monkey grip... is it worth it?

[Hypersmurf]

Monkey Grip: "You are able to use a larger weapon than other people your size..."

Right. Monkey Grip lets you use a weapon one size category larger than you without increasing its designation (light, one-handed, two-handed), with a -2 penalty. It doesn't make you one size category larger, or even effectively one size category larger.

And Powerful Build doesn't treat you as one size category larger for the purpose of wielding weapons; rather, it allows you to wield weapons one size category larger than you without penalty.

A Large creature can wield a Large two-handed weapon, or a Huge one-handed weapon (treating it as a two-handed weapon).

A Medium creature with Monkey Grip can wield a Large two-handed weapon, but he cannot wield a Huge one-handed weapon - the feat has no effect one weapons designed for creatures two size categories larger than himself.

A Medium creature with Powerful Build can wield weapons designed for Large creatures without penalty, but the trait has no effect on Huge weapons.

A Medium creature with Powerful Build and Monkey Grip can wield weapons designed for Large creatures without changing their designation, and do so without penalty... but neither the feat nor the trait have any effect on Huge weapons, so while he can wield a Huge light weapon (as a two-handed weapon), he cannot wield Huge one-handed or two-handed weapons.

-Hyp.

 

[escaflowne777]

A Fullblade's just a Large bastard sword in 3.5 anyway; one size larger, and it's Huge, and outside the purview of Monkey Grip...

-Hyp.

Truly? My DM will be quite relieved when he finds out my fullblade fighter is no longer legal. (or never was) Thanks and no thanks hypersmurf. Where might one find powerful build? Also, is it at all possible to wield a one-sized-up fullblade? Even with a penalty?

 

[UltimaGabe]

Truly? My DM will be quite relieved when he finds out my fullblade fighter is no longer legal. (or never was) Thanks and no thanks hypersmurf. Where might one find powerful build? Also, is it at all possible to wield a one-sized-up fullblade? Even with a penalty?

Powerful Build is a racial feature that (to my knowledge) only three races have- and one of them isn't even a player race. Goliaths have it in Races of Stone, Half-Giants have it in the Expanded Psionics Handbook, and Red Caps (a small non-PC race in the MM3) have it.

 

[Bad Paper]

wow, thanks, Hypersmurf

My goliath warblade is officially illegal. This is a relief, mostly because of the good-for-the-goose-good-for-the-gander rule, and I certainly didn't want a Huge bastard sword coming at me any time soon.

 

[Treacherous_B]

Power Attack: always better for optimizing.

Monkey Grip: sometimes better for character flavor.

Example: The barbarian I was playing in my last campaign had Monkey Grip to go with his ancestral battleaxe (which was large). While he also had power attack, there's something to be said for the imposing visage of a human with a clearly-too-large axe swinging at your head.