Best strategy for a boss caster

[Drache64]

My party went up against a warlock boss baddie last night, made the mistake of thinking he would take attacks of opportunity if he casted spells in close combat (silly 3.5 habits won't die). So I took a full spell point blank in the face.

I am not the damage dealer of the group, but they were tied up and I thought I might keep the boss busy. Figuring he was a bigger brain than a bicep I grappled him on the next round and was able to hold him for 4 rounds, he finally broke free on a natural 20, to which I responded by grappling him again the next round.

What would you have done? What other good ways could you keep a caster boss tied up/annoyed?

I assume the DM could prevent this in the future with Misty step or some other non-somatic spells.

[stoutstien]

My party went up against a warlock boss baddie last night, made the mistake of thinking he would take attacks of opportunity if he casted spells in close combat (silly 3.5 habits won't die). So I took a full spell point blank in the face.

I am not the damage dealer of the group, but they were tied up and I thought I might keep the boss busy. Figuring he was a bigger brain than a bicep I grappled him on the next round and was able to hold him for 4 rounds, he finally broke free on a natural 20, to which I responded by grappling him again the next round.

What would you have done? What other good ways could you keep a caster boss tied up/annoyed?

I assume the DM could prevent this in the future with Misty step or some other non-somatic spells.


What did you do for the 4 turns you had the NPC grappled?

A 20 in an ablity contest is not an auto win. If your total was higher the grapple would hold.

Escaping the grapple eats the NPCs action for 4 turn regardless was probably a huge impact.

-class?

[J-H]

Stun, sleep, counterspell, silence.

Damaging spells are usually instantaneous. The bad stuff (disables) are usually ones that require Concentration, which you are at least well-placed to break.

[Drache64]

What did you do for the 4 turns you had the NPC grappled?

A 20 in an ablity contest is not an auto win. If your total was higher the grapple would hold.

Escaping the grapple eats the NPCs action for 4 turn regardless was probably a huge impact.

-class?

DM house rules nat 1 and 20 always win vs always fail. Not really in the rules aside from attack rolls, but it keeps things spicy so I love it anyways.

And yeah, the moment he escaped I planned on grappling him anyways.

I used a non-somatic cantrip to cause damage to other things on the field, but I didn't mind simply holding the grapple if it helped the team succeed.

[stoutstien]

DM house rules nat 1 and 20 always win vs always fail. Not really in the rules aside from attack rolls, but it keeps things spicy so I love it anyways.

And yeah, the moment he escaped I planned on grappling him anyways.

I used a non-somatic cantrip to cause damage to other things on the field, but I didn't mind simply holding the grapple if it helped the team succeed.

You seemed to be a big help then. Don't forget can shove a grappled target a they are prone and have zero movement. Your Melee party members will love the Advantage. Once they break the grapple they still have to spend half their movement just to stand up.

[dragoeniex]

I'm curious why the big bad warlock kept trying to break the grapple instead of your face. Nothing about grappling prevents somatic components- it just stops the caster from moving. They can still blast and debuff away.

[Drache64]

I'm curious why the big bad warlock kept trying to break the grapple instead of your face. Nothing about grappling prevents somatic components- it just stops the caster from moving. They can still blast and debuff away.

Rules for Somatic state you must have a hand free. DM rules being grappled implies your character is restrained, thus not have a hand free.

I have great respect for this ruling and will follow suit when I DM.

[dragoeniex]

Rules for Somatic state you must have a hand free. DM rules being grappled implies your character is restrained, thus not have a hand free.

I have great respect for this ruling and will follow suit when I DM.

Restrained and Grappled are separate conditions for a reason- the former is much stronger. And certain creatures have abilities stating a hit target is both grappled and restrained, meaning these are not tied by default.

So that's one house rule. Going further, even the Restrained condition does not prevent somatic casting in any way. That's two house rules that compound for way more strength than an at-will contested action is meant to have.

If your group enjoys this tactic, that's fine. Use and abuse. But it's far from standard, and it means you've already got a bizarrely easy way to shut down casters.

Note neither Grappled nor Restrained prevent you from making an attack either; being restrained just means you have disadvantage on your to-hit. And if you can swing a dagger, you can use somatic components.

[Gignere]

Yeah given these house rules nothing really beats just grappling the caster haha. These house rules is making grappling so ridiculous that if I played I would get tavern brawler. Auto restrained on a hit sign me up this instant.