Grappling and Shoving Rules

Grappling and shoving are two distinct special melee actions in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition that allow combatants to physically control opponents rather than deal damage. Both actions fall within the broader combat rules framework and interact directly with conditions, movement, and action economy. Understanding how these mechanics resolve — and where their boundaries lie — is essential for adjudicating contested physical encounters accurately.

Definition and scope

Grappling is a special attack that imposes the Grappled condition on a target, restraining that creature's movement to 0 feet for as long as the grapple holds. Shoving is a separate special attack that either knocks a creature Prone or pushes it 5 feet in a chosen direction. Both actions replace one of a character's attacks when the Attack action is taken — neither constitutes its own action type. They do not deal hit point damage under the base rules, though damage-dealing variants exist in optional rulesets covered under optional and variant rules.

Scope is limited by creature size: a grappler can only target creatures up to one size category larger than themselves. A Medium creature may grapple up to Large targets; a Small creature may grapple up to Medium targets. Shoving carries the same size restriction. Both mechanics require that the attacker have at least one free hand to initiate a grapple.

How it works

Both grappling and shoving resolve as ability contests, not as standard attack rolls against Armor Class. This places them outside the normal attack rolls and armor class resolution pathway.

Grapple resolution — step by step:

  1. The attacker uses the Attack action and replaces one attack with a grapple attempt.
  2. The attacker makes a Strength (Athletics) check.
  3. The target makes either a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check — target's choice.
  4. If the attacker's result equals or exceeds the target's result, the Grappled condition is applied.
  5. The grapple ends if the attacker releases it voluntarily, the target uses its action to escape (repeating the contest), or either creature is moved beyond the grapple's reach.

Shove resolution — step by step:

  1. The attacker uses the Attack action and replaces one attack with a shove attempt.
  2. The attacker makes a Strength (Athletics) check.
  3. The target makes either a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check — target's choice.
  4. If the attacker wins, they choose the outcome: the target falls Prone, or the target is pushed 5 feet horizontally.

Both contests are subject to advantage and disadvantage rules based on conditions in play. A creature that is already Prone, for example, may be subject to disadvantage on its contest check depending on DM adjudication.

The skill checks and proficiency framework governs both the Athletics and Acrobatics rolls involved, meaning that proficiency bonus and ability score modifiers apply normally.

Common scenarios

Grapple into environmental hazard: A combatant grapples a target and then uses remaining movement to drag that creature toward a pit, fire, or ledge. Movement is halved when dragging a grappled creature. A character with a movement speed of 30 feet can drag a grappled target up to 15 feet in a single turn.

Shove Prone to gain combat advantage: Knocking a creature Prone imposes disadvantage on its attack rolls and grants advantage on melee attack rolls made against it within 5 feet. This synergizes directly with the flanking mechanics described under flanking and cover rules.

Grapple plus shove combination: A character with the Extra Attack feature (available at Fighter level 5, among other classes) can grapple on one attack and shove on a second, securing a Prone and Grappled creature in a single turn. A Prone Grappled creature has its speed reduced to 0, cannot stand without first escaping the grapple, and faces melee attackers at advantage.

Mounted combat interaction: A grappled creature cannot benefit from a mount's movement. This intersection with mounted combat rules can be tactically significant in open-terrain encounters.

Decision boundaries

Grapple vs. Shove — choosing the correct action:

Factor Grapple Shove
Primary effect Speed reduced to 0 Target Prone or moved 5 ft
Escape mechanism Target action required None — instant relocation
Sustained control Ongoing until ended One-time positional change
Requires free hand Yes No
Movement cost Halved to drag target None after resolution

The Grappled condition does not impose disadvantage on the target's attacks — a common adjudication error. Only the Prone condition produces that disadvantage. When both conditions are applied simultaneously (see the combination scenario above), the combined effect is greater than either alone.

Creatures immune to the Grappled or Prone conditions — including many undead, constructs, and ethereal entities as noted in the conditions rules — cannot be successfully grappled or shoved even if the attacker wins the contest. The attempt fails automatically.

The movement and positioning rules interact with grappling specifically around difficult terrain: halved movement due to dragging a grappled creature stacks multiplicatively with difficult terrain, reducing effective drag distance to roughly 7 feet on difficult terrain for a creature with 30-foot movement.

Spellcasters who also wish to maintain concentration on active spells while grappling face no direct mechanical conflict, though taking damage during a grapple may trigger concentration rules saving throws. The broader context of how physical action intersects with game structure is addressed at how-recreation-works-conceptual-overview, and the full rules index for the site is available at dndrules.com.

References

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