Grapple
Ability Type: Attack
Related Skill: Melee Combat
Grappling is the most basic form of Wrestling Move and essentially involves grabbing hold of your opponent and doing your best to inhibit their mobility - thus preventing them from effectively fighting back.
A successful Grapple attack persists until broken (or until you release your foe) and prevents your opponent from taking any physical action except a Grapple, Throw, Escape, Hold, Headbutt, Knee or Trip. Additionally you may attempt to prevent any of these actions by making a Grapple check as though it was a Reaction. However, if you fail to prevent them, any of these actions will allow your victim to break free - although a Trip must be successful enough to knock you over in order for them to escape by using it.
Instead of defending against a counter-attack of this kind by using Grapple, you may instead simply release your victim and defend normally. If a third party attacks you, or some other event occurs that you wish to react to, you may either defend using a free limb with a -3 AM (typically only applicable if you are performing a one-handed Grapple) or end your Grapple in order to defend normally.
In order to continue a Grapple you must make a successful Grapple attack every turn, though you receive a +2 AM to this check. This check counts as an Attack and suffers from a Multiple Attack Penalty as normal if combined with other attacks in the same turn. In addition any attack you combine with your grapple must be either a Knee, Trip or Headbutt - unless you are grappling one-handed, in which case you may make any normal one-handed attack with your free hand.
When attempting to continue (or escape from) an existing grapple it is possible to rely on sheer strength instead of skill - although the initial attack to establish the Grapple must always be based on a Martial Arts check. Continuing or breaking a Grapple through strength applies your Strength x1.5 (generally Grapples are assumed to involve both hands) in place of your Dexterity + Melee Combat. Contests where one combatant relies on strength while the other relies on skill are perfectly acceptable in this context. Strength-based grappling can also be used to resist your opponent's attempts to free themselves or counter-attack, as outlined above.
Although Grapples are typically a two-handed attack, they can also be attempted using only one hand, potentially freeing the other hand for making other attacks. The initiator of a grapple can switch back and forth between a one-handed and two-handed stance during the course of a continuing grapple – but only at the start of their own turn. While using only one hand the grappler suffers a -3 AM to his attempts to establish or continue the Grapple, or to resist his foe escaping during his turn. This penalty applies only to skill-based grappling however, if pure strength is used then the character simply has to rely on their flat Strength rather than Strength x1.5 when using one hand.
