I’ve been having an issue with dragons. I’m a 10th lvl archer ranger (11th after our last session) and the only striker in the party. We’ve run into 3 dragons so far and it only takes a round or 2 before they figure out that I need to die 1st, because of the amount of damage I’m doing (mostly thanks to LDB’s Shoot to Thrill build).
The 1st two I was able to keep away from long enough to kill them. The last 1 however, had some friends and she managed to grab me and fly straight up. The DM ruled that when she grabbed me my arms got trapped by my side so I couldn’t attack. Each round of flying up I got an acrobatic check to try to escape (failing 4 times). Each time I failed the dragon gave me some crushing damage and then she dropped me from very very high up. Just for spite I shot her once more on the way down. Very extremely dead ranger.
So, my question is what game rules apply to this situation and how do I stop this from happening every time we fight a large flying beasty.
Being grabbed should not intefere with your ability to attack, considering the DM doesn't care about the rules here, I have a hard time believing rules will help anything else, but we can go on.
Escaping is a move action, you could make two of them per turn if the first failed.
Every time the dragon tried to move you while grabbing it would have to make a Strength vs. your Fortitude check to do so. If it succeeds it can only move half its speed and it requires a standard action every time it moves while grabbing.
The Rules Compendium refers to the movement of the grabbed target as a "pull" and normally a pull can not be in 3 dimensions unless the target (you) was already flying.
I would say, by rule, even if the DM decided it was possible for the dragon to lift you up, it would still be moving at half its speed and sacrificing its standard to do so while making an additional check every time. The reduced speed, the necessary continued attacks for continued movement, and the ability to attempt escape more than once per turn should help, or at least give your allies the chance to daze it which would end the grab immediately, or if they could used force movement to separate the dragon from you.
My guess is the DM had it out for you since that is a rather ruthless trick to pull and that once you better understand the rules he will just find some other silly way to kill you. I think I covered most of it, but the rules forum people could probably be more precise than me.
This is something that could be thrown into the skill challenge system with skill checks to overcome complications that come up during the scene. Anyone wanting to attack can do and get a success for doing over X amount of damage with an attack. Stakes question: Can we get Ragnar out of the black dragon's clutches before it drops him into the ravine?
Get a pair of Fey Step Lacings.
Take Pinning Strike, stop it moving.
Educate your DM that non-flying targets can't be force-moved into the air.
Use Disruptive Strike.
Take Hobbling Strike and World Serpent's Grasp, knock it prone with Twin Strike, then it definitely can't bring you with it into the air.
Get a better controller in the party.
Basically, any number of options. But over and above any of them, *TALK TO YOUR DM* tell him you're not having fun with this, and remind him that it's not him versus the players.
OP, get yourself a Rules Compendium and as Chainsawhand said, reference the rules on Grab and how to maintain it, the fact that a Grabbed is not the same as Restrained, pulling a grabbed target along with you while moving and attacking while being grabbed. Talk to your DM about these rules and insist that everyone in the group, including the DM, play by the rules as written unless everyone agrees not to for whatever reason.
Hopefully he's not just out to kill you and he's sincerely trying to make a challenging and fun encounter for you. As long as your DM is just trying to do his best to make things fun, everything's okay. If he's just got it out for you though and you're not enjoying it, talk to him and tell him your not enjoying it and to knock it off.
Go ahead and optimize your character further and use better tactics, but keep in mind: you're never going to win an arms race with a DM who's out to get you. He has unlimited resources and may feel entitled to change the rules at-will. You can't do those things.
In my effort to make a long story short I seem to have given the wrong impression. I started playing D&D when I was 11 (close to 50 now). I had a big break in there and this is my 1st group with 4e. The DM is easily the best I’ve ever played with. I don’t think he’s got it in for me at all. Reading these answers does make me think he’s forgotten how some of this stuff works. I think if I were to say “this shouldn’t work this way cause on page * of * it says *”, he would adjust accordingly. I haven’t checked the applicable rules yet (not being sure which ones may have been bent).
I do believe that a dragon could and would use this tactic in “real life”, so I don’t have an issue with it happening. In fact if the rules say it can’t happen, I would be ok for him to house rule it can. It’s just that the way it out played sucked and I need to find a better way to deal with it.
