Locks

Characters who become locked suffer one of the following effects, chosen by the character who achieved the lock:

· Throw: The attacker literally throws the defender through the air. The defender lands, prone, 1 or 2 squares away in any direction the attacker chooses. The defender suffers 1d4 points of damage unless he lands on a soft, yielding surface, but is freed from the attacker’s grasp. Defenders thrown onto particularly hard and unyielding surfaces, such as solid stone floors or walls, take 1d4+1 points of damage. If the defender is thrown into another creature, immediately conduct an overbearing attack against the creature struck using the attacker’s Strength score and the thrown creature’s size. If the defender is thrown into a hazardous area, such as a pool of burning oil or a set of sharp spikes, he takes additional damage from the hazard, just as though he has stepped or fallen into it. Hazards usually inflict normal (not temporary) damage. Defenders at least two size classes larger than their attackers cannot be thrown. Treat the throw as a takedown. If the defender is the same size or smaller than the attacker, the attacker can make a half move before throwing his opponent.

· Takedown: The attacker makes the defender fall to the ground in the combat square. The defender suffers 1d3 points of damage and remains in the attacker’s grasp.

· Slam: The attacker hurls the defender violently to the ground in the combat square. The lock automatically becomes a hold and the victim breaks free if he rolls a successful saving throw vs. breath weapon. The defender suffers 1d8 points of damage in any case. The defender suffers 1d8+1 points of damage if slammed into solid ground, and the appropriate amount of damage is inflicted if the defender is slammed into hazardous ground. Defenders at least two size classes larger than their attackers cannot be slammed. Treat the slam as a takedown.

· Press: The attacker squeezes or twists some part of the victim’s body, inflicting damage. The victim remains in the attacker’s grasp and suffers 1d6+1 points of damage. If the attacker repeats the press on his next action phase, the damage bonus increase to +2 and continues to increase if the attacker can repeat the press without interruption. A press repeated through five consecutive attacks would inflict 1d6+5 points of damage during the fifth attack.

· Hammer: The attacker pummels the defender or pounds his body against something. The defender suffers 1d2 points of damage and must roll a successful saving throw vs. death or be knocked unconscious for 3d10 combat rounds. There is no adjustment to the roll as there is in a pummeling attack and no damage adjustment for items the attacker holds or wears on his hands.

· Manipulate: The attacker takes control over the defender’s body. The attacker can pry items out of the defender’s grasp, remove exposed equipment from the defender’s body, bind the defender’s limbs, negate one of the defender’s natural attacks, or inhibit the defender’s actions in other ways at the DM’s discretion. The defender suffers 1d2 points of damage from the attacker’s manhandling.

The attacker can remove one item or bind one limb with a manacle in one attack phase. It takes two attack phases to tie a limb with rope. If in doubt about the attacker’s ability to remove an item, allow the attacker to make an open doors or bend bars roll to perform the action. For example, removing a helmet from a struggling hobgoblin would require an open doors roll. Removing a helmet from a struggling storm giant would require a bend bars roll.

It is often possible to maintain a manipulation while performing a press or takedown. If the defender wins an opposed roll while multiple locks are established, all of them are broken.

· Carry: The attacker lifts the defender into the air and makes a normal move. The defender’s weight (and the weight of the defender’s equipment) is added to the attacker’s encumbrance rating. The attacker cannot choose this lock if the defender’s total weight (with equipment) equals or exceeds the attacker’s maximum press values (see PHB, Chapter 1).

Table of Contents