If you are grappling a creature and then you shove it prone, do you also need to go prone to continue the grapple? Or can you remain standing and still be grappling the now prone creature?
Yea they aren't linked, you can Grapple a Prone opponent while you are standing or you can Grapple a standing opponent while you are being Prone. You can even initiate a Grapple while you both are standing and then drop yourself Prone without ending the Grapple (and without making them Prone).
It can be a little hard to visualize, but keep in mind that Grappling simply means that you have one arm occupied for the task and you are preventing the target from moving. So you don't necessarily need to have someone in a bear hug or something... you could have one hand holding onto a belt loop or gripping them by the elbow. So instead of thinking of grappling a proned opponent as pinning them down, you could visualize it instead as maybe you've got a hand on one of their legs and are standing on their chest, or you have them pushed down on their chest and are holding their hands behind their back.
I have taken martial arts classes and I honestly think that if you pin them on the ground while sitting or laying on top of them should give you advantage on keeping the grapple. If this helps at all.
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if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
I have taken martial arts classes and I honestly think that if you pin them on the ground while sitting or laying on top of them should give you advantage on keeping the grapple. If this helps at all.
It is hard to narratively describe how the mechanics are working sometimes. This is one of those times.
You have them on their back and are using a single hand to keep them from crawling away/getting up, that is it. They are not pinned, holding onto a pant leg would suffice to describe the mechanics.
Holds and pins are something you can homebrew though. Maybe the difficulty of different holds modify your grapple check, negative modifiers for hold difficulty, positive modifiers for whether they are already grabbed or prone.
If they are on their stomach, you can pin them simply by keeping one leg on them. You can literally stand on them.
And that is a way to simplistic view of it. You need to consider how much/what kind of effort "you" are putting into a grapple also. The one doing the grappling is still able to attack without disadvantage, defend itself without giving away advantage and make Dex Saves without disadvantage. In short, the effort being put into the grapple is nowhere near enough to pin them. Also as the rules usually don't care about facing you can't assume the opponent is/stays on its stomach, if you wanted to make it/keep it so than I'd require extra effort if I was the DM.
If you want to do more than just restrict their movement speed then you need to impose the Restrained and for that you need the Grappler Feat. Of course that means you are also Restrained but thems the breaks.
If you are grappling a creature and then you shove it prone, do you also need to go prone to continue the grapple? Or can you remain standing and still be grappling the now prone creature?
You remain standing (or at least are not considered prone).
Yea they aren't linked, you can Grapple a Prone opponent while you are standing or you can Grapple a standing opponent while you are being Prone. You can even initiate a Grapple while you both are standing and then drop yourself Prone without ending the Grapple (and without making them Prone).
It can be a little hard to visualize, but keep in mind that Grappling simply means that you have one arm occupied for the task and you are preventing the target from moving. So you don't necessarily need to have someone in a bear hug or something... you could have one hand holding onto a belt loop or gripping them by the elbow. So instead of thinking of grappling a proned opponent as pinning them down, you could visualize it instead as maybe you've got a hand on one of their legs and are standing on their chest, or you have them pushed down on their chest and are holding their hands behind their back.
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I have taken martial arts classes and I honestly think that if you pin them on the ground while sitting or laying on top of them should give you advantage on keeping the grapple. If this helps at all.
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
It is hard to narratively describe how the mechanics are working sometimes. This is one of those times.
You have them on their back and are using a single hand to keep them from crawling away/getting up, that is it. They are not pinned, holding onto a pant leg would suffice to describe the mechanics.
Holds and pins are something you can homebrew though. Maybe the difficulty of different holds modify your grapple check, negative modifiers for hold difficulty, positive modifiers for whether they are already grabbed or prone.
If they are on their stomach, you can pin them simply by keeping one leg on them. You can literally stand on them.
And that is a way to simplistic view of it. You need to consider how much/what kind of effort "you" are putting into a grapple also. The one doing the grappling is still able to attack without disadvantage, defend itself without giving away advantage and make Dex Saves without disadvantage. In short, the effort being put into the grapple is nowhere near enough to pin them. Also as the rules usually don't care about facing you can't assume the opponent is/stays on its stomach, if you wanted to make it/keep it so than I'd require extra effort if I was the DM.
If you want to do more than just restrict their movement speed then you need to impose the Restrained and for that you need the Grappler Feat. Of course that means you are also Restrained but thems the breaks.
Thanks, everyone!