Grappling With Grappling

Busting myths in the Valley of the Iguanodons

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. Everyone’s gathered around the table, snacks and beverages in hand, dice bags spilling noisily onto the table as the Dungeon Master begins a combat scenario. Across the chamber from the party, the evil sorcerer raises his hands to casts some devilish enchantment, when the new player speaks up.

“I’m going to run up and tackle him!” It seems like a sound plan; the villain needs to maintain his concentration and the use of his hands for somatic components, both of which are impossible if he’s being RKO’d into the cobblestones. Yet, the whole table groans.

“Oh no, not again!” They cry.

“You don’t understand! The grappling rules are too hard!” They mewl.

“If you really want to, I guess we can do an opposed strength check.” The Dungeon Master quails.

In the end, the player relents, perhaps is convinced to just default to a melee attack, and the game continues in its usual, much more predictable, excruciatingly boring way.

“This is better.” They sigh.

“So much easier.” They drone.

“It was even worse in AD&D.” chortles the Dungeon Master through mouthfuls of Cheetos. “That was impossible.”

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Enter UMBROS, the tour de force of cutting edge play, and enter Grark, Human Ranger.

Grark is actually my second Ranger in UMBROS, my first being Vangor of the Mammoth Tribe. Vangor had better stats and higher health than Grark, and I had actually put time into considering his load out, meaning he had better armor and weapons too. But Vangor had been ambushed by a herd of Hasted triceratops and turned into scenery, and Grark had been created off the cuff to replace a different downed character.

Suffice to say, if you’re thinking of camping in the wilds of UMBROS, reconsider.

I had to figure out a way to get Grark to level up, or at least a cooler death. Checking the active rumors, I found that Prince Ronan was still looking for someone to bring him some Jaloks, the colloquial term for hyenadons. These critters are enormous hyena creatures, with imposing 5+2HD, and a soft spot for Good-aligned characters. I decided, fool that I am, that this would be a worthy exploit for a level 1 character.

I won’t bore you with the rest of this particular tale, as it was told so eloquently by my good friend Dunder Moose, who’s telling can be found here:

Hel Delvers Interlude - Downtime #4

What I will say is that by the power of Surprise and Grapple, Grark emerged victorious. But there was a slight problem. Dunder had made all the rolls. I understood what was going on thanks to his descriptions of the events, but not the underlying math and gameplay.

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Fast forward to today. Grark had survived and thrived long enough to train himself and another ranger to level 2, and a third ranger had joined up. The three, Grark, Brokkar, and Hurrok, had been granted land rights to the crumbling tower in the dreaded Valley of the Iguanodons as payment for the capture and taming of one of the mighty dinos. Together, they established a new order, forged from the very wilds of this strange land; the Order of the Iguanodon.

Yet, an Order without a master is like a ship without a captain. We had to determine our leader. Hurrok gave a most excellent idea. We would wrestle for it. With Ronanmania in the near future and on everyone’s mind, this would be the perfect opportunity to train.

First up was Hurrok and Grark. Grark had the height advantage over Hurrok at 6ft to Hurrok’s 5’8”, but Hurrok had been pounding back the protein and weighed in at 240lbs to Grark’s 175. Grark opened with a resounding slam, stunning Hurrok and locking him in a bear hug. Hurrok responded with a headbutt before tapping out.

Then came Brokkar. Until this point, I had no idea what Brokkar’s stats or even appearance was. His player called him “the tall,” but I had no idea how “tall” Brokkar truly was. This giant of a man clocks in at 6’9” and 250lbs! When I tallied his bonuses, he was getting an enormous +44 to his checks!

Given his higher dexterity, Brokkar was the first to throw down. His player forgot to add in his bonuses for height and weight, and refused to amend his total when I pointed out the deficiency (what a champ!), putting Grark into a headlock. I return with a natural 100, stunning him with a swift kick and following up with an armlock. If Brokkar had not just finished his training with Grark yesterday, that would have been the end! Brokkar turned around and slammed me with a stunning kick and a stranglehold, keeping me from countering due to the stun. It all came down to this roll, but even if he rolled a 01 on the %die he’d still have me in the stranglehold! Thanks to his hold, he got the initiative…

POW! Right in the kisser! Brokkar was victorious and named First Master of the Order of the Iguanodons!

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Lessons learned:

The myth that the Grappling Rules are too hard is as blown out as Grark’s jaw was on that last hit. Upon reading the rules and putting them into practice, it was not only easy; it was intuitive, it was visceral, it was cinematic, and it was INTENSE!

Let me break it down Barney Style.

• The FIRST attack goes to a) surprisers, b) chargers, c) the guy with the higher dex, OR d) the guy with the higher dice roll, in that order.

  • Subsequent initiative is determined by whoever is currently maintaining a hold.

• Determine your base score to grapple. The math here is well explained and simple from the table.

• If your grapple lands, determine your grapple bonus. The math here is deceptively simple, but the weight and height percentages can trip people up.

  • To determine these differences, take the lower number and divide it by the higher number. Grark weighs 175, Brokkar weighs 250. 175/250=0.7 or 70%, meaning Brokkar receives a +15 bonus while Grark receives a -15 penalty.

• Roll a d%, add your bonuses/penalties, consult the table.

  • If no hold has been established, the first entry is the hold that is now established. If Brokkar grapples Grark and gets a total of 75, Brokkar has placed Grark in a headlock.

    • If the opponent is not stunned, they may attempt to counter. If they roll higher than the established hold, then the opponent establishes the higher hold. If Grark counters with an 86, he overcomes Brokkar’s headlock and puts him in a stranglehold.

    • Conversely, if Grark had rolled lower, say a 53, then he would still inflict damage with a bite, which can be found on the same table separated from the holds by a double slash (//).

  • If the opponent is stunned, then not only can they not counter but the attacker gets a second attack! Roll again and consult the table, using the result from the //x side.

• If the hold has not been broken, start from the top, with whoever is currently maintaining the hold going first.

Special note: No new hold is made from subsequent grapple attacks unless the hold is broken or unless the holder wants to try for a different hold.

What we got wrong:

• In the first combat, we rolled for our initiative like a normal combat.

• We did not realize until the last round that whoever is maintaining a hold at the end of a round gets the first attack in the next round. This would have made the difference in that second round against Brokkar, since he only had a few HPs left! (Of course, if we had done it 100% correctly, Grark would have been stunned from Brokkar’s first attack!)

• We did not realize that the results are not “together.” That is to say, were you to roll a 86 you do not place a stranglehold AND do a headbutt, rather you either place the opponent in a stranglehold if a lesser or no hold has been established OR you do a headbutt if you do not overcome the opponent’s stranglehold.

In conclusion, the grappling system is both simpler and more enjoyable than advertised. It makes sense, is compelling, and is an extremely powerful tool! Now that I have a bit of practice under my belt, I am sure that Grark and his brothers of the Order of the Iguanodon will CRUSH the competition next Friday at RRRRRRONANMANIA!

Until then, I appreciate you.

Finger guns