[RPG] Does forced movement break Grabbed from Grapple/Grab

forced-movementgrapplepathfinder-2e

It's the age-old question. The all-powerful-wizard seems about to be eaten and didn't prepare a spell to escape. Fighterbro wants to save the fool day by punting grapplemon the grapple monster (or the wizard, he's not picky).

In Pathfinder 2e, does forcibly moving the enacter and/or subject of Grapple or Grab break the conditions imposed?

Best Answer

There's a slightly-complicated chain of rules, but this actually is answered by the rules, at least in a mechanical way.

Both a successful Grappple and a Grab apply the Grabbed Condition to a character. Grabbed, in turn, applies the Immobilized condition, which says, in part -

If you're immobilized by something holding you in place and an external force would move you out of your space, the force must succeed at a check against either the DC of the effect holding you in place or the relevant defense (usually Fortitude DC) of the monster holding you in place.

So, if a creature is held in place by a Grab or Grapple, any force that tried to move the creature out of the square would need to make a check to do so. Moving the target does not automatically break the effect, but I would rule similarly to older editions, where if the target moves out of the reach of the grabber, the grab is broken (the arm, mouth or tentacle has a limit to how far it can stretch). I would also rule similarly if applying forced movement to the grabber.

As far as what sort of check would be required, if a character is physically heaving another character out of the way, I'd allow the acting character to use Athletics as an Escape check for the trapped character, although that isn't an option explicitly allowed by the rules.