am using it...and judging by your name it looks like you authored that part of the "class acts."

Plus I'm holding up the issue in my avatar.

Good stuff, man! Nice way to work in that concept without being a fighter or monk.

Thanks. That article inspired another article with a bunch of 'street fighting' feats, which Dragon turned down because they stopped printing articles with just feats. I ended up donating it to Dog Soul for their bizzarely named charity PDF "Suck da Head, Squeeze da Tail". It's 1.5 page in the middle of a bunch more or less cajun related stuff, which may or may not be useful to you, but hey, the proceeds go to charity.

http://www.enworld.org/shop/index.php?do=product&productid=653&source=Publisher Recent

 

[Perun]

I was thinking between 'Every time' and 'Often', and went with 'Often' in the end, although we use grapple almost every combat... that is, my character uses it

I play a 12th-level druid, and Improved Grab helps a lot. Favoured forms are red tiger (from FRCS Silver Marches accessory [for it's claw/claw/bite routine, as opposed to the more frequent bite/claw/claw of other great cats]) and dire bear (naturally ). Add animal growth to the equation (for a net +8 to grapple checks [+4 Str modifier, +4 size modifier]), and you've got a winner.

It saved the party's skins on a number of occasions.

Now, if only it wasn't do darn easy for those pesky wizards to escape (dimension door, V component only, Concentration check DC 20)

Regards.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

For player using grapple without the improved grapple feat, does the AoO often foil your attack? We had a player try to grapple a vampire dominated mage and the mage socked him in the kisser. -Wasted action!

The AoO often does foil the attack when my characters without Imp Grapple try it. Usually, I will either count on a high AC to save the character, attempt to draw a movement AoO first, get another character to draw a movement AoO first, or just make a full attack's worth of grapple checks figuring that, while an AoO may foil the first attempt, one of them will get through.