Grapple (Gambit)

Grapple (difficulty 2): The character seizes her opponent in a clinch, limiting his movement and gaining the opportunity to do truly severe damage.

## Initiating a Grapple

Upon succeeding at the gambit, the grappler makes a **control roll**, which determines how long she can keep the grapple locked on. This is an opposed (Strength + [Brawl or Martial Arts]) roll between the grappler and her target.

Should the target win or tie, then the target escapes the grapple on his next turn. Should the martial artist win, she gains control of the grapple during her current turn, and for a number of additional rounds equal to the number of successes by which she beat her target. After those turns elapse, the grappled target automatically escapes the grapple. A grapple will also immediately end if the grappler suffers Initiative Crash .

## While Grappling

While grappling or being grappled, both characters suffer a -2 penalty to their Defense and cannot perform flurries.

Victims caught in a grapple cannot take movement actions, and suffer a -1 penalty to all attacks, or a -3 penalty to all attacks using two-handed weapons.

## Attacking and Damaging the Grappler

Each time the grappler suffers an attack and / or damagefrom any source, she forfeits one turn of control of the grapple. For example, a wrestler who clinches an opponentand wins the control roll by a margin of 5 successes will maintain control for 5 additional turns. In that same round,she is attacked twice; one attack misses, while the other inflicts 3 points of Initiative damage. Because she was attacked twice and damaged once, she forfeits three turns of control — the victim will now escape after only 2 turns.

## Clinch Options

During each turn in which the grappler maintains the clinch, **including the turn on which she initiates it**, she must choose to apply one of the following effects: she may *savage* the opponent, *restrain and drag* him, or *throw* him. She mayalso *release* him at any time.

She can take no other movement or combat actions so long as the grapple persists.

### Savage

The grappler injures her opponent, choking him,wrenching his limbs, stretching his joints, or bashing himinto nearby scenery. The savage action applies withering or decisive damage to the grappled opponent without chance of failure or opportunity for defense. If the grappler chooses to inflict withering damage, she makes an unarmed attack roll against Defense 0 for the purpose ofdetermining extra damage. Again, this attack hits the opponent automatically, even if the character generates 0 successes on the attack roll. With a decisive attack, no attack roll is necessary — just roll Initiative, apply damage, and reset to base as usual.

### Restrain / Drag

This action uses up two rounds of control,and can’t be used if the victim wins the control roll. The attacker locks the victim up in an immobilizing hold. This inflicts no damage, but prevents the victim from taking any action at all on his next turn. While restraining her opponent, the character may take a movement action, and in doing so, drag the victim with her. This might be used for abductions, to haul a target out from behind cover, or perhaps even to drag an individual into an area that is harmful to the victim but harmless to the attacker (suchas a Water Aspect Dragon-Blooded pulling an opponent into a river to drown him).

### Throw / Slam

The grappler ends the clinch prematurely, slamming the victim into the ground or a nearby surface within close range. This inflicts damage in the same fashion as savaging the opponent, with the following difference: the attack’s damage dice pool is boosted by 2 dice per turn of control forfeited by ending the clinch prematurely if withering, or by 1 die per turn if decisive.The opponent is left prone by this maneuver. A throw/slam maneuver can only benefit from a maximum of up to (Strength) turns of control forfeited; any greater number of turns are simply lost with no benefit. Decisive slams normally inflict bashing damage but can inflict lethal damage if the chosen impact point is particularly deadly (such as into a bonfire, or onto a spike).

### Release

The attacker simply releases the clinched victimwithout harming her. Release is a reflexive action ratherthan a combat action, and may be performed at any time.