I agree with your thoughts, and this does reflect a lot of how I run my own games.
For a complete overanalysis read below, but TL;DR version:
Garroting is balanced on the standard three (3)-round combat encounter, and adds a really cool option for exploration challenges.
It is extremely powerful vs one single enemy (probably too much!) and more balanced against encounters with multiple enemies - but that is a common issue I have with 5e anyways, and based in what I have seen on forums something others do as well.
Deepdive:
*The
champion would take three (3) rounds to knock unconsicous that way, as it is 1 + Con mod (2) = 3. - But this doesn’t affect your point at all and you are correct, so I won’t use the champion as an example.
I agree it is a powerful tactic against certain types of creatures, especially as some people mentioned higher in thread - specifically the high HP but low Str/Con. But I see this as a good strategic option that is one more tool for players to have, and it only efficient in certain encounters.
The grappled condition only prevents movement and does not gove disadvantage on attack rolls, so the grappled target will always have at least one creature to attack.
Brute type enemies typically have higher Con (to survive at least 2-4 rounds) and higher Str (to break the grapple). They usually have strong melee attacks, so this tactic isn’t super effective at ending the fight faster.
Skirmisher- type enemies use high mobility and could have ranged attacks. This is where the Garrote is most effective, and I think this is a great tactic to have available. It may be too powerful for some groups, but my group really enjoys using complicated rock-scissor-paper type strategies and this opens up another option.
Glass-cannon type creatures would not last long being choked - but if someone is within melee distance with advantage then they are already not expected to survive long
Combats are balanced to last 3 rounds (taken from how to calculate monster CR from the DMG). Most creatures have certain tactics they use reflected in their ability scores and abilities.
The Garrote is most effective against high HP/low Con creatures, which is a rare form in itself. Unless it is a high-CR creature, like the
archmage. But if you are within melee distance to an archmage with advantage on the attack, the (probably higher level) party should be expected to be able to kill the mage within 2 rounds anyways.
Edit:
it is great to see support on the GoFundMe!