D&D 5E The Grappler's Manual (2.0) - Grappling in 5th Edition

[Arandomperson]

Well yeah but silence would have to be cast by a party member because it is only available for bards and clerics. For example if you want to do the Fighter/Wiz/Rogue build you can definitely switch wizard for bard but you would lose so many good spells at 1st and 2nd level. Shield(Amazing on a front line tanky goliath), Absorb Elements, Jump and Enlarge.
Altho now that I think about it you could go Bard 3 and Wiz 1 or 2(for portent which can be coupled with cutting word for never failing a grapple/shove/maneuver) since bard gives you expertise anyway
and I think this gives you more options than rogue 1/2 wiz 3
-The only things you lose are sneak attack which doesnt work with unarmed strikes anyway and some lvl 2 wizard spells but you only wanted enlarge anyway and you can use a potion for that.
-You gain all those sweet bard features and the ability to help you team even more while you are holding 2 dudes on the ground with nice verbal only spells.

 

[Darlos9D]

Nonesense. You take Tavern Brawler instead and use them as an improvised weapon.

Jokes aside, I feel like this is a pretty real possibility. The only problem is that Tavern Brawler doesn't go far into explaining about improvised weapons. By the name alone, technically literally any object you can lift that isn't in the weapon list is an improvised weapon. And one could even go so far as to consider other creatures as "objects." Combine that with Totem Barbarian's Aspect of the Bear and Goliath's Powerful Build, I feel like a DM would be hard pressed to explain why you COULDN'T swing a measly medium-sized opponent like a club when you're capable of dead-lifting over 1000 pounds. (and dragging way, way more) And that's before your magical friends or items take you to even more ridiculous extremes. Because while this guide seems focused on creating some completely self-sufficient magical grapplers, its good to remember that you'll (hopefully) have party pals and treasure to look forward to and rely on.

Also, this might be outside the realm of grappling opponents directly, but I feel like there's some value in thinking about doing things like lifting big heavy objects, and then throwing them at or even just dropping them on opponents for silly damage. Getting crushed by a 1000-pound boulder that some guy just casually picked up and dropped on you is logically going to do a bit more damage than simply hitting with, say, the improvised equivalent of a maul.

 

[Grue AC]

I think they learned from the Hulking Hurler builds of 3.5 to not directly equate weight of item to damage.

 

[saintstardust]

I've got a question regarding a grappler that I'm thinking about building that revolves around damage mitigation, keeping enemies close, and Armor of Agathys:
Goliath Warlock 2/Wizard (Abjuration) 18
Basic build relies on Armor of Shadows refilling Arcane Ward and Stone's Endurance to keep Armor of Agathys up. Basic idea is to grapple an enemy (or two) and forcing yourself to be the only melee target.

Not sure if viable strategy vs. damage at higher levels.

 

[Arandomperson]

Seems legit since you basically have 2x your wizard lvl + int mod arcane ward hp at the start of every fight and that gets taken out before armor of agathys does. This alone coupled with blade ward/absorb elements which are both abjuration if I'm not wrong(so even more ward hp) would make your bonus hp last a long while. That said missing extra attack and expertise is a big deal. if you want to just straight up tank everything you might consider adding barbarian 5 to the mix for rage that gives you resistance to everything, str check advantage and extra attack as well. if you want to be more utility based warlock 2 wizard 18 is still not bad since you do get to reach lvl 9 spells.

 

[Darlos9D]

On the subject of grappling warlocks: In thinking about them in general, I did end up start thinking about how Hex grants us an ability check debuff that doesn't rely on spell save dc. Granted, it requires us to hit with physical attacks first, but that shouldn't be TOO hard for a grappler. It could be considered sort of an alternative to Cutting Words. It also synergizes well with the bonus grapple attempt from Tavern Brawler, since you have to hit with a melee attack first to get that anyway. Though you'd have to wait a turn for that since Hex is also a bonus action spell.

I think they learned from the Hulking Hurler builds of 3.5 to not directly equate weight of item to damage.

Well, there's some writing about improvising damage in the DMG, as well as example traps like boulder traps. I think it'd still be difficult for the DM to argue that you SHOULDN'T get some solid damage for hitting somebody with a boulder.

 

[saintstardust]

Seems legit since you basically have 2x your wizard lvl + int mod arcane ward hp at the start of every fight and that gets taken out before armor of agathys does. This alone coupled with blade ward/absorb elements which are both abjuration if I'm not wrong(so even more ward hp) would make your bonus hp last a long while. That said missing extra attack and expertise is a big deal. if you want to just straight up tank everything you might consider adding barbarian 5 to the mix for rage that gives you resistance to everything, str check advantage and extra attack as well. if you want to be more utility based warlock 2 wizard 18 is still not bad since you do get to reach lvl 9 spells.

I like the utility route, so I doubt I'd ever take less than 17 wizard. Advantage on Strength checks could come from Enlarge Person and/or causing disadvantage via Hex. I could use the first 2 Ability Score Improvements to take Moderately Armored (for shield proficiency) and Shield Master (for the bonus action shove). Don't think I can fit extra attack in otherwise.

The other version of this build could look like a barbarian 1/warlock 1/bard (valor) 6 which would get rage, expertise, hex, armor of agathys, and extra attack. Or barbarian 1/warlock 1/wizard (bladesinger) 6 for the same as above, minus the expertise. However, neither has much in the way of damage mitigation from what I can see to give more opportunities for armor of agathys to do its thing.

