I've been wanting to make a grappler for a while now and with Xanthar's released, I now find myself with a plethora of choices and I wanted to get some feedback on a few ideas. The core of the builds revolve around using a Human and taking the Prodigy feat at level 1 (for athletics).
Build 1: Ancestral Guardian Barbarian.
Bio: Guy Manly is descended from a long line of famous strong-men and takes pride in being the most manly human in all the multiverse. Need to wrestle a bear? Channel Teddy Roosevelt. Suplex a goblin? Macho Man says ohhh yeah. Wrestling a raptor? You better believe Steve Erwin is helping out. Need to charm the ladies? Good luck, but the most interesting man in the world will help out the best he can.
This is more of a control build, using the marking mechanic to be icky sticky. Grapple two targets and head-butt a couple more to keep the fun-times focused on you. RPing out the various ancestors sounds like a lot of fun, but damage will suffer. I would focus on making Guy the most amazing human possible, making feats like athletic and mobile look like a lot of fun.
Build 2: Zealot Barbarian
Bio: Mondo went to monk school but could never really get the hang of all the fancy back-flips and splits and twirly bits. He found tossing people to the ground and punching them really hard worked just fine though. The monks in the monastery didn't want to hurt his feelings (or get punched in the face), so the let him keep thinking he was a monk. Mondo considers a bar stool a monk weapon.
This is more of a higher damage grappler build, combining Divine Fury and tavern brawler at level 4 to stack up some decent damage. Less controlling then the other builds, but better at making things dead. Warrior of the Gods gives you the ability to do silly things and get a cheaper res when it doesn't work out.
Build 3: Cavalier Fighter (Free hand + Shield)
Bio: Captain Human was part of a super fighter program yada yada yada. You know the drill.
The final build is less proficient at grappling compared to the Barbarians with rage, but makes up for it with the flexibility of the fighter chassis and Shield Master at level 4. With heavy armor, dex doesn't need to be high, letting you balance out the character a bit more than the barbarians. I'm less enthused about this build, but I imagine it could be pretty effective.
Thoughts?
Build 1: Ancestral Guardian Barbarian.
Bio: Guy Manly is descended from a long line of famous strong-men and takes pride in being the most manly human in all the multiverse. Need to wrestle a bear? Channel Teddy Roosevelt. Suplex a goblin? Macho Man says ohhh yeah. Wrestling a raptor? You better believe Steve Erwin is helping out. Need to charm the ladies? Good luck, but the most interesting man in the world will help out the best he can.
This is more of a control build, using the marking mechanic to be icky sticky. Grapple two targets and head-butt a couple more to keep the fun-times focused on you. RPing out the various ancestors sounds like a lot of fun, but damage will suffer. I would focus on making Guy the most amazing human possible, making feats like athletic and mobile look like a lot of fun.
Build 2: Zealot Barbarian
Bio: Mondo went to monk school but could never really get the hang of all the fancy back-flips and splits and twirly bits. He found tossing people to the ground and punching them really hard worked just fine though. The monks in the monastery didn't want to hurt his feelings (or get punched in the face), so the let him keep thinking he was a monk. Mondo considers a bar stool a monk weapon.
This is more of a higher damage grappler build, combining Divine Fury and tavern brawler at level 4 to stack up some decent damage. Less controlling then the other builds, but better at making things dead. Warrior of the Gods gives you the ability to do silly things and get a cheaper res when it doesn't work out.
Build 3: Cavalier Fighter (Free hand + Shield)
Bio: Captain Human was part of a super fighter program yada yada yada. You know the drill.
The final build is less proficient at grappling compared to the Barbarians with rage, but makes up for it with the flexibility of the fighter chassis and Shield Master at level 4. With heavy armor, dex doesn't need to be high, letting you balance out the character a bit more than the barbarians. I'm less enthused about this build, but I imagine it could be pretty effective.
Thoughts?
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