You can stop them from moving, but you can't have the guards dogpile on you and handcuff you.
When you reduce an opponent to 0 HP, you can often describe/reflavor the defeat as desired: dead, unconscious, maimed, disarmed, subdued, pinned, handcuffed, winded, etc.
the one thing that is hard to do in 5e that previous editions seemed to cover is preventing attacking/casting spells. You can stop them from moving, but you can't have the guards dogpile on you and handcuff you. ... There is nothing in grappling or other conditions saying "I pin their arms" or "cover their mouth".
A DM could create a Monster: Guards that have a special attack action that allows them to do this. Players don't have this option unless I am mistaken.
There's no rule that says you can't pin someone's arms or cover their mouth. It should be difficult to do even with both hands free, but there's no reason for it to be impossible, especially with help. The rules explicitly allow improvising actions.
You should all think of the GRAPPLER feat and what it implies when you're discussing what Grapple can do (in the mechanics):
FEAT: GRAPPLER
Prerequisite: Strength 13 or higher.
You’ve developed the skills necessary to hold your own in close-quarters grappling. You gain the following benefits:
You have advantage on attack rolls against a creature you are grappling.
You can use your action to try to pin a creature grappled by you. To do so, make another grapple check. If you succeed, you and the creature are both restrained until the grapple ends.
the one thing that is hard to do in 5e that previous editions seemed to cover is preventing attacking/casting spells. You can stop them from moving, but you can't have the guards dogpile on you and handcuff you. ... There is nothing in grappling or other conditions saying "I pin their arms" or "cover their mouth".
A DM could create a Monster: Guards that have a special attack action that allows them to do this. Players don't have this option unless I am mistaken.
There's no rule that says you can't pin someone's arms or cover their mouth. It should be difficult to do even with both hands free, but there's no reason for it to be impossible, especially with help. The rules explicitly allow improvising actions.
IMPROVISING AN ACTION
Your character can do things not covered by the actions in this chapter, such as breaking down doors, intimidating enemies, sensing weaknesses in magical defenses, or calling for a parley with a foe. The only limits to the actions you can attempt are your imagination and your character’s ability scores. See the descriptions of the ability scores in chapter 7 for inspiration as you improvise.
When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure.
I've missed this every time I read that chapter. Thank you
Hasn't anyone ever been choked out from a back mount or at least seen a jiu jitsu competition? Ain't no way many of the locks/holds in the grappling arts could be considered anything but restrained, imvho.
My DM has allowed for a progression through conditions after multiple successful skill attempts. He's even allowed for Dex to replace Str on the attacking side if the move can be logically explained, which has made for some fabulous roleplays and thrilling bar fights. Maybe consider a round by round advancement from grappled>shoved/prone>restrained. We've even taken it so far as unconscious (choke out) in this sequence, but you really need some cooperative dice for this to be realized. Just food for thought...
In D&D terms, any kind of BJJ choke or even position would be considered grappled and restrained, at least at my table. And since every good Jiujiteiro knows the rule of thumb is position over submission, I'd say first you'd get the grapple, then restrain the opponent, then apply the choke as a form of attack.
Being very proficient in a grappling art such as BJJ could be considered as having the Grappler feat which allows you to progres the grapple to restrained and take shots at the opponent.
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Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
It works this way in my mind. Don't worry about the conditions. The dm decides if you have disadvantage. Youre grappled by an overwhelming force of enemies. Disadvantage
Don’t overthink it. Absolutely anything you want to attempt is covered by the rules. Pinning down an opponent as a group is distinctly not a grappling attack and you are covered, RAW, by:
IMPROVISING AN ACTION
Your character can do things not covered by the actions in this section, such as breaking down doors, intimidating enemies, sensing weaknesses in magical defenses, or calling for a parley with a foe. The only limits to the actions you can attempt are your imagination and your character’s ability scores. See the descriptions of the ability scores in the Using Ability Scores section for inspiration as you improvise.
When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure.
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There's no rule that says you can't pin someone's arms or cover their mouth. It should be difficult to do even with both hands free, but there's no reason for it to be impossible, especially with help. The rules explicitly allow improvising actions.
You should all think of the GRAPPLER feat and what it implies when you're discussing what Grapple can do (in the mechanics):
You’ve developed the skills necessary to hold your own in close-quarters grappling. You gain the following benefits:
Hasn't anyone ever been choked out from a back mount or at least seen a jiu jitsu competition? Ain't no way many of the locks/holds in the grappling arts could be considered anything but restrained, imvho.
https://chubejitsu.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/bjj-tips-and-concepts-developing-a-killer-back-mount/
My DM has allowed for a progression through conditions after multiple successful skill attempts. He's even allowed for Dex to replace Str on the attacking side if the move can be logically explained, which has made for some fabulous roleplays and thrilling bar fights. Maybe consider a round by round advancement from grappled>shoved/prone>restrained. We've even taken it so far as unconscious (choke out) in this sequence, but you really need some cooperative dice for this to be realized. Just food for thought...
In D&D terms, any kind of BJJ choke or even position would be considered grappled and restrained, at least at my table. And since every good Jiujiteiro knows the rule of thumb is position over submission, I'd say first you'd get the grapple, then restrain the opponent, then apply the choke as a form of attack.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
you would have the grappler feat and the choke is an unarmed strike
Being very proficient in a grappling art such as BJJ could be considered as having the Grappler feat which allows you to progres the grapple to restrained and take shots at the opponent.
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
It works this way in my mind. Don't worry about the conditions. The dm decides if you have disadvantage. Youre grappled by an overwhelming force of enemies. Disadvantage
Don’t overthink it. Absolutely anything you want to attempt is covered by the rules. Pinning down an opponent as a group is distinctly not a grappling attack and you are covered, RAW, by:
IMPROVISING AN ACTION
Your character can do things not covered by the actions in this section, such as breaking down doors, intimidating enemies, sensing weaknesses in magical defenses, or calling for a parley with a foe. The only limits to the actions you can attempt are your imagination and your character’s ability scores. See the descriptions of the ability scores in the Using Ability Scores section for inspiration as you improvise.
When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure.