is there a way to allow intelligent armors to grapple their wielder by raw?

[SangoProduction]

The title says it all. Ignore the "DM has free reign" rule 0, and the curses, which are essentially rule 0 as well. Is there any way that any armor could grapple the wielder? Would you have to give it a strength score? Would it get a bonus for being already attached? Are there any rules on this.

Perhaps giving it a way to cast spells such as Hold Person would work, but is there a way to do that by RAW?

EDIT: perhaps in the case of when the wielder is being dominated or charmed by an enemy, to protect them? or something like that

[Necroticplague]

Nope. Intelligent items don't have physical ability scores, and are thus immobile on two levels.

[Urpriest]

Pretty sure there's no time this would come up. If the item and the wearer are opposed, there's an Ego check. If the item wins, the wearer has to obey the item. If the wearer wins, the item has to obey the player. Either way, nobody has to grapple anybody.

Unless you want a wearer to intentionally order their armor to grapple them?

[SangoProduction]

Pretty sure there's no time this would come up. If the item and the wearer are opposed, there's an Ego check. If the item wins, the wearer has to obey the item. If the wearer wins, the item has to obey the player. Either way, nobody has to grapple anybody.

Unless you want a wearer to intentionally order their armor to grapple them?

Actually, yes, the idea that an item familiar could grapple the wielder in the case of some sort of external control sparked the question. I'll put that into the OP. (I actually forgot why I was asking, simply that I was asking.)

[Lightlawbliss]

But in that case, the user has to be in control to give that order so they will be in control when they are dominated and able to just order the item to stop.

[Urpriest]

Actually, yes, the idea that an item familiar could grapple the wielder in the case of some sort of external control sparked the question. I'll put that into the OP. (I actually forgot why I was asking, simply that I was asking.)

Ooh interesting.

There are two ways I would handle this: one if I was trying to stay entirely within the RAW, and the other if I wanted to fill in gaps with some light homebrew.

Strictly by RAW, dominance lasts until either 24 hours have passed, or a critical event occurs. Critical events are intentionally left unspecified, but the PC coming under another's control seems like it should qualify. As such, I'd have a new Ego check occur, with the results determining whether the wearer or the newly dominant item is in control. While this might seem overpowered, it's analogous to the high-ish-op tactic of letting someone else dominate you so that there's an opposed Charisma check whenever you are ordered to do something your pre-designated controller disagrees with.

The other way to think about this is to notice that there really isn't much detail in the rules about how an item that gains dominance actually asserts its will. Is it like dominate person? The description makes it sound like the item doesn't take complete control, but can do "item-ish" things to compel the person to do what it wants, like falling from their hand. In those terms, it might be plausible to homebrew mechanics for this, to fill the vacuum in the rules. An appropriate number for an armor's grapple check would probably be its caster level plus one of its mental ability scores (Charisma seems appropriate), with a size modifier according to the size of the wearer.