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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Noumenon" data-source="post: 4541548" data-attributes="member: 70102">Monte Cook <a href="http://montecook.livejournal.com/161741.html" target="_blank">wrote on his LiveJournal</a> a few months ago, I concluded that this made it too easy to escape a grapple while doing something the players would be doing anyway.  Here's my math:[sblock]So if a level 4 cleric with 14 Str has been grappled by an Owlbear, he has +5 and the Owlbear has +14, so the Owlbear will win 84% of the opposed checks.  So if the level 4 wizard Magic Missiles the owlbear, that does 4-10 damage and now the owlbear wins 48-70% of the time, average 57%.How about a Huge monstrous scorpion with +21 to grapple?  It beats the Level 7 cleric's +7 without even trying.  Now the level 7 wizard does 8-20 damage with Magic Missile, average 14, giving the cleric a 50-50 chance to escape the grapple.   I think the cleric could freely run right up to the scorpion for a touch attack and not even need to worry about a grapple lasting long enough to be constricted.For the Gargantuan dragon you're talking about; if it spell resists two meteors in a swarm and saves against one it will be taking 17d6, or -60.  The level 20 cleric will have a +15 grapple check and escape 86% of the time.  Too easy.   And of course a 10th level fighter that gets hit by two bugbears won't be able to hold onto their brother more than 40% of the time.[/sblock]You'd hardly ever have to worry about being grappled long enough to get constricted or swallowed whole that way.  So here's a better rule to bring escaping grapples into the realm of possibility:Don't add in the defender's BAB for grapple checks.This way monsters will still be able to establish the grapples they're known for, but on your turn, you may be able to escape.  For the three examples I checked Monte's rule against, the owlbear gets +9 vs +5 (wins <a href="http://sullivan.pgh.pa.us/~ksulliva/ralph/dnd-stats.html" target="_blank">67%</a>), the huge scorpion gets +14 vs +7 (77%) and the gargantuan dragon gets +24 vs +15 (84%).  There are no more auto wins, Escape Artist brings you almost to parity, and Grease can make a huge difference.For equally matched grapples, at low levels the BAB doesn't matter much.  At level 10, when two characters grapple the defender will escape almost 100% of the time if the two are equally matched fighters, 70% if one is a fighter and one is a cleric with -2 Str, 62% if one is a wizard with -4 Str.  It used to be a 50%, 33%, and 20% chance to escape.But this isn't as big a drawback as it seems, because making it easier to escape also makes it easier to do cool stuff in a grapple.  Right now escaping is the only action anyone ever takes.  But on your turn, when only you get your BAB, now you can move the grapple pretty easily.  You can retrieve a spell component, even though it costs you a round.  You can probably use the opponent's weapon against him, if you're proficient with it.  And you can do all this stuff even when you're alone or your party is pinned down.  Monte's rule doesn't help there.Appendix:Note: Pinning would be too easy this way.  Let them keep their BAB for that check.Eliminate the -20 penalty for fighting while holding something grappled.I tried out a couple other house rules before this one, but the math didn't work out:[sblock]don't add in your Str modifier to grapple checks -- just the size modifierThe owlbear gets +10 versus +5 (wins 70%), the scorpion gets +15 versus +7 (wins 77%), and the dragon gets +46 (wins always).  don't add in a size modifier, just the strength modifierhurts the owlbear, the dragon still won every time.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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