Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 2Chlorobutanal Jul 22, 2014 22:24:35	Here is an idea I had for a Basic Rules Fighter specializing in one-handed fighting and grappling:   1. Basics   Character Concept:  Controller Fighter/Grappler   Class: Fighter 11/Rogue 1-3   Possible Traits: Swashbuckler, Gladiator, Scrapper, Bar-Fighter, Brawler   Ability Scores:  prioritize Strength, Constitution, and then Dexterity; increase Strength to 20 as early as possible; must meet multi-classing requirements for Fighter and Rogue.   Race:  Human, Mountain Dwarf, or Wood Elf   Background: Any   Important Proficiencies:  Athletics* (This build relies heavily on Athletics)   Weapon(s): rapier*, short sword, hand axe, spear, scimitar, bow or crossbow (Finesse or Thrown keywords are necessary to use Sneak Attack.)   Armor: Plate Mail (best protection) or Breastplate (for Stealth users) (Note that this build has a fairly low AC for a Fighter due to lack of a shield) 2. Race Human seems like a good fit for this build, both thematically and mechanically.  Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are all important to this build, so getting a bonus point in each of them is not too shabby at all.  The option to select a bonus feat exists down the road when the PHB is available.   Mountain Dwarf is a possibly, because of the bonus to Strength and Constitution, as well as useful utility and defensive abilities, but it also suffers from a reduced movement speed.  Hill Dwarf is not worth it in my opinion, though.   Wood Elf is a reasonable choice due to the Dexterity bonus (which is moderately useful) and increased movement speed.  I don’t think High Elf adds much to this build, and is just worse than Wood Elf.   I advise against Halfling due to the slower movement speed and especially the smaller size category, both of which are important to this build.  This is a shame, because otherwise Halflings have very good racial abilities for both Fighters and Rogues.   3. Class Fighter The core benefit of the Fighter class is Extra Attack.  This allows the character to make several Shove or Grapple checks in one action (in addition to standard attacks).  I chose to stop at Extra Attack(2), because the investment of 9 more Fighter levels for one more attack seemed less useful than picking up the Rogue features that help this build.   Duelist Style provides bonus damage to a build relying on a one-handed weapon.  Alternatively, Defense Style recoups a bit of AC lost due to the lack of a shield.  By level 10, the character can acquire both. While not directly synergizing with the concept, Action Surge is a strong resource for challenging encounters (and extends the amount of control the character can exert over enemies in one turn), and Second Wind provides a minor healing option.   Champion Archetype This is the only option presently available.  However, it does provide some general-purpose bonuses, such as Improved Critical, Additional Fighting Style (see above), and Remarkable Athlete.  The last feature can be combined with the Thief archetype to create a character that is exceptional at jumping.   Rogue One level in Rogue provides the Expertise feature, making the character much better (+2 to +6) at performing the Strength (Athletics) checks required to Grapple and Shove opponents.   Sneak Attack allows for bonus damage which is easily obtained by Shoving an enemy then striking them.  1d6 damage will be gained alongside Expertise.  If the character chooses to pursue the Rogue class to 3rd level to acquire Cunning Action and an Archetype, this damage will increase to 2d6.   Cunning Action gives the option for the character to Dash while Grappling, effectively negating the speed penalty of moving while doing so.   Thief Archetype Like the Champion, this is the only Archetype available in the Basic Rules.  It does add some nice options to the build for a minimal investment, such as Second Story Work and Fast Hands.  Second Story Work, in particular, adds yet more jumping potential and allows uninhibited climbing (possibly even while grappling).   4. Example Tactics (Fighter 5/Rogue 2) (If adjacent to enemy) Dash for extra movement; Attack with Extra Attack, choosing to replace your first attack with Grapple.  Move 25’ or 30’, dragging the enemy with you, then Shove them into a hazard such as a pit or trap or Shove to knock them prone.  At 7th level with Athletics Expertise and an 18 Strength score, the Fighter has a +10 bonus to Athletics checks.  At level 11, this is +13.  At level 20, it is +17.   A prone, grappled enemy cannot stand unless it spends its action to first try to break the grapple.  If it succeeds, it will have reduced movement speed because it must stand up from prone or crawl.  A prone enemy has disadvantage when attacking the Fighter (although not when trying to end the grapple), and the Fighter has advantage against the enemy (and thus can Sneak Attack).
#2 Danny_Montanny Jul 24, 2014 12:59:33	Played a Half-Orc Monk/Rogue in the play test that was all about this. Though the grapple rules were a little different. Hopefully the Monk in the PHB has the ability to do this with its extra attacks, because I'm really liking the new option.
#3 2Chlorobutanal Jul 24, 2014 18:18:49	Monk will probably be better at grappling than a Fighter, but for now I'm just working off the material I have available.
#4 Alpizarai Aug 11, 2014 3:05:46	2Chlorobutanal wrote: