So this is a first. I’m going to talk about non–GURPS on my blog for a change. In this case, the various flavors of popular Dungeons and Dragons. (Fair warning – I plan on getting into DnD5e next years so this is likely the first of such posts). The reason I want to talk about this is pretty straightforward: I was involved a bit with this work and Doug is one of my fiends and fellow bloggers. So here’s the endorsement:
Dungeon Grappling is a cohesive set of rules that works across multiple iterations of Dungeons and Dragons. For those familiar with his work on GURPS Technical Grappling Doug approaches the problem in the same way, but tweaked for a different game engine – and it works surprisingly well. To tell you how easy it is I’ve not looked at the new Dungeons and Dragons, glanced at Swords and Wizardry, and gave up on Pathfinder a while back. The system he presents was intuitive, easy to understand, and provides a lot of flavor. In short, it’s a module you can just bolt on and go.
So if you’re thinking about playing one of those systems and want to add some new and exciting depth to your games go to his Kickstarter and pledge. Heck, even if you don’t play those games it’s a steal for the sheer information on close-in combat that Doug provides. Here’s a quick and dirty version of the reward levels:
$1 – Name in the book as a sponsor,
$5 – PDF copy of Dungeon GRappling and sponsor credit,
$20 – 5x PDF copies and sponsor credit,
$50 – PDF copy plus getting full color art and sponsor credit.
$100 – PDF copy and a sponsor credit next to a particular bit of art.
$250 – PDF copy, sponsor credit, and art sponsor
Warning (Me): On a personal note, the better this project does the more it’s going to help me advance my writing career next year so even if you don’t really play one of these games considering buying a copy anyways because it will help me on my path to become a multi-system game designer.
It's an interesting kickstarter that I discovered this weekend.
D&D 5e has a particular Feat that can be an obstacle here: it's called Grappler (in the Player's Handbook). Basically, you take it for "advanced grappling", and without it the options aren't available to you.
Even if Feats are optional in fifth edition, it'd be interesting to see in advance how the issue of "advanced grapping" requiring a Feat has been circumvented (or ignored!).
Part of the focus, and maybe the approach to this 5e Feat, already was in an issue of the OSR magazine: The Manor, #8.