3.5 Grapple question ...

[orlondok]

Does teleportation escape a grapple?

Opinions and/or supporting game rules would be welcome ...

[NerdHut]

Well, by most of the teleportation spells, you only take yourself, items, and willing creatures. A reasonable interpretation of that would allow you to escape a grapple as long as you can get the spell off.

There may be specific exceptions, but I'd say in general, yes. And if you have means of casting the spell at the beginning of the grapple (Anklet of Translocation for example, as long as the DM isn't a stickler about the swift/immediate action distinction), you can avoid the grapple to begin with.

[Falontani]

I mean... some teleports also bring willing touched creatures. So... if the grappler is willing to follow you through the teleport I'd say that the grappler can follow. But there are a slew of teleports that are only for yourself, use one of them first.

[Kayblis]

Usually, you can choose the targets of your teleportation. If it's a targeted teleport, you can use it to flee from a grapple, provided you succeed on your Concentration check to cast it in the first place. If it's an area teleport with no target control(those are rare, but exist), it either only transports willing targets in the area or have a Will save to avoid - the first case doesn't take the grappler, and the second one only on a failed save.

As a general rule, yes, you can use teleports to get out of grapples. It's about the same as casting Freedom of Movement, although it only works for the time of casting. As FoM is a 4th level spell with a long duration, it's not broken to use lesser teleports to get out of a grapple.

[ericgrau]

Does teleportation escape a grapple?

Opinions and/or supporting game rules would be welcome ...

Of course. The rule is the spell itself. You do need to make a DC 20+SL concentration check to teleport though. And it only works because teleport spells don't have a somatic component.

Relevant rules all in the concentration skill: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/concentration.htm


I mean... some teleports also bring willing touched creatures. So... if the grappler is willing to follow you through the teleport I'd say that the grappler can follow. But there are a slew of teleports that are only for yourself, use one of them first.
That's a good point, but the grappler should pass a spellcraft check first. Otherwise, why wouldn't he resist it like any other spell?

[Mordaedil]

Isn't this the entire point of Dimension Hop, to escape grapples?

[Zombimode]

I mean... some teleports also bring willing touched creatures. So... if the grappler is willing to follow you through the teleport I'd say that the grappler can follow. But there are a slew of teleports that are only for yourself, use one of them first.

Touching is a necessary requirement for trageting touch spells, not a sufficient one. The caster still needs to actually select the targets.

[RaiKirah]

If the grappler has 4 levels of Hellbreaker he/she can attempt to follow your teleport regardless

[Lapak]

Now I am envisioning a weaponized Benign Transposition where the hapless goon who successfully grappled the enemy mage and was on top of the world is suddenly grappling a raging barbarian in spiked armor. Who is also on fire.