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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Anax" data-source="post: 2652961" data-attributes="member: 19868">Actually, now that I look at it, the description doesn’t describe anything special happening when grappling.  Looking at the fire shield spell in the PHB, that seems the same.  Hrm.  And there’s nothing in the FAQ.I guess that, even though it seems a little strange, grappling does not force you into contact with the effect of a fire shield or a mantle of flame.  These effects only cause damage to an attacker when they strike with a melee weapon or natural attack without reach.    Although there’s some wiggle room here, I’d say the damage is applied on the melee touch attack to start a grapple, and when you choose to “damage your opponent” or attack with a light weapon while grappling.Just being grappled by someone with a fire shield or mantle of flame certainly doesn’t appear to be sufficient.  (So if somebody with one of these effects jumps you, and all you do is try to get away, you never take the fire damage.)  And if all you do to someone with one of these effects is enter a grapple with them and then try to hold on, the only time you definitely take damage is when you start the grapple.Of course, a DM could house rule this pretty much any way they wanted.  Letting a caster have perfect don’t-grapple-me defenses or a scary fire grapple offense seems excessive, though.</blockquote>