grappling monk

[statimp]

Hey guys, just wanted to share a build that i have been working on for a while.

I decided to make a grappling character a while back because it was something i had never heard of. sure people grapple sometimes, but basing a character around it seemed like an interesting idea.

here he is, Freki the Dick

Goliath 1/monk 11/kensei 8

level 1 classless goliath, feat: multigrab (dm let me take it because goliaths are monstrous humanoids)
level 2 start taking levels as monk, bonus feat: improved grapple
level 3 feat: weapon focus (grapple), bonus feat: combat reflexes
level 4 +1 str
level 5
level 6 feat: multigrab
level 7 bonus feat: earth's embrace (the one from oriental adventures, not CWar)
level 8 +1 dex
level 9 take kensei prestige class choosing grapple as my weapon, feat: greater multigrab
level 10
level 11
level 12 feat: superior unarmed strike, +1 str
level 13
level 14 continue taking levels in monk
level 15 feat: throw enemy
level 16 +1 str
level 17
level 18 continue taking kensei, feat: aberation blood (flexible limbs)
level 19
level 20 +1 dex

by level 20 ill be able to...
-grapple a different opponent with each limb with no penalty to the grapple
check.
-deal unarmed damage of 4d8+6 and grapple damage of 4d8+12
-be able to initiate a grapple every time i strike unarmed
-be able to throw people upwards of 60 feet
-have a grapple modifier of 15(BaB)+4(Size)+4(improved grapple)+6(kensei)+6(str)+2(flexible limbs)+1(weapon focus)+4(power surge)+4(hooking enchantment) = 44

boom.

we played a few trial encounters with him and he is ridiculously fun to play. throwing people is hilarious, especially when you have a grapple modifier of 44 because when you beat their check by 20 or 25 points you can throw them 40 to 50 feet, and if you hurl them right into a wall that becomes 1d6 for every 5 feet they would have fallen. splat.

also multigrab makes encounters a lot more interesting, i don't have to be worried about finding someone off by himself to grapple, i can just pick someone up and continue doing what i was doing.

any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. he's good, but i think he could be better.

looking forward to hearing from you

 

[Wyvernhand]

Not terrible, but suffering from a bad case of "too many monk levels".

Look up the feat Tashalatora, from Secrets of Sarlona. You stack your Monk + 1 Psychic class together to determine things like UAS damage, Flurry penalties, and AC bonus.

Now you realize that you only really need 2 Monk levels, because those 2 levels are packed full of delicious bonus feats. Pick up Imp Grapple as your 1st level bonus feat, and Monastic Training (ECS, prereq for Tash) as your 2nd level bonus feat. From that point, hop into Psychic Warrior and pick up Tashalatora as your 3rd level character feat. Congrats, you are now a full Monk+!

Oh, and change your race from Goliath (meh) to Half Giant (which is Psionic). Those 2 extra PP will go a long ways, and you still have Powerful Build.

Now get Intertial Armor, Grip of Iron, and EXPANSION as your first 3 PsyWar powers. You now have your own armor bonus that stacks with your monk juju, a SIZE boost with all of it's associated grapple increases, and on demand immediate action grapple boost.

From there, pick up Link Power (CPsi) for rapid buffing and keep taking those PsyWar