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A question came up at my last Pathfinder game: If a character has Greater Grapple, does it become possible to grapple and pin an opponent in one round? ( not tie up, though. That'd be 3 checks. )

Greater Grapple:

Once you have grappled a creature, maintaining the grapple is a move action. This feat allows you to make two grapple checks each round (to move, harm, or pin your opponent), but you are not required to make two checks.

Grappling:

Once you are grappling an opponent, a successful check allows you to continue grappling the foe, and also allows you to perform one of the following actions (as part of the standard action spent to maintain the grapple).

This leads me to believe that as long as the character has both a standard and move action, he can use one to initiate the grapple, and ( assuming success ), use the other to maintain the grapple and take his additional grappling action.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ This seems pretty clear cut to me -- was there something specific that gave you pause? \$\endgroup\$
    – starwed
    Sep 17, 2012 at 19:14
  • \$\begingroup\$ @starwed - nothing specific, just wanted to see some alternate interpretations, if others had them. It did not seem as clear cut to me. \$\endgroup\$
    – Phill.Zitt
    Sep 17, 2012 at 19:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ But why? The feat allows you to pin as a move action, with no limitation on when in the grapple this occurs. If you don't think it's clear cut, you must have an alternate interpretation -- and it would be easier to ease your doubts if we knew what that was. \$\endgroup\$
    – starwed
    Sep 17, 2012 at 20:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ @starwed - Well, normally you take a move action before a standard action. This specifies 'maintaining' a grapple as a move action, not necessarily initiating a grapple. I'm not sure what specifically feels odd about it - it might just be my DM instincts telling me this is powerful. \$\endgroup\$
    – Phill.Zitt
    Sep 17, 2012 at 20:18
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    \$\begingroup\$ There's nothing in the rules that suggests move actions come before standard. If it makes your DM instincts feel better, you could do this in 3.5 by using your iterative attacks in the grapple; in PF they changed how grapple works, but it's not a coincidence that this feat has a prereq of +6 BAB. :) \$\endgroup\$
    – starwed
    Sep 17, 2012 at 20:30

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Yes, you can initiate a grapple and pin in the same round.

That is exactly what Greater Grapple is for, it explicitly allows you to make an additional check as a move action -- and the wording of grapple says nothing about having to wait until the next round to use any of the special grapple actions.

If you're worried about the word maintain, that seems to just be a poor choice of words on the designer's part. Greater Grapple specifically states that you may make such checks twice in one round; and the rules for maintain make it clear that this is the only type of offensive check that you make in a grapple. The various actions such as pinning/moving/etc only occur on a successful check to maintain:

Once you are grappling an opponent, a successful check allows you to continue grappling the foe, and also allows you to perform one of the following actions (as part of the standard action spent to maintain the grapple).

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