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

[Yunru]

the damage of spike growth is 2d4, the average is x5 = 2400. still huge.

about the max speed possible (with really rare itens), what I get:

tabaxi
moon druid 6 = allosaurus, 60 ft.
Fighter 2 = action surge
barbarian elk 5 = +25ft.
monk 2 = +10ft.
bladesinger 2 = +10ft.
mystic 1 = +5ft.
(2 level missing, maybe rogue for cunning action or 2 more in monk for ASI and more ki to dash)
Mobile +10
longstride +10
boon of speed +30
major property artifact +10,
transmuter stone +10 (stolen from wizard).
boots of speed for allosaurus x2
potion of speed = haste

dash + action dash + bonus action dash + action surge dash + haste dash = 7200 feet one turn or 823m/h
I'm missing something?

I only get half that. Total speed when using Tabaxi's feat is 720 feet. Dashing four times leves you with 3600 feet.

 

[zaratan]

I only get half that. Total speed when using Tabaxi's feat is 720 feet. Dashing four times leves you with 3600 feet.

haste, boots of speed and tabaxi double your speed.

 

[Goken100]

I think there is a problem with this part of the Grappler feat:

this is not actually true because when a target is prone and you try to grapple it the check is not done with ADV, that only applies on melee attacks while this feat gives ADV on every attack

While it is true that the Grappler Feat does SOMETHING, it's generally a trap in that it will be a far inferior choice than another Feat or Ability increase. For the majority of grappler builds, you are best served by knocking your opponent prone while they're grappled. This makes sure they have disadvantage on all attack rolls and that your allies have advantage on their melee attacks against it (not just you, as in the case of the Grappler Feat). And, perhaps most important, the Grappler's most powerful role is in controlling the battlefield, not in gaining advantage for its own attacks.

So, yes, you could conceivably create a decent character that actually used the Feat. But it would not be optimized, either as a damage dealer or as a battlefield controller. But if you think it would be fun, do it! Not everything needs to be optimized.

 

[Yunru]

While it is true that the Grappler Feat does SOMETHING, it's generally a trap in that it will be a far inferior choice than another Feat or Ability increase. For the majority of grappler builds, you are best served by knocking your opponent prone while they're grappled. This makes sure they have disadvantage on all attack rolls and that your allies have advantage on their melee attacks against it (not just you, as in the case of the Grappler Feat). And, perhaps most important, the Grappler's most powerful role is in controlling the battlefield, not in gaining advantage for its own attacks.

So, yes, you could conceivably create a decent character that actually used the Feat. But it would not be optimized, either as a damage dealer or as a battlefield controller. But if you think it would be fun, do it! Not everything needs to be optimized.

Heck, forget ASI, given the choice a level of Rogue will see you better than Grappler.

 

[Ravinsild]

Are grappling builds useful for damage dealer type characters? In 4e I had a vicious Gnoll Brawler that was focused more on damage than anything else but he could really put a hurt on people. Would something like an Eldritch Knight 11/Monk 9 with Enlarge Person and Flurry of Blows for the ground and pound be a decent damage dealer grappler or something like that?

 

[Istbor]

I think you could do respectable damage, but in whole, that is not what I feel the build is about.

It is more for singling out a dangerous opponent(s) and locking them down. Grappling and taking them down so that others in your group can gang up and get advantage. It is about controlling a part of the field of combat so that those enemies need to focus on escaping you rather than damaging your more vulnerable companions.

My current Fighter 6/ Rogue 1 grappler was built to take on casters. Variant human gave me mobility, and fighter 6 gives me mage slayer. He can move swiftly across the battlefield and lock down any casters he can get his hands on. While he may sometimes take a beating himself, he can do decent damage with the longsword in his other hand, once the target is effectively grappled and pushed prone. The damage though, is not really what he is about, but that ability to latch onto a mage, and to cause the enemies to focus on him, or ignore him and basically say good bye to that magical support.

 

[Ravinsild]

I think you could do respectable damage, but in whole, that is not what I feel the build is about.

It is more for singling out a dangerous opponent(s) and locking them down. Grappling and taking them down so that others in your group can gang up and get advantage. It is about controlling a part of the field of combat so that those enemies need to focus on escaping you rather than damaging your more vulnerable companions.

My current Fighter 6/ Rogue 1 grappler was built to take on casters. Variant human gave me mobility, and fighter 6 gives me mage slayer. He can move swiftly across the battlefield and lock down any casters he can get his hands on. While he may sometimes take a beating himself, he can do decent damage with the longsword in his other hand, once the target is effectively grappled and pushed prone. The damage though, is not really what he is about, but that ability to latch onto a mage, and to cause the enemies to focus on him, or ignore him and basically say good bye to that magical support.

Well yes, grappling is typically played the same way, however while in 4e the Fighter class was in the Defender Roll the Grappler sublass fighting feature made them more of a single target controller.

I played it more like a WoW Rogue but instead of "Stunlocking" I grappled them to the ground them beat them to death quickly while my allies helped. So it was more of a...brawler/bruiser than a true tank.

Basically locking down the biggest threat on the battlefield then punishing them with heavy damage and reducing their options until they deal with you. I tend to like more aggressive characters than stacking on a thousand defenses: I don't like playing with shields, or buff spells, I prefer full on offensive characters. Probably because my AD&D human barbarian couldn't do much more than sword spam auto-attack and I enjoy that playstyle.

So an offensive grappler that can disable a foes ability to move or do much and pour in the damage is more my preference but if it's not a very good character or build then I won't bother. I don't want to be a weak link gimp member that can't bring anything to the group

 

[Istbor]

Well yes, grappling is typically played the same way, however while in 4e the Fighter class was in the Defender Roll the Grappler sublass fighting feature made them more of a single target controller.

I played it more like a WoW Rogue but instead of "Stunlocking" I grappled them to the ground them beat them to death quickly while my allies helped. So it was more of a...brawler/bruiser than a true tank.

Basically locking down the biggest threat on the battlefield then punishing them with heavy damage and reducing their options until they deal with you. I tend to like more aggressive characters than stacking on a thousand defenses: I don't like playing with shields, or buff spells, I prefer full on offensive characters. Probably because my AD&D human barbarian couldn't do much more than sword spam auto-attack and I enjoy that playstyle.

So an offensive grappler that can disable a foes ability to move or do much and pour in the damage is more my preference but if it's not a very good character or build then I won't bother. I don't want to be a weak link gimp member that can't bring anything to the group

My Fighter Rogue Grappler is not a weak link. I would categorize him as a bruiser for certain. Once you have the enemy prone, you are attacking with advantage. Note, I didn't mention a shield at all, but you can play with one. Makes proning an enemy a bit easier I believe. It just isn't a build that you go for if you want to deal a ton of damage, like a two-hander fighter or barb. My example character though is played 100% with offense in mind.

I don't even think I am stacking defences, I took the dueling fighting style for extra damage with the sword in my one hand, while using the other to grapple. As well, with mage slayer, if he gets his hands on a mage, he does slay the thing quick well. Just know you may be subject to reprisals.

 

[Thateous]

Anyone in this thread care to assist in optimizing a battlerager/fighter build? Main questions are, do we go for level 6 mindless rage or drop over to fighter earlier. my charcter is already level 3 barb so it's too late to do fighter first.

 

[Yunru]

I've not found a problem with going pure Barbarian. Sure it's not as optimized as possible, but it does well.

Although if you're going to multiclass, Rogue over Fighter.