We got jumped by icy skeleton guys for a couple rounds before the dragon showed and I used weave thru the fray to avoid one of them. When bloodied the skeletons set up blast 2 zones that blocked line of sight and effect, so my allies were not able to be helpful to me at all. I couldn’t use pinning shot on the dragon because she wasn’t adjacent to her allies at any point. When she grabbed me, she rolled high enough that disruptive shot didn’t cause her to miss (I did it anyway for the damage). After she had me, she spent 4 rounds doing double moves straight up (24 squares for 4 rounds, if she can only move half speed with me in tow, than the distance I fall would be considerably less). I have acrobatics trained (+19), the highest of the four rolls was a 4 and she rolled higher (if escape is a move action than I can roll twice each round, doubling my chances of breaking free before the altitude causes terminal velocity). A lesser ring of feather falling is the next thing on my shopping list, but money has been an issue in this campaign so far.
The DM did state in advance that the encounter was going to be difficult because it was the one that would push us into paragon. Also, the dragon in question was already pissed at us as we (pretty much me) killed her mate in a previous session.
Thanks a lot for the rules suggestions, I’ll go look them up now. 
I knew a bit more of the details from reading your post in the other forum, I don't really have a problem with the tactic, so much as that you were dropped from so high that you couldn't possibly live and could not make attacks during it. It isn't nice to the players to arbitrarily take their actions (granted it took a lot of failed acrobatics to fall, but you could've been arrowing the thing to death at the same time) when they should still be able to attack.
Also escape isn't an action that has an opposed check, you just have to beat the reflex of the creature grabbing you.
Anyway, if you only got dropped 24 squares then you're looking at 12d10 which should be survivable and you can at least make your acrobatics check to lower the damage and end up all kinds of hurt but at least not looking at 400+ feet of falling.
Pages of RC worth looking at
pg 243-244 for escape/grab/moving grabbed target rules
Glossary defines the "grabbed" condition on pg 311-312
Actually, the dragon was going up 24 squares each round for 4 rounds using "run" and doing double moves. Total fall distance was 480'. The escape rules will help alot. I can't find anywhere it says the dragon would only be able to fly half speed carrying me, but if I can, those two things alone should give me a much better survival rate. You know, assuming I ever develope the ability to roll over a 4 on the die 
So, basically, by the actual rules for about 8 different reasons, this shouldn't have happened.
Moving a grabbed target is a standard action STRvsFORT check that lets you move half speed, being among them.
Your DM ignored a lot of rules, for one reason or another, that are there specifically to balance out situations like this. If all it takes to kill a PC is a dragon to grab them and airdrop them, a lot more PCs would die.
Granted, you failed a lot of acrobatics that statistically you should have had an excellent chance of succeeding on, but nonetheless, you had a lot of options.
thespaceinvader wrote:
Are you complaining about reality in a game where someone can take horrendous injury, sleep on it, and be fine next morning?
@ CCS: The combat rules of 4e do not simulate the hunting strategies of birds of prey, nor do they attempt to resolve conflict between dragons and prey that aren't PCs. Those things can be determined simply by stating the result. The combat rules do handle genre-appropriate conflict resolution between PCs and NPCs/monsters. Those rules (as written) do not permit non-flying PCs to be carried off in this manner. Even if the DM overrides this, said DM is well-advised to follow the guidelines in the DMG as to falling damage per level.
You can, of course, throw this into the skill challenge system pretty easily as I said above and resolve the conflict that way rather than via tactical combat rules.
CCS wrote:
OP:
There are mid-paragon Boots that prevent falling at all. There are heroic Boots that take a ton of altitude off falling distance before the dice are calculated. Alas that I'm away from rulebooks and do not remember the names. Ring of Feather Fall sounds like a plan, too. You might be able to get your DM to allow a falling-distance subtraction for wearing Boots of Jumping (10 squares)?
One of the scenarios for BI "The End and the Beginning" involves fighting a dragon while on top of a tall tower. Our archer ranger got blown over the edge, resulting in a nasty bruise.
I can feel for you being the only ranged combatant; my Star'Lock is usually the LFR party flak gun, and I encourage allies with polearms to stand one square away from me. Reach weapons work in 3D, too !
There's a second or third level neck slot item that can prevent falling damage entirely (Safewing Amulet), among a bunch of similar items.
iserith wrote: