Dungeon Grappling (DG) is written by Douglas H. Cole and published by Gaming Ballistic LLC. Neither myself, Cameron DuBeers, nor my company Wobbly Goblin Press, are associated with either Douglas Cole or Gaming Ballistic in any way beyond backing the Dungeon Grappling Kickstarter. This review is based upon the first PDF release available to KS Backers only. Gaming Ballistic is currently accepting pre-orders [here] (link updated).
I never had the opportunity to read the 'zine article DG grew out of, so I cannot directly address any differences between the two. I will say DG includes a nice introduction to grappling and what it means to your campaign. Also a nice part of the presentation is the body of text, artwork and background art are all divided into layers. Artwork and background can be turned off, leaving the just the text for easier reading and printing. Not that the two are intrusive in any, I found the presentation of the material to be well done, but I personally like plain text for reading on the computer screen.
The actual game play mechanics are logically divided into three sections: Core Concepts, Grappling Effects, and Monstrous Grappling. Also included at the back of the book are an exhaustive Index and a summary of the rules in the form of two reference sheets. The latter will be helpful when conducting grappling in a referee's own campaign, particularly the first few times these new concepts are employed.
As advertised, Dungeon Grappling presents a system adaptable to most FRPG games, particularly those emulating pre-1983 rules sets. Rules for the different gaming systems are presented with the correct terminology and level of detail, leading me to believe Mr. Cole is either adept at all these systems or had plenty of editorial assistance writing those sections.
One aspect of the game I particularly like is the division of player-character and monster grappling. This section also includes example monsters with statistics and combat examples specific to 5E, S&W: Complete, and Pathfinder.
So, how do the rules work? For S&W they work great. I found them easy to adjudicate, adaptable to the fluidity of combat, and producing consistent results. I ran several scenarios including one on one, one versus two, and five smaller opponents versus a larger, stronger opponent. The rules handled each situation without a lot of paging through the rules or having to guess how to proceed.
Conclusion? I will be incorporating these rules into my S&W based campaign rules. Is there any better praise for a work of this type?
Summary: presentation, coherency of rules, ease of use; all get top scores. This product is highly recommended for your home campaign.
