Grapples

Grappling irons are relatively heavy iron tools, usually with three or four separate hooks branching from the end. The tool is attached to a length of rope for climbing. The hook is designed to be thrown and to catch on protrusions and thus support the rope and climber(s). The thief may throw the grappling iron vertically up to one-third his Strength score, rounded up and multiplied by 10 (in feet). Throwing a grapple takes one round; reeling in the rope and retrieving the iron for another attempt after a failure takes 1d4 rounds. The chance for success when throwing a grappling iron (a d100 roll is used) is shown in the table.

Grappling Success

Grapple Target	Miss	Catch & Slip	Catch
Stone Parapet	01 - 72	72 - 78	79 - 00
Stone Wall Top	01 - 83	84 - 89	90 - 00
Tree Branches	01 - 66	67 - 70	71 - 00
Rocky Ledge	01 - 88	89 - 93	94 - 00
Wooden Wall	01 - 70	71 - 74	75 - 00

The DM can adjudicate more uncommon instances from this table. A "catch and slip" result means that the grapple seems to have caught solidly, but will slip free after 1d6 rounds of supporting any load. If the thief pulls on a grapple for that many rounds he can dislodge the grapple, whereas a "catch" result means the grapple is securely fastened. If possible, thieves should test the grapple by pulling on it for six rounds before climbing!

Climbing a wall using a grappling hook and rope adds +40% to the normal climb walls chance.

Noise: Grapples make a moderately loud sound when they land. In conditions of near silence, a successful grapple landing can be heard as much as 400 yards away (depending on the size of the grapple, etc. an unsuccessful throw (with the clang as the grapple lands on the ground) up to 800 yards away. Obviously, these are ideal instances and in most cases the effective range will be considerably lower. Whatever range is deemed appropriate by the DM, a padded grapple—one with sacking or some similarly heavy but coarse cloth covering almost all of the surface of the iron—will reduce it by half.

Surprise!: While this chapter is not concerned with counter-measures, one instance is irresistible: the cruel DM should be advised that shards of glass set into walls will sever the rope of a grappling line in 2d6 rounds. Broken glass is best set into the tops of walls, of course. A really brutal DM may allow a thief near the top of the wall a Dexterity check to avoid falling as the rope severs, success meaning that his hands are now impaled on savagely sharp wedges of glass which are coated in dust and filth, probably giving him blood poisoning if he lives long enough to worry about it.