Grappling with legs + arms

Sdrolion · 03-16-2010, 09:25 AM

Hey--back with another question for the forums. I know there's rules on MA pg. 79 for leg grapples and for the scissors hold, but that isn't quite what I'm looking for here.

What I'm looking for is a way to simulate the thing I think we've all probably seen in a film at least once: small guy is fighting big guy, small guy jumps up on the big guy's back, wraps his legs around the guy's chest and one arm around his neck, and starts trying to pummel him in the head with his other hand. (Or slit his throat, as the case may be). Using the legs and an arm presumably helps him hold on better, partially countering the big guy's better ST.

This isn't necessarily a "from behind" move, mind--that's just the most common example I could think of. He could also jump up on the chest from the front and do basically the same thing. Or, heck, with enough size difference a character might wrap both arms and legs around a big guy's leg and hang on for dear life while the guy tries to shake him off, just to give him some trouble moving.

(If the "one arm around the neck" makes you uncomfortable, assume he wraps the arm under or over the shoulder and around the chest instead--still a torso grapple, then. The important thing is that he's using one or two arms and two legs to grapple.)

I play a small, low-ST character in a game, and don't really plan on this being a major thing for the character (and really, I'm fine if it isn't available at all), but I thought that if it was available he might do it at some point, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about how to represent such a move.

Edit: It occurs to me that I might be overthinking this. Would it be appropriate to just rule that this uses the same rules as "Extra Arms" would (MA pg. 114), but also gives a single +2 bonus for using the legs and a single -2 to skill for using the legs? Presuming he's using both arms and both legs, that would come out to +6 to ST (+2 for each limb over 2, and +2 for using legs), and +2 to hit (+2 for each limb over 2, but -2 for using the legs). An overall +6 to ST to block the guy from breaking free is pretty huge, though--it would let my ST 9 guy act at ST 15 to oppose breaking free. Admittedly, though, trying to get someone off you when they've got both arms and both legs wrapped around you would be really hard, even if you're pretty strong. (And of course to attack with C weapons, the grappler would have to let go with one arm, losing 2 of that ST bonus...so 13 ST remaining in my case, which would be considerable benefit but not as overwhelming.)

03-16-2010, 09:25 AM	#1
Sdrolion Join Date: Jan 2009	Grappling with legs + arms Hey--back with another question for the forums. I know there's rules on MA pg. 79 for leg grapples and for the scissors hold, but that isn't quite what I'm looking for here. What I'm looking for is a way to simulate the thing I think we've all probably seen in a film at least once: small guy is fighting big guy, small guy jumps up on the big guy's back, wraps his legs around the guy's chest and one arm around his neck, and starts trying to pummel him in the head with his other hand. (Or slit his throat, as the case may be). Using the legs and an arm presumably helps him hold on better, partially countering the big guy's better ST. This isn't necessarily a "from behind" move, mind--that's just the most common example I could think of. He could also jump up on the chest from the front and do basically the same thing. Or, heck, with enough size difference a character might wrap both arms and legs around a big guy's leg and hang on for dear life while the guy tries to shake him off, just to give him some trouble moving. (If the "one arm around the neck" makes you uncomfortable, assume he wraps the arm under or over the shoulder and around the chest instead--still a torso grapple, then. The important thing is that he's using one or two arms and two legs to grapple.) I play a small, low-ST character in a game, and don't really plan on this being a major thing for the character (and really, I'm fine if it isn't available at all), but I thought that if it was available he might do it at some point, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about how to represent such a move. Edit: It occurs to me that I might be overthinking this. Would it be appropriate to just rule that this uses the same rules as "Extra Arms" would (MA pg. 114), but also gives a single +2 bonus for using the legs and a single -2 to skill for using the legs? Presuming he's using both arms and both legs, that would come out to +6 to ST (+2 for each limb over 2, and +2 for using legs), and +2 to hit (+2 for each limb over 2, but -2 for using the legs). An overall +6 to ST to block the guy from breaking free is pretty huge, though--it would let my ST 9 guy act at ST 15 to oppose breaking free. Admittedly, though, trying to get someone off you when they've got both arms and both legs wrapped around you would be really hard, even if you're pretty strong. (And of course to attack with C weapons, the grappler would have to let go with one arm, losing 2 of that ST bonus...so 13 ST remaining in my case, which would be considerable benefit but not as overwhelming.) Last edited by Sdrolion; 03-16-2010 at 09:50 AM.