I've always found it a little more than annoying that core D&D doesn't include rules that support throwing an opponent. I've heard rumors that the book Oriental Adventures has very basic rules for hip throws. Races of Stone has a pair of feats that allow you to throw an ally or an opponent. Savage Species contains a feat that allows a huge or larger creature to throw a smaller opponent like a baseball. None of this even comes close to what I would like to see.
Why should you have to take a feat to be able to lift and toss an opponent when you can do the same thing to a table or a barrel or a stack of bricks? Why should you have to be huge or larger to pick up a goblin, when lifting an equal weight in books wouldn't even come close to putting you past your light load mark? Why do the core rulebooks contain rules for riding over, knocking down, grabbing hold of and pushing around your opponent, but no rules for flinging him across the room?
It is this train of thought that lead me to design a system for throwing an opponent. Rather than requiring a feat, this maneuver is a special attack combat action, just like a feint or a bull rush. To understand and utilize this system, a working knowledge of the mechanics for grappling and tripping will be needed, and can be found in the 3.5 Player's Handbook on pages 155 and 158 respectively.
Throw an Opponent:
During a grapple, you can use a standard action to attempt to throw your opponent away from you, whether by levering him over your own body or by simply picking him up and tossing him. This can be a good way to end a fight quickly (such as when you chuck your opponent over the edge of a cliff), but it can also backfire as well.
When attempting to throw an opponent, follow the steps below. Note that you must already be engaged in a grapple to attempt to throw an opponent.
Step 1: You provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent you are attempting to throw. If the attack of opportunity deals damage, the throw attempt fails. If the attack of opportunity misses or does not deal damage, proceed to step 2.
Step 2: Make an opposed trip attempt as a standard action. The benefits from having the Improved Trip feat do not apply to this attempt (though other bonuses, such as that granted by a dwarf's stability trait, do apply). If you are holding an item in one hand (such as a shield or a weapon), you take a -5 penalty to the check. If you win the opposed trip attempt, proceed to step 3. If your opponent wins, he may not attempt to trip you, but he may make an Escape Artist attempt to free himself from the grapple as a free action.
Step 3: Roll a Strength check. The result of this check minus 10 equals the number of feet you may throw your opponent (round to the nearest multiple of 5 to determine how many squares), which can be in any direction you choose (a result of 10 or less ends with the opponent prone in the same square as the thrower). If desired, you may throw your opponent a shorter distance than the check allows for. The thrown opponent takes falling damage as normal for every 10ft he is thrown and lands prone. If something large and/or heavy (such as a wall or a bookshelf) is in the path of a thrown opponent, the opponent instead falls prone in the same square as the object, but takes no additional damage (though the DM is free to spot rule otherwise...such as if the opponent is thrown at a wall covered with iron spikes). If a creature is in the path of a thrown opponent, treat it as an overrun that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
If you are thrown: So long as you are thrown 10 feet or more without hitting an obstacle, you can make a Tumble check to reduce the amount of falling damage you take as per the rules for Tumbling on page 84 of the 3.5 Player's Handbook.
Improved Throw [General]
You are trained in techniques that make throwing opponents easier for you, as well as making it harder for them to throw you.
Prerequisites: Str 13, Improved Grapple
Benefit: So long as your hands are free, you do not provoke an attack of opportunity when you attempt to throw an opponent. You also gain a +4 bonus to your Strength check to determine how far you may throw an opponent.
Normal: Without this feat, you provoke an attack of opportunity whenever you attempt to throw an opponent.
Special: A fighter may select Improved Throw as one of his fighter bonus feats. A monk may select Improved Throw as a bonus feat at 2nd level, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
Powerful Throw [General]
You know how you make the best use of your great strength when throwing an opponent.
Prerequisites: Str 16+
Benefit: You gain a +5 bonus to your Strength check to determine how far you can throw an opponent. This bonus stacks with the bonus granted by the Improved Throw feat.
