.: Help for grapple

The grapple command attempts to lock your opponent in a grappling
hold. Grappled foes are restrained: they cannot flee, their attacks
and defenses are penalised, and your knee special becomes
available.

━━━ Grapple Positions ━━━

A grapple isn't a single state — it develops through positions as
the struggle shifts. Standing grapples (Clinch, BackStanding) are
closer quarters than a normal fight. Ground grapples (Mount,
Guard, Side Control, etc.) are tighter still.

Each round of a grapple resolves to one of five outcomes:

  Hold      Neither side gains ground; both fighters drain stamina
            trading effort for nothing.

  Advance   You move to a more dominant position — closer to
            the top, or taking the back.

  Degrade   You slip to a less dominant position; your opponent
            has gained ground on you.

  Reversal  Your opponent takes over the controlling position
            entirely.

  Escape    The grapple breaks; both fighters return to standing.

Dominant positions like the Mount are striking apexes — the longer
you hold one, the harder you can work your opponent. Taking the
back (BackMount) requires a decisive advance. Submission attempts
fire independently when you're decisively winning a round, from
whatever position you currently hold.

━━━ What Decides Each Round ━━━

A grapple round resolves through an opposed contest of fitness and
technique. Several things tilt the contest:

  Unarmed Combat skill: the biggest single factor.
            Trained grapplers reliably beat untrained ones of
            similar build.

  Strength: the primary stat for controlling and
            holding positions.

  Dexterity: a secondary stat for setups, framing,
            and scrambling.

  Initiative: the side that started the grapple has
            a small edge that round — they picked the moment.

  Stamina: a gassed grappler is dramatically worse.
            Long grapples favor whoever paces themselves.

  Encumbrance: carrying too much weight hurts both
            sides of a grapple.

Heavy armor doesn't directly help you escape — it just costs you
more stamina to fight while wearing it.

━━━ Weapon Reach in Grapples ━━━

Long weapons become a liability when you're grappling. In a clinch
or mount, a sword or spear can't be swung freely — the haft catches
your own body. The weapon's pommel or hilt still lands for reduced
damage, and your combat narration shifts to reflect it.

  - Short weapons (daggers, fists, claws):
    Remain fully effective in any grapple.
  - Medium weapons (swords, axes):
    Penalised in ground grapples; partial penalty in clinch.
  - Long weapons (spears, polearms, staves):
    Severely penalised in all grapple positions.

Carrying a dagger in your offhand is a sound counter to grapplers —
it will swing at full damage while a main-hand sword is hampered.

━━━ Fighting From Position ━━━

Position dominates the math of in-grapple combat:

  Striking down: attacking from a dominant
            position (mount, side control, back mount) is
            substantially easier than swinging from standing.

  Striking back: trying to hit your opponent
            while pinned is much harder. The worst positions —
            crucifix, back mount, full mount — leave you barely
            able to swing.

  Outside the fight: a third party attacking
            either grappler finds them easier to hit. Two
            grapplers locked together pay less attention to
            their surroundings.

  Outside hits disrupt: if a third party
            damages a grappler who's holding position, that
            grappler's grip loosens. Enough outside damage will
            eventually break a hold.

  Submissions are fragile: a hard hit from
            outside the grapple while you're applying a
            submission will break the attempt and leave you
            worse off than when you started.

━━━ What You Can't Do While Grappled ━━━

Both hands are committed when you're grappling:

  - Eating and drinking are unavailable until you're free.
  - Spellcasting and other concentration-heavy actions become
    harder when you're on the ground or pinned in a grapple. Your
    Willpower decides how often your concentration holds — a
    strong-willed caster can sometimes finish a spell from
    underneath, while a distracted one rarely manages it.
  - You cannot move from the room until the grapple ends.

Usage: 

  grapple    Attempt to grapple a target in combat.

Success is an opposed roll of Strength vs. the target's Strength
and Dexterity. Grapple-immune creatures (e.g. elementals, oozes)
cannot be grappled.

When you decisively win a grapple round from a dominant position,
the engine may fire a submission attempt automatically — no command
needed. See help submission.

See also: help attack,
  help kick, help trip,
  help submission, help surrender,
  help reach