Transcendent Rules Analysis

I doubt this will interest anyone really, but it interests me, so I'm writing it down anyway.

Grappling is usually a complicated maneuver in most roleplaying systems. It's a move that's bound to evoke some groans from the GM because it's time-consuming and inevitably more complicated than just punching someone in the face - naturally, because punching someone in the face is the "standard" mode of combat, and obviously wrestling is much different.

In most systems, grappling works like this: You make an attack roll. On a hit, you have successfully initiated grapple. On your next action, you're permitted to start using that grapple; inflicting damage, holding the opponent down, whatever you fancy. On their turn, the opponent gets the option to act first - this balances the system somewhat as your character is likely to virtually always have friends on his side, so if he wrestled the enemy into submission immediately, they'd all get a free turn of kicking the grappled guy. As it stands, most game systems allow the opponent to try and break free before your friends can kick him.

Exalted works differently. In line with Exalted's high-action wuxia style of combat, they've been highly successful, I think, in making a grappling style that feels suitably kung-fu. The system is so sleek and simple that I'm surprised I hadn't seen it before, actually.

In Exalted, a grappling works like any old martial arts attack - roll to hit, and if you hit, good to be you. At that point, you have three options: Choose to inflict damage (by headbutt, knee-to-the-groin, whatever maneuver works at close range), choose to wrestle the opponent into submission, or perform a throw. All of these effects are immediate - there's no wait, no grappling check, no nothing. If you grab a hold of your opponent, you can immediately inflict damage or toss him over the ravine's edge. Mechanically, there's almost no difference between grapple-headbutt and an ordinary attack, except the grapple attack does slightly less damage.

There are catches balancing up this speedy system, though. First of all, the damage is slightly lower than if you had just kicked or punched your foe. Second, unless you go for the "throw" option, you're engaged in grappling with the enemy - which can be a problem. In Exalted, your defense is always a static rating; not so once you're engaged in grapple - then it has to be rolled. This makes defense against an already-grappled opponent much less reliable, which means that all-out wrestling becomes a calculated risk - especially in a game where an opponent's knee-to-the-groin can do things like make your ears fall off.

I like how they've done this. The grappling system is still more complicated than regular fighting, but if all you're going for is a cinematic effect, like a throw or a "I grab him and bite his leg"-attack, it works with a single roll. There's much less to keep track of than in other systems.