Magnetic Grapple (3.5e Equipment)

Summary::A technological oddity, it appears to be a heavy crossbow to which some manner of grapple and rope is attached. However, instead of a hook and normal rope, it contains a flat metal knob with a rubber cable, copper wire hidden within, and a battery placed inside the device itself. When impacting with metal surfaces, it can cling on with a powerful magnetic grip allowing people to scale up surfaces, yank away opponents weapons, or grab treasure from afar.

The grappling cable extends out to 50 ft. and you may make a ranged attack which provokes an attack of opportunity as a standard action. If it finds its mark, it attaches, allowing you and allies to climb up as normal. You may also winch the cable back into the spool at a climb speed of 10 ft. a round. If unburdened by climbers you may detach the magnet and retract the cable automatically as a full round action. While useful for climbing metallic surfaces, it is situationally useful in combat by grabbing onto enemy swords and shields, at a -4 penalty to your attack roll for aiming at a specific part. Once attached, you may turn your standard action to hit into a full-attack action to force an opposed strength check. Success means you have disarmed the opponent, causing the item to drop in their square. Failure results in you losing grip of the magnetic grapple.

If you chose not to immediately disarm your opponent, you can keep the magnet attached. It weighs down the opponent's weapon, the smaller weapons more hampered by it's presence. Light weapons take a -3 penalty to attack rolls while a magnet is attached, one handed weapons take a -2 penalty, and two handed weapons take a -1 penalty. The magnet can be removed with a DC 26 strength check as a move action which provokes attacks of opportunity. Another danger of attachment, to both user and victim, is that if either party attempts to move beyond the 50 ft. extent to the cable they may end up dragging the other, again forcing opposed strength checks to see if they can move the other. Size modifiers and stability applies to these rolls.

The cable itself may be attacked in an attempt to be free. It is immune to bludgeoning damage, half damage from sonic, normal damage from cold, has hardness 5, 10 hp, a break DC of 26, and an AC of 18. Severing the cable destroys the magnetic grapple until it is repaired. The magnetic grapple is also not limitless in its power. Whatever gnomish technologies power its mundane electric battery, it is only good for 20 rounds of attachment a day before its battery needs to restore itself. The cable can hold up to 500 lbs. at once. For every additional 10 ft. of cable, add 100 gp, for every additional 100 lbs. of weight able to be supported, add 200 gp.

Prerequisites: Craft Gadget or Craft Weaponsmithing, DC 25. Value 1000 gp; Weight 12 lbs.