How to stop a Grappling Monk?

Darklone said:
4 Slams? Guess you didn't use the ruling about one level draining attack per round :D

But yes, it's a nice surprise for monky-boy.

Cinematic license! :)

The best suprise was Mr Pointy Teeth not wanting to let go of his new chew toy.
 

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James McMurray said:
Always have a smalle weapon handy. You can use them in a grpple without opposed checks, albeit at a penalty to your attacks.

What level is the party? If the foe dimension doors (or the vastly more powerful dimension strike) then there is no AoO involved.

But it is an opposed grapple check to draw them.
 


Hmmm.. if A monk is grappling a rogue, they are both denied Dex bonus. Can the rogue sneak attack the monk? ( yeah, I could look it up, but I am just sitting here, and he books are way over there....:-)

.
 

Monks in general have lower strength than fighter types, since they have to spread their abilities out a lot more. Grappling is based on base attack bonus, so fighter types get the best of monks there, too. At lower levels, a fighter type will have at least one more strength bonus and one more BAB than an equivalent monk, so the monk will only be up by 2 to his grapple check. That's hardly unbeatable. At higher level, the fighter's BAB is going to quickly make up for the monk's improved grapple.

Wizards and Sorcerers should be smart enough to stay the heck away from hand to hand combat. If they're getting caught by a grappler, it's their own damn fault.

And all these guys should have some allies, dammit. Sure, the monk can grapple one melee combatant, and have a slight edge over him, but where are all that guy's buddies to do to the monk exactly what the monk's allies are doing to that guy?

It's really not as bad as you think... you just have to make sure your NPCs fight intelligently.

-The Souljourner
 

I'd think that if your campaign was internally consistent and the PCs were anywhere above low level, the monk at least (and probably the party as a whole) would gain a reputation as being very tough to beat via simple melee combat. The criminal underworld certainly has a "grapevine" through which rumors and such would be disseminated.

So maybe the bad guys start walking around in groups of two with daggers or short swords at the ready. That's probably my main suggestion: there's no reason for the bad guys to walk around all alone, especially with the Notorious Grappler out there, ready to smite evilness.
 

Coredump said:
Hmmm.. if A monk is grappling a rogue, they are both denied Dex bonus. Can the rogue sneak attack the monk?

Nope. They are both denied their Dex bonus-but not against each other.

Now, a rogue ally of the monk's target can sneak attack the monk. Or, a rogue ally of the monk can ... sneak attack ... Erk! There's an ugly combo. "You hold him while I finish him off."
 

T-Bone said:
How do you stop a monk with Improved Grapple from grappling and neutralizing every man-sized opponent. From spellcasters to platemail fighters. The touch attack always hits, and he has a huge advantage in grapple checks.

On top of that, the monks friends come over and bash the grappled character as well. Isn't there a chance of hitting the monk?? Even arrows shot at the grappled victim, chance to hit monk???

Magic Missile always hits so there is no chance to miss and hit the person being grappled. A 9th level caster will be dishing out 5d4+5 per Magic Missile. If the caster has one quickened Magic Missile then you've got 10d4+10 damage in one round that the Monk can' escape. Personally, I think illusions are the way to beat the guy. Mirror Image is a great one since he won't know which image to attack and will have to rely on luck. Use Major Image to give him a bogus enemy to attack. He won't get a Will saving throw until he has some reason to disbelieve it (pg 173 DMG). The Freedom of Movement spell will render someone "Un-Grapple-Able". Even a 5th level Wizard can cast Gaseous Form to escape from your Monk. All he'd have to do is take a 5' step back and cast Gaseous Form and he would'nt take an attack of opportunity. SO... it seems like a 7th level wizard is your answer. Go into battle with Freedom of Movement cast (4th level spell) or just have the wizard use the Fly spell to stay out of the Monk's reach... even a 5th level wizard can do that.
If you REALLY want to be mean, let him grapple a high level Druid who promptly Wild Shapes into a Dire Bear. Let him try to grapple that!
 

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