Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 flashedarling Aug 31, 2014 19:48:11	I love unarmed builds and especially builds that let you build a grappler. While they never seem to compete with the more standard methods of freezing foes (such as hold person) there is a certain alure to just grabbing your enemy and throwing him around with your bare hands.    The key mechanic I want to exploit is knocking an enemy prone once they are grabbed. With 0 speed they will be unable to stand until they escape the grab, meaning they suffer disadvantage on their attack rolls and grant advantage to all melee attackers. If you can make it difficult enough for them to escape the grab you basically have them at your mercy.    Components useful for a grappler.   Feats: Grappler - Advantage attacking grabbed creatures, prevents larger creatures from escaping, can restrain grabbed creatures. This feat may not be the end all be all for the dedicated grappler however. As far as I can tell this is the only place where the ability of larger creatures to auto-escape is mentioned. That mechanic isn't mentioned in the main grappler text on page 195.   Tavern Brawler - Unarmed and improvized attacks at 1d4, grab as a bonus action after hitting with an attack, Strength or Con +1.     Races.  Human ( +1 to all stats, not bad for a pretty MAD class) Half-Orc ( +2 Strength, +1 Con. Both pretty important for the class) Mountain Dwarf ( +2 Strength, +2 Con but slow. Once you get your mitts on them speed doesn't matter anymore)   Classes: Barbarian - It's all about the rage baby (1) Rage 2/day. Advantage on all strength checks. This is what you are here for.  (1) Unarmored Defense. Dex+Con+Shield. Not bad for AC. (5) Extra Attack. Use your first attack to grapple the second to hit them in the face.  (5) Fast Movement. Get to the enemy faster.  Fighter - Armor proficiency, battle maneuvers, all around Mr. Martial. (1) Fighting style - Not certain if any style fits with the unarmed theme of the brawler. Dueling and two-weapon fighting come the closest. (1) Second Wind - Nothing wrong with extra healing. You'll need it. (2) Action Surge - Didn't grab them the first try? Give it another go. (3) Martial Archetype - Battle Master. The trip maneuver is top on your list. Nothing is better than knocking a grappled enemy prone.  (5) Extra Attack. More chances to grab or hit. Exactly what you need. (7) Know your Enemy. More flavor than mechanically sound. Still could be fun to target the creatures with the lowest strength or dexterity.    Monk - A natural choice for the unarmed brawler. Too bad it'll make you slightly MAD. Strength, Dex, and Wisdom need apply. (1) Martial Arts. Unarmed attacks with finesse. Plus extra attacks as a bonus action. Both effective and thematic. (1) Unarmored Defense. Dex+Wis, good but this is where the MAD comes in. (2) Flurry of Blows. Attempting grapple falls under the purview of the Attack action. Letting you flurry off the grab. (2) Unarmored Movement. Like the barbarian you want to get into the scrum faster. (3) Monastic Tradition - Way of the Open Hand. Lets you knock prone with Flurry of Blows. Allowing you to grab, flurry, and knock prone all in a single turn.  (5) Extra attack. Once again, vital for your purposes. (6) Ki-Empowered Strikes. You are fighting unarmed right? Better safe than sorry when it comes to piercing resistances. (6) Wholeness of Body. As noted for the fighter. Healing is imporant.      Sample:  The Raging Elf Barbarian 1 / Monk 5 Race: Wood Elf Background: Sailor (Athletics, Perception) Stats: Str 14, Con 12, Dex 18, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha  8 (Ability boost at monk 4, +2 dex) Hitpoints: 13+9+9+9+9+9 AC: 17 ( Dex+Wis) Strength(Athletics): +5 Unarmed attack: +7, 1d6+4 (three times with martial arts, four times with flurry of blows)   Basic monk with a splash of barbarian. Not the strongest guy around so landing that grab could be tricky. That is where the barbarian Rage comes in handy. Makes up for it by having a good AC and a  better ability to trip up the enemy.    Sample: Drunken Dwarf Barbarian 1 / Fighter 5 Race: Mountain Dwarf Background: Sailor (Athletics, Perception) Stats: Str 18, Con 16, Dex 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha  8 (Ability boost at fighter 4, +1 str from Tavern Brawler) AC: 17 ( Dex+Con+Shield) Unarmed attack: +7, 1d4+6 (If your DM lets duelist apply to your fist or your shield as an improvized weapon)   A splash of barbarian for rage, tavern fighter for unarmed attacks, and then fighter for superiority dice. Relies on the Trip maneuver to get his enemies on the ground. Can grab with one hand and use his shield with the other. Your shield counts as an improvized weapon, so have fun smashing in faces with it. Gotta love it.   Useful spells to beg off your party. Enlarge Spell - Now can grab even larger creatures. Hex - Disadvantage to an enemies ability check, making it even more difficult for them to escape from the grab   So what other methods are there of getting a grappler really going? The key is making a grappler who doesn't sacrifice the hitpoints or defenses necessary to survive melee combat and can still bloody the nose of the things too big or too small for him to grab.
#2 2Chlorobutanal Aug 31, 2014 22:21:56	Taking a level or two (or three) of Rogue would double your proficiency bonus (a +2 to +6, eventually better statistically than, and usable with, advantage) on grapple and shove checks, as well as 1d6 or 2d6 bonus Sneak Attack damage against prone targets per turn (including opportunity attacks)- assuming you hold on to a finesse weapon such as a dagger or shortsword.  Cunning Action from Rogue 2 allows you to Dash as a bonus action, effectively cancelling the penalty for moving while grappling, really allowing you to drag people around the battlefield.   From a theoretically standpoint, I highly recommend going Fighter 11 for a wrestler build, as 3 attacks provide a lot of utility when combined with shoves and grabs.  However, Battlemaster maneuvers can replicate many of the effects of the Shove action with higher probability of success along with a lot more damage.   An unconventional "grappler" build could be a Bard that learns the telekinesis spell (with Magical Secrets) and gets to apply half of his or her proficiency bonus to the opposed (Cha vs. Str) check for restraining people due to Jack of all Trades (I think?  Don't have my books- the Bard feature that adds half your proficiency bonus to all ability checks that don't already include it).  A College of Lore Bard may also be able to apply Bardic Inspiration dice to penalize the enemy's ability checks.
#3 mellored Aug 31, 2014 22:49:16	Bards also get expertise valor gets 2 attacks lore can both use cutting words, and peerless skill at level 14.  To really boost your chances.
(Reply to #3) 2Chlorobutanal	mellored wrote:
#5 flashedarling Sep 01, 2014 4:30:23	Good point about the Rogue. You get expertise and sneak attack with only a single level dip so it is a not too costly investement. I would think a monk's unarmed strikes count as finesse weapons given that they use Dexterity for the attack roll.    One advantage of a single dip in barbarian for the monk is that rage also gives resistance to most physical damage and +2 damage to all attacks. The former is key for increasing survivability at lower levels, in my brief play experience with the monk he gets his face beaten in quite a bit until he can get Dex 20. The +2 damage to all attacks is slightly better than sneak attack when you are doing 3 or 4 of them per turn.