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

Any chance of the sample builds getting added to the guide?

Those were my favorite part of this guide back on the WotC forums. The Herculean Wrestler was my favorite of them all, as I remember the guide listing how to perform certain wrestling moves using the in-game mechanics.

 

[Arandomperson]

Here is the Herculean Wrestler as it was on the other forum. Although imo going fighter 5-> bard is much more versatile while losing almost nothing, if you want I can do a quick rundown of how I would build it.


Starting Race: Human or Mountain Dwarf
Human gives you a bonus feat at level 1, which you can use to get any number of awesome feats for the class. Dwarf gives you better stats.

Ability Scores: Here's your 27 point buy array assuming shameless optimization choices.
Str: 15 (Human +1 or Dwarf +2 - You want this maxed as soon as you can)
Dex 13 (Human or Dwarf - Full Plate doesn't mesh with Dexterity)
Con 13 (Human +1 or Dwarf +2 - See Strength)
Int 13 (Can't totally dump this because we need the Wizard multiclass)
Wis 10 (Fear effects are often wisdom-based. Don't totally dump this, despite how tempting it may be)
Cha 9 (Dump it - Cha saves are few and far between)

Fighter 1
Human Feat: Tavern Brawler
The build starts off in Fighter for Heavy Armor and Con-save proficiency, both of which are important later on. If you are a Human, get Tavern Brawler right away; it's nuts with the maneuvers you get starting at level 3. Note that this build is not going to get advantage on its grapple checks until level 8. It will make up for that with more attacks and more versatility in the interim.
Fighter 2
Fighter 3
As a Human, You really start to come online at level 3. Dwarves will need to wait a level. Now you can make a Trip Attack with one action, and then grapple as a bonus action with Tavern Brawler. Or Disarm as an attack, grapple as a bonus action, and then drag them away from the weapon as a move action.
Fighter 4
Level 4 Feat: Tavern Brawler (Dwarf) or Mobile (Human)
Dwarves will hit 18 Strength at this point and get to trip/disarm and grapple. Humans will get better move speed. Either way, this really opens up the battlefield for your class.
Fighter 5
This is the first level where you will feel unfair. All that stuff you were doing at level 3 or 4? Now you can double it with Extra Attack. Or quadruple it (...wut) with Action Surge.
Fighter 5 / Wizard 1
The build now switches to Wizard for two reasons. For one, you are going to start fighting larger monsters, and you need to bulk up in size category to handle that (don't count on Grappler until it gets erratad). Two, you need to start getting advantage on your Grapple rolls, or stronger monsters will outclass you. Three, you need some more utility on the battlefield, and survivability against scarier attackers. The Wizard dip will handle all of that and more. Spells to pick up here include Longstrider, False Life (which will offset your crappy HD), and Shield (massive spikes to AC on command).
Fighter 5 / Wizard 2
Fighter 5 / Wizard 3
This is the second level where you will feel unfair. Now you get to do everything you were doing before, but you are size Large, you deal an additional +1d4 damage on everything, and you have advantage on all your grapple/shove rolls. Enlarge will be your default concentration spell in most situations, if for no other reason than that it lets you grab bigger creatures.
Fighter 6 / Wizard 3
Level 6 Feat: Warcaster
Now that you are concentrating on spells, you need to get Warcaster to reliably make that save against higher damage monsters. The other Warcaster modes aren't useless and will give you added flexibility to your combat routine.
Fighter 6 / Wizard 3 / Rogue 1
We get Expertise and Sneak Attack here to keep up with the bad guys, adding damage and extra points to our ability checks.
Fighter 6 / Wizard 3 / Rogue 2
You don't actually need Cunning Action here, but I think this build is all about versatility anyway, and Cunning Action gives you a lot of options.
Starting at level 12, there are a few directions you can go with the build. You might want to keep going up in Wizard to pick up stuff like Haste (a solid competitor with Enlarge), or get some of those dex-based save spells for use with Grappler (in which case, you should get that feat at level 4 as a Human). Alternately, you could just dive into Fighter and take that all the way to level 11 to get your third attack, and then branch off for the last few levels depending on how the campaign is going. Or if you are enjoying the damage aspects of Rogue, you can pursue a Sneak Attack build instead. By level 11, you aren't super committed to one style of grappling, so you have a lot of flexibility in where you build from there.

If you go the Fighter route, you will get at least 2 more feats, which further add to your flexibility. Grab Shield Master if you don't mind single target grappling. Take Mage Slayer if you find that bullying spellcasters is your thing. Pick up Crossbow Expert if you want to use more ranged attack rolls (spell ones, likely). Versatility is the aim of this build, and these extra feats let you take your character in whatever direction you want.

Another nice feature of the build is that it scales really well with magical items. Builds like Grizzlyman and BJJ Master have a lot of item restrictions in what they can use. But your Herculean Wrestler? He can use armor, he can use magical wondrous items, he can use Wizard items, etc. He can even use weapons if you don't mind only grappling one target at a time!

 

[Goken100]

I'm currently thinking about a Bladesinger grappling build. The Bladesinger will get Multiattack at level 6 without sacrificing spell level progression, plus gets a boost to speed when bladesinging. The requirement to have at least one hand empty of weapons and shields is a natural match for a grappler. I think the only multi-classing I'll have to do is 1 level or Rogue (with maybe a second level as well for Cunning Action). The race restriction is problematic, so no human feat at level 1, but what ya gonna do.