[Basic] Advantage of the Week (#29): Constriction Attack

[Otaku]

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Basic

Constriction Attack (p. B4) is an Exotic, Physical trait that costs 15 CP. It improves your capacity for injuring an opponent after successfully grappling them. Normally you must have grappled a foe by the neck unless you have a larger Size Modifier, in which case you may crush your foe’s torso instead (p. B370-371). This is resolved as a Quick Contest between your ST versus your victim’s ST or HT, inflicting damage equal to the margin of success if crushing your foe by the torso or multiplied by 1.5 if targeting the neck. In the case of crushing an opponent’s torso, you would normally face a -5 penalty to the roll, but Constriction Attack eliminates the penalty and allows you to try this trick on foes with the same SM as you or less, instead of just those with a smaller SM. They may also begin to suffocate as well. Constriction Attack is required if a character wishes to crush with someone other than your arms, though it is not required. The examples given in the write-up are a python and a bear.

Other Supplements

Powers page 45 mentions a few other body types that could make use of this trait, plus includes an Enhancement (Engulfing) for Constriction Attack as well. It also emphasizes that the hands-free strangulation option is most likely the selling point for the trait. The Constricting (p. P43) Enhancement allows Binding to make a Constriction Attack. I lack any other supplements that mention Constriction, but as usual, if someone wants to give me a title and page reference, I’ll edit them in here later.

Useful Links

To be added later if someone finds them; I struck out with an admittedly brief search.

[Refplace]

Constriction Attack is also mentioned in Technical Grappling.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by Refplace

Constriction Attack is also mentioned in Technical Grappling.

That makes sense, but brings up two additional questions:

1) Can I get an exact page reference? If it comes up multiple times then just let me know and I'll list the supplement without one.

2) What about GURPS Martial Arts? That is the book prior to Technical Grappling, right?

[simply Nathan]

I once made an alien race in GURPS Space. It was a cat-sized quadrupedal carnivore with bad eyesight and a constrictor tail.

Poor thing couldn't kill 1 HP mouse-like prey properly because the ST 1 creature was resisting the ST 4 creature's constriction attack with its HT 10. And many, many animals in GURPS have HT in the 11-13 range, can't even think of any monster stat blocks with HT 9 or lower.

That said I like this Advantage because it's the only version of grappling I've ever been able to wrap my head around how it functions. The grappling rules in GURPS as well as all other systems I've seen make me zone out when I try to parse them so I just ignore their existence for anything that doesn't have this Advantage.

Allowing HT to resist it is a design mistake though. HT to deal with the suffocation aspect sure, but not HT to resist the being physically squeezed until you break part. It's bad from both a gamist and simulationist perspective.

[mhd]

Originally Posted by Refplace

Constriction Attack is also mentioned in Technical Grappling.

Yeah, where it gets a bit more confusing, duo to the CP as damage limit mechanic. Should I alternate between (re-)gaining CP with a grapple roll and bear hugs/chokes? How risky are snakes with their CPs?

(I'd really like to see an "Animal TG" article (or blog posts). How wolf packs drag down their targets turn by turn, how to get mauled by a lion, etc.)


BTW:
Martial Arts 117 says that without Constriction Attack, you get a -5 in a Bear Hug maneuver.

TG 6 allows creatures that are Double-Jointed and have CA to grapple with only their torso.
TG 27 let's you double your Control Point result with a constriction attack.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by mhd

BTW:
Martial Arts 117 says that without Constriction Attack, you get a -5 in a Bear Hug maneuver.

With slightly different wording, this is in Basic (and the first post) as well. ;)

Originally Posted by mhd

TG 6 allows creatures that are Double-Jointed and have CA to grapple with only their torso.

Huh, I am not sure about this one, though... I thought it just required Constriction Attack. Requiring Double Jointed makes more sense, though as I thought it was a raw deal that a "bear hugger" style Constriction Attack paid the same as a "hands-free" Constriction Attack such as with a serpentine body. Thanks!

[Fossilized Rappy]

In GURPS Third Edition, there was an ability not unlike D&D's Swallow Whole that was made with Webbing (what we'd now call Binding) with the -50% limitation "Damage to the 'webbing' is taken by the user".

I wonder if it might be more useful to have Constriction Attack with Engulfing to replicate this sort of ability in 4E, as it bypasses needing to have any modifier for what part takes damage.

[dripton]

I've never had a PC take this, but it comes up in monster builds. I've never used Technical Grappling, but with the basic rules it's not super powerful against a party of PCs. (It's better against a lone PC, or if the big snake has huge ST.)

What happens is the big snake grabs one victim, starts doing damage, and then all the players freak out at their comrade's imminent demise and gang up on the big snake. A big snake attacked by an entire mob of PCs tends to die quickly.