D&D 5E Grappler Build need some advice/ideas...

[the_move]

I am currently playing a goliath fighter/eldritch knight in a D&D 5E campaign and I am aiming towards a grappler build. I am currently lvl 4 and enroute to lvl 8 EK in order to acquire the Enlarge/Reduce spell. After that I've planned to pick at least 1 lvl of rogue for expertise in athletics, maybe 2 lvls to obtain cunning action as well. Since at this stage grappling is not that effective and I mostly wanted to create a single target grappler, I picked up Shield Master first to gain a bonus action shove/prone attempt in addition to my attack action, so at lvl 5 I got a shove/prone and 2 attacks. I've picked the Dueling fighting style as well.

I've planned to acquire War Caster at lvl 6, because I want to lose the somatic component, and to gain advantage on concentration spells (like Enlarge, or Protection from Evil and Good). I also want to use Booming Blade with any opportunity attack. So far I had quite some opportunities, but sadly could not use it yet.

At lvl 8 I wanted to get Tavern Brawler, increasing my strength to 18. This would make my shield becoming usable as a weapon. Enlarged and with Dueling it would deal 2d4+6. Since the spell states that WEAPONS are enlarged and deal an extra d4 I guess that fists and feet do not count as such and with tavern brawler it would still be 1d4+4. Dueling also requires the use of a weapon in one hand, so unarmed is excluded.

I wonder if it would be wise skipping Tavern Brawler in favor of Heavy Armor Master. The reason is that my dungeon master plays his monsters a little too wary. All are expert tacticians (even zombies) and further if the bear totem barbarian in our party uses Rage (resist all except psychic) all Monsters start attacking me (or the squishies), while if I use Protection from Evil and Good spell it's vice versa.

By picking Heavy Armor Master I lose the option of using my shield as a weapon and further my unarmed attacks are even less effective with only 5 damage per hit. Heavy Armor Master would provide some solid protection, especially while grappling 2 creatures while some more are still in vicinity and of course when going sword and board because grappling can't be done all the time.

The Grappler's Manual rated Heavy Armor Master rather bad, at least for grapplers. Yet, I think it could still be viable, especially when going knee-deep into brawls. What is your opinion concerning this matter. Or should I have skipped Shield Master in favour of taking both Heavy Armor Master and Tavern Brawler.

 

[Bardbarian]

From my experience playing a grappler, Rage and Expertise are the most valuable options to chase after. You will use most of your actions grappling that damage isn't so important. Grappling will remove most of the incoming damage from your target through disadvantage and Rage makes you a beast at taking the remaining hits. The main thing is party synergy because your allies will be getting the benefits of advantage and should make short work of your target. The shield is nice but you do lose on the ability to grapple two targets at once so that is something to consider (which it appears you have). If you have the patience and stats, the bard(lore)/Barbarian is probably the strongest grappler but the first 2 levels of bard are a bit lackluster. Finally any opportunity to increase your movement is valuable since it is halved when grappling. Looks like you are on your way, I do suggest grappling before you get tavern brawler and asking if you really think you need it. In my case I don't but I chose Barb/Monk/Bard as my mix so I have different needs than yours. Barb rogue works well but any level beyond the 2nd in rogue seemed a bit weak due to dead features.

Good luck with your grapples!

 

[the_move]

While I really appreciate your feedback, changing my character or class is not what I had in mind. Of course barbarian was an appealing choice (with bear totem) and I also thought dipping 3 levels into.
But the EK can't be this bad as a grappler either. I already got the Longstrider spell in order to occassionally compensate some of the halved Speed during a grapple. 2 lvls of rogue and Cunning Action would further contribute.

I am thinking about instead of investing 18 lvls into fighter and with it having 2 Action Surges per rest along 6 ASI/feats taking only 12 lvls of fighter and additional 6 lvls of wizard. I would lose another 12 hitpoints in the process along the additional use of Action Surge and one ASI/feat, but would acquire lots of useful spells from any school up to 6th spell lvl such as Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound (does not require concentration), Haste, Mirror Image among other goodies.
I also could pick either Divination spec to obtain Portent or choose Transmutation spec, since Enlarge/Reduce is a transmutation spell my character will often use, so I can as often change the stone's benefit as I see fit (darkvision, movement speed increase, resistance). Arcane Recovery also might come in handy in order to use abjuration spells like Shield/Absorb Elements more frequently. Ritual Casting is also nice to have as well as several additional cantrips.

Or I could dip only 1 into rogue and take 7 barb, gaining 4 rages, Bear Totem, Danger Sense, Fast Movement (useless with heavy armor though) and Feral Instinct (so I can skip the Alert feat in the long run) along 7 times a d12 hit die instead of just a d10 or even d6. A goliath (Powerful Build) with Bear Totem and Enlarge spell would have 8 times the carrying capacity, wouldn't he? This could be of use, since afaik you are able to grapple huge creatures while being large yourself. Rage does not change your size category, so you are still limited to large creatures. Anything beyond you have to fight the typical way. So Enlarge might have it's advantages over rage.

I am not sure if there is THE best grappling class(-combination), but we went quite off topic anyway. It is still Tavern Brawler vs Heavy Armor Master.

edit: Actually going barb for some lvls might be the answer. Using Rage for grappling inside horde battles, while keeping Enlarge ready for grappling single target huge creatures might be the answer. Further Danger Sense improves the usefulness of Shield Master. Guess it's going 7 barb and Tavern Brawler then.

 

[Bardbarian]

My intent was to speak with some experience as I have not played your particular build. The reason I posted my build was so you can see what I use and see if analagous abilities exist where you are going. For example, Rage can be replaced with heavy weapon master and Enlarge. Expertise exists in both rogue and Bard. Knowing what others choose may open up new ideas for you. By all means keep doing what you like.

 

[the_move]

As a matter of fact your post really inspired me. I still favor Enlarge, because with the increase in size you might be able to use grapple against huge creatures, and rogue only needs 1 lvl in order to acquire Expertise rather than 3 lvls of bard. Barbarian on the other hand would be a great addition.

Even Unarmored Defense might come very hand, for example if the pc is caught off guard while resting inside a tavern's bedroom. The rages will help in saving spells and are better for fighting hordes, Danger Sense and Feral Instinct are great additions as well, and Bear Totem will turn my Goliath into "the Hulk". After EK8/Ro1 I'll continue with 7 lvls of barb and then switch back to fighter for Extra Attack (2) at lvl 19. The Final would be EK12/Ro1/Barb7. I'll pick up Tavern Brawler at lvl 8 and raise my strength to 20 at lvl 13.

Thank you!