Translating High Gygaxian: Unarmed Combat (part 2 - Grappling)

In the previous post we worked through a single round of combat where a ranger (Falim) was striking (Pummeling) a bugbear. The second component of Unarmed Combat is grappling. In this example we will be using a generic human fighter by the name of Baran who is a 3rd level fighter wearing chain mail armor, carrying a shield, and wielding a hand axe (all non-magical). This fighter has a 16 Strength, 10 Dexterity, 14 Constitution, and 15 hit points. His Armor Class is 4. His adversary is a hobgoblin lieutenant (AC 5, MV 9", HD 1+1, hp 9, AT 1, D 1-8 or by morning star, SZ M). During the battle, the hobgoblin was disarmed somehow, losing his weapon and shield. Unarmed, and now AC 6 (scale mail), the hobgoblin has opted to grapple his opponent, the fighter Baran.

Grapple: This attack form is aimed at holding the opponent and rendering him or her helpless. Damage sustained is 25% actual and 75% incidental which is restored at 1 hit point per round. As in pummeling attacks, a score of 0 equals unconsciousness, 1 round plus 1 round for each point of minus damage sustained.

 So far, this is looking just like pummeling, so let's continue...

Determination of First Attack Initiative: Surprise, charging to attack, higher dexterity, higher die roll -- in that order.

Again this is exactly the same as pummeling, so the DM doesn't have to worry about any different rules here. Since the combat was already in progress, we don't have to worry about surprise, and the two combatants were already in melee range so charging is not an option. The DM decides to see what the hobgoblin's Dexterity is by rolling 3d6 -- result = 8, so Baran has the higher Dexterity score and will go first. However, Baran is still ARMED with his hand axe, so according to the general notes at the end of the section (see last post) Baran gets a fending strike first and if successful can then attack normally BEFORE the grapple attempt.

So let's see if the hobgoblin even gets to grapple this round. Baran rolls to hit with his hand axe vs. AC type 6 (remember, the hobgob lost his shield and thus should be 1 AC worse). He has no adjustments for Weapon vs. Armor Class and rolls a 12 which is just enough to hit the hobgoblin. He scores NO damage, but has successfully fended off the grapple this round and can now attack again. Baran rolls a 6 and misses. So that round is done.

On the second round, Baran strikes first again since he is still armed. His fending strike scores a 9 which is not enough. The hobgoblin sees his chance and lunges! At his point the attacker (hobgoblin) has to determine his attack bonus, and Baran has to determine his defender bonus. The hobgoblin attacks on the 4th column on the monster chart, so his base grapple bonus is +4. To this he adds a d6 roll (5), so his attack bonus is +9 which he will add to his base chance to hit. Baran attacks on the 3rd column of the fighter chart, so his base grapple bonus is +3 to which he adds a d4 roll (1), so his defense bonus is +4, which he will use to avoid being grappled by reducing his opponent's base chance to hit. (See previous explanation in part 1 for attack and defense bonuses.) So on this round, the hobgoblin's base chance to hit is the only thing modified, and this will be (9-4 =) +5 to base chance of grappling.

Base Score to Grapple: Multiply attacker's armor class by 10, ignoring magical devices (bracers, cloaks, rings, etc.), but adding 1 for each +1 of magical armor, to find a percentage change from 100% to 0%. Note: The attacker cannot grapple if either or both hands are holding anything. The base chance to grapple is modified as follows:

Attacker's dexterity, per point....+1%
Defender's armor protection is --
   leather or padded.... +10%
   chain, ring, scale.... +20%
   banded, plate, splint.... +30%
Opponent slowed or stunned....+20%
Opponent base movement 3" faster.... -10% per 3"
Opponent hasted (includes speed potion).... -20%

Hmm, now things are getting complicated. The hobgoblin's AC = 6 currently, so his base chance is 60%. He is not carrying any magical items and both his hands are free since he discarded both his shield and morning star. The hobgoblin's Dex was already determined to be an 8, so he adds +8%, Baran is wearing chain mail so that's another +20%, and they both have the same movement rate, so no adjustment there. The base chance is modified by attack and defense bonuses to be +5% (see above). The total base chance for the hobgoblin to hit is (60 + 8 + 20 +5 = ) 93%!

In each round of grappling combat there will be an attack and a counter. Any existing hold automatically goes first until broken. Once it is determined that a grappling attack succeeds, the percentile dice must be rolled again to find what hold is gained. The dice roll is modified as follows:

Attacker's dexterity, per point.... +1%
Attacker's strength --
   per point.... +1%
   per 10% over 18.... +1%
Opponent slowed.... +10%
Opponent stunned.... +20%
Opponent helpless.... +30%
Per 10% weight difference (attacker).... +/-5%
Per 10% height difference* (attacker).... +/-5%
Opponent dexterity, per point over 14.... -2%
Opponent strength --
   per point over 12.... -1%
   per 10% over 18.... -1%
Opponent wearing banded or plate mail.... -10%
Opponent wearing gorget and helmet.... -10%
Opponent using shield.... -10%

* Halved if prone.

Bonuses and penalties are totalled and the result added to the result of the percentile dice roll. The GRAPPLING TABLE is then consulted for the result.

