Progressive Grappling Homebrew

[Ben Cummings]

Like many other people I have talked to, I find the Grappling rules in 5e to be unsatisfying. It feels like grappling amounts to grabbing a tiger by its tail, or an orc by their shirt collar, doing little prevent the target from doing anything but move, and being able to pull them around like some old school teacher grabbing an unruly child by their ear.

In this homebrew, my goal is to expand the options in grappling to bring it more in line with martial arts (like judo and jui jitsu) without expanding or heavily modifying the core rules, and to make grappling a high stakes endeavor that occurs over multiple actions (hence the Progressive in the title).

I will be posting text from the SRD in blue, with my edits or additions in red. Comments and suggestions encouraged.

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Grappling
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When you want to grab a creature or wrestle with it, you can use the Attack action to make a Special melee Attack, a grapple. If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this Attack replaces one of them.

The target of your grapple must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. Using at least one free hand, you try to seize the target by making a grapple check instead of an Attack roll: a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). If you succeed, you subject the target to the Grappled condition (see Conditions ). The condition specifies the things that end it, and you can release the target whenever you like (no action required).

Escaping a Grapple: A Grappled creature can use its action to escape. To do so, it must succeed on a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by your Strength (Athletics) check.

Moving a Grappled Creature: When you move, you can drag or carry the Grappled creature with you, but your speed is halved, unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller than you.

Progressing a Grapple: If you are Grappling a creature, you may make another grapple attempt (you do not need another free hand) to either throw the target Prone, or to Restrain the target.

Throw: If grappling a target that is not prone, you may take the grapple action to knock the target prone. If you succeed at the grapple check, you may immediately end your grapple. If you do not end your grapple, you also end up prone in the same space as the target. If you fail at this grapple check, your target does not escape, but you fail to knock the target prone.

Restrain: If you are grappling a target, you may take the grapple action to attempt to restrain the target. If you succeed, the target is now restrained, but you are also grappled by the target. If you fail at this grapple check, your target does not escape, but you fail to restrain the target. If you are grappling a target that is restrained, you may use an action to attempt to grapple and incapacitate the target.

Incapacitate: If you are grappling a restrained target, you may take the grapple action to attempt to incapacitate the target. If you succeed, the target is now incapacitated, but you are also restrained and grappled by the target. If you fail at this grapple check, your target does not escape, but you fail to incapacitate the target. A creature incapacitated through grappling can only perform an action to attempt to escape from the grapple. If the creature that is incapacitated and grappled successfully escapes from the grapple, it is no longer incapacitated, but becomes restrained and is still grappled.


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Restrained
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Restrained
-A restrained creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed.
-Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s Attack rolls have disadvantage. A Restrained creature can use Light weapon, Unarmed, and Natural attacks against a creature it is grappling without disadvantage.
-The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity Saving Throws.
-When a creature that is grappled and restrained successfully escapes from a grapple, it is no longer restrained and can choose to no longer be grappled. If the creature is no longer grappled, it is also no longer grappling the creature it escaped from.

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Incapacitated
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-An incapacitated creature can’t take Actions or Reactions.

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Grappler
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Prerequisite: Strength 13 or higher

You’ve developed the Skills necessary to hold your own in close-quarters Grappling. You gain the following benefits:

-You have advantage on Attack rolls against a creature you are Grappling.
-If you are grappling a creature or are grappled, you may use a Bonus Action to either progress the grapple, or to attempt to escape from the grapple.

I haven't play tested this at all yet, but let me know what you think and if anything could be improved or better worded.

[Composer99]

Most of it's probably fine? You're committing to using three attacks, which is a lot of damage to give up, to get someone incapacitated.

Also, I don't really see that you need to give restrained creatures the ability to attack their grapplers without disadvantage.

I would, however, suggest not adding the additional text to the incapacitated condition. That condition is linked to several other conditions, such as paralysed, unconscious, and stunned.

Instead, in the text describing how you can incapacitate a target in the revised grappling text can mention how "a target incapacitated by this effect can still use its action to attempt to escape [add rules text as required]". With the "specific beats general" nature of the rules, that added effect adds a specific exception to being incapacitated where you want it, instead of causing it to apply to any effect that can incapacitate creatures.

[Ben Cummings]

Most of it's probably fine? You're committing to using three attacks, which is a lot of damage to give up, to get someone incapacitated.

Definitely. I didn't want to change grappling in a way that makes it particularly better or worse, just to give more options to players and myself as the DM. I find that it's much more satisfying when a character can pull off a slick move, like slipping by the guards' reach to catch the wizard in a choke hold before they can get a spell off, than just bumping stat blocks against each other until one dies.


Also, I don't really see that you need to give restrained creatures the ability to attack their grapplers without disadvantage.

I have that in there for 2 purposes. First, as I have it written, when a grappler transitions to Incapacitating the target, they become Restrained. This is to represent tying someone up in your guard, or locking up a choke hold. I want the aggressor to be able to effectively deal damage, though that may involve reworking my original thoughts a bit.


I would, however, suggest not adding the additional text to the incapacitated condition. That condition is linked to several other conditions, such as paralysed, unconscious, and stunned.

Instead, in the text describing how you can incapacitate a target in the revised grappling text can mention how "a target incapacitated by this effect can still use its action to attempt to escape [add rules text as required]". With the "specific beats general" nature of the rules, that added effect adds a specific exception to being incapacitated where you want it, instead of causing it to apply to any effect that can incapacitate creatures.

Good point. The way I had it written, if someone wanted to get real literal, could justify an unconscious character attempting to wake up so long as they're are grappled. I will have to fix that.

[Hjkryan2007]

This is a great addition to grappling rules!