A Couple Grappling Questions

[Lousgameswin]

Hi all,

I'm running a BRP game where one player is focusing their character's fighting style on brutal grapples (we're playing The Green monograph and he's one of the Mamprusi, so he's got the strength and size to back it up).

I'm reading over the grapple rules and have a few questions that seem a bit ambiguous in the big gold book:

1. After initiating a successful grapple, you can perform a grapple manuver on your next turn. You also need to make a successful grapple check each round to maintain the grapple. When does that check occur - before or after your grapple manuver? If it's before then you need two successful turns in a row to do anything, if it's after then you could potentially immobilize the target but drop the grapple on the same turn.

2. In a grapple, the target is allowed to fight back with unarmed strikes, a small weapon, or their own grapple check (free hands permitting). If the target succeeds their own grapple check, what does that do? Do they turn the tide of the grapple, making the initiator the victim, do they both get a chance to perform a grapple manuver next turn, do they just escape the grapple at that point?

3. I'm assuming you can't dodge or parry while participating in a grapple, but I can't find any information on this.

Thanks for your help

[KPhan2121]

1. The grapple check occurs before your grapple maneuver. The roll is to successfully maintain the grapple on them. If that roll fails, then the grapple is broken.

2. Yes, when you grapple you can choose what body part you are grappling against. If you grapple on one of their arms, they can't grapple back. If both their hands are free, then they can grapple back. When that happens, the initiator can block the grapple with his own grapple skill. However, if the block fails then the grapple is reversed against the initiator. The guy who reversed the grapple had to maintain the hold the next turn to do any grapple effects. The way to escape the grapple is if the hold is broken, by a failed grapple maintain check or some of the grapple effects giving the grappled dude a chance to escape.

3. There is no rule for this. However, I allow parrying but not dodging. My ruling is that if you can attack, you can also parry. (This is from the perspective of the guy being grappled.) For the guy who is doing the grapple, I allow dodging but not parrying. Since grappling requires both of their hands, he can't parry any outside attacks. However, he can dodge on the condition that the grab is immediately broken. One thing I did allow once was using the grappled dude as a shield from outside attacks. the player made difficult grapple check followed by a Str/Dex vs Str/Dex Resistance Check to push/pull the grappled guy in the way of an attack.

In the end, BRP is a very open-ended game. Once you familiarized yourself with the mechanics, you can just make a GM judgement call on the spot if something arises.

[Lousgameswin]

Thanks for the clarification. My favorite part of BRP is how open ended and flexible the system is - I just wanted to be sure I had a handle on how it suggests handling grapples before I make judgement calls.