Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Crimson_Concerto 09-11-05, 05:59 PM	I've only ever done slight min/maxing before, and I want to make this character REALLY good at what he does, so I turn to you, the experts. :D He is a Centaur who specializes in grappling foes. His starting stats are as follows after racial modifiers. It was 30 point buy.: STR 26 (+8) DEX 18 (+4) CON 20 (+5) INT 8 (-1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 8 (-1) I'm thinking of taking two levels of Monk to start off (Improved Unarmed Strike (1D8), Stunning Fist, Flurry of Blows, +3 to all saves, Deflect Arrows, Evasion, and a healthier amount of skill points at first level to counterbalance the hell I'll go through getting 1 or 3 per level after I get to third level), then four levels of fighter (3 bonus feats are never bad) or maybe Barbarian (+10 to movement speed, Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense +1, and Rage 2/day). Then the five levels of Reaping Mauler (because it's just full of stuff to help grapplers), and then the next nine level will be of either Barbarian or Fighter, wichever I did from levels three to six. We never really incorporate 6the rule for multiclassing experiance penalties in my usual group, so that's not a concern. I'm not sure whether I should do Barbarian or Fighter because although I know is Rage very good, I don't have any prior experiance with it, and bonus feats aren't ever a bad choice either, as far as I know. However, I am perfectly willing to do either. I'm thinking of the following feats: Clever Wrestling* (CWarrior) Earths's Embrace (CWarrior) Fists of Iron and those are all the ones I know I'll probably want for sure. I might want: Improved Bull Rush Power Attack Improved Overrun Centaur Trample (Races of Wild) Awesome Blow (Savage Species, I think) Combat Brute (CWarroir) Shock Trooper(CWarrior) Improved Sunder and Improved Natural Attack (Savage Species, I think) but I haven't decided what else my character should focus on besides just grappling. In reality, I might only go for some of the above if I do fighter because I can afford to have that many feats. In which case, I would also invest in the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats. If I do Barbarian, I might go for the feats from CWarrior which built upon the Rage ability. *Clever wrestling requires Med or Small size, I know, but I've talked it over with the DM and he said I could juts shift that table up one creature size, so I don't get bonuses on other large creatures. He also said he might let me ignore prerequisits of ranks in Ride or the Mounted Combat feat in order to qualify for feats normally associated with mounted combat if I want, but he's still thinking about it. So, I'd appreciate some opinions on whether I should go Barbarian or Fighter at level 3 and beyond, and maybe some input on feats. Thanks in advance :) note: I know we'll be starting at a high enough level where I don't actually have to deal with the alignment shift if I go to Barbarian instead of Fighter. Nor will I have to deal with not having Improved Grapple at early levels. It's given as a class ability for Reaping Maulers, so I don't have to waste a feat on it to be useful early.
Elephant Jack 09-11-05, 06:25 PM	Mh, though I really like grappling many people around here say it's quite lame. There are some major problem with grappling characters: 1. The (minor) damage output, see below 2. The whole thing can be "countered" by a single freedom of movement spell/ability If I would build a descent grappler, I would chose the Psychic Warrior route - perhaps the best route for dealing major damage with dissipating touch or something like this. Also note that grip of iron and expansion will give you some good grapple check boosts. Have a closer look at this (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=53738) thread - there are some ideas for a grappling PsyWar. If you chose a non-psionic/non-spellcasting route, I would try to get some antimagic-field item or ability vs. the above mentioned freedom of movement EJ Please note that you need a lawful alignment for Monk and a non-lawful for Barbarian... this could be a problem. You need to be medium size or smaller to be a Reaping Mauler, which is perhaps the last route I would take. Go for something that'll make you even bigger, perhaps some unarmed/armed damage (via Monk, PsyWar, Fighter with light weapons) or cool touch attack damage options (like dissipating touch). I know you'll going to be a centaur, but half-giants or goliaths are much better grapplers.