And this is where this system begins to bog down! OK, let's get our math caps on. Let's see first if our hobgoblin hit his base chance. A roll of 18 on percentile dice indicates that he succeeds! Now we have to determine modifiers so we can see what kind of hold was achieved. The hobgoblin's dexterity is 8, so +8%. His strength is not determined -- average strength of a hobgoblin per DMG p.15 is 15, so he gets an additional +15%. The fighter Baran is not slowed, stunned or helpless. The hobgoblin is an average specimen standing 6½' tall, whereas Baran was determined to be only 6' tall. Assuming that the hobgoblin weighs more by at least 10%, he will get +5% for weight, and since he is taller, but not by 7 inches or more, there is no adjustment for height. Baran's Dexterity of 10 doesn't help here, but his 16 strength will cause a -4%. He wears a basinet helm and has a shield so that is another -20% total. (By the way, a gorget is a piece of armor designed to protect the throat and neck.) So the total percentage modifier is (8 + 15 + 5 - 4 - 20 = ) +4%. Since none of the combatants opted to affect the damage roll with their variable bonuses, this stands at +4%. Percentile dice are rolled and modified, resulting in a total of (54 + 4 =) 58%.

GRAPPLING TABLE

Adj. Dice Score	Result	hp of Dmg Scored
Under 21	Waist clinch, opponent may counter	None
21-40	Arm lock// forearm/elbow smash	1 + Str bonus
41-55	Hand/finger lock// bite	2 + Str bonus
56-70	Bear hug/trip	3 + Str bonus
71-85	Headlock// flip or throw	5 + Str bonus
86-95	Strangle hold// head butt	6 + Str bonus
Over 95	Kick/knee/gouge	8 + Str bonus, opponent stunned

Any hold shown remains in effect from round to round unless the opponent scores a higher percentage hold, i.e. arm lock breaks a waist clinch, a hand/finger lock breaks an arm lock, and so forth. Damage accrues until a hold is broken or until the holder elects to try for a different hold. The opponent may still inflict damage by lesser hold results shown after the double slashes (//). These might result in both opponents falling to the ground and continuing their grapple there. Note: If the opponent is stunned, a second attack may immediately be made, and the stunned opponent cannot counter for 1 round.

According to the table above, the hobgoblin scored a "bear hug" and caused 3 points of damage (since he has no strength bonus to damage). He will be able to maintain that hold until next round since Baran tried to fend off first, and missed. At the beginning of the next round they are considered grappled, and the hobgoblin goes first, maintaining the bear hug and causing 3 more points of damage.

Baran now tries to counter, but must use grappling to free himself since his weapon is fairly useless while in a bear hug. He must score a 71% or higher in order to break the bear hug. Otherwise he causes the lesser result after the double slashes and the resulting damage. Baran's base chance to hit is 70%. This round his attack bonus is +8% and the hobgoblin has a +8% defense bonus. Since damage is such an important factor here both decide to modify the damage result, resulting in a 0% modifier. The roll to hit succeeds with a roll of 57%. The damage roll is modified as follows: Dex +10%, Str +16%, weight -5%, opponent Str -3%, opponent helmed -10% = +8% . Baran rolls a total of (28 + 8 =) 36%. His result is a forearm/elbow smash, he causes 2 points to the hobgoblin (1+1 from strength), but is still caught in the hold.

There is no information given stating what happens to the armed opponent once grappled. Can they use weapons? What about their shield? In this case, the bear hug pretty much means that the arms are pinned against the body, possibly from the hobgoblin slipping in behind the fighter and clinching around the chest and shoulders. Should Baran be able to chop at his legs? I would say maybe, but he is considered partially bound and should suffer -4 to hit, probably lose any Strength bonuses to hit AND damage since he can't properly swing his weapon, and perhaps even suffer a penalty to damage if the weapon is large and must be swung for effect (such as swords, axes, etc.). Long weapons like spears and pole arms would be useless when grappled, but a dagger could be used to great effect by stabbing at the foe with short strikes. Obviously, this is more incentive to always carry a dagger! Either way, if the hold is NOT broken (by either the attacker or the defender), the hold will be maintained and automatic damage done each round before a counter can be made. This could be dangerous to Baran since he only has 15 hit points and has already lost 6 before he is allowed to counter the hold. He would only have 3 more rounds to succeed at countering before passing out! A DM may decide that Baran has to drop his weapon and his shield in order to counter the hold or continue to take damage and strike ineffectively with his axe.

Should incidental damage by recovered DURING the grapple? This is not clear. If so, then Baran would be taking 1 actual damage for every 4 points scored, and recovering 1 point of incidental damage each round. This could really draw out fights between experienced/high HD combatants! My gut feeling tells me that this should NOT be the case, and that hit points should only be recovered once the fighting has ended, but I may be wrong! The latter way will allow a person to recover up to 10 hit points each turn of rest, with 25% of the damage remaining until it can be healed either naturally or by magical means. This seems more in line with the way the system works, so I would go with this interpretation. Otherwise, the tactic of "wearing down" one's foe by constantly attacking means nothing!

This ends the example of grappling. Look for the last article on Overbearing, coming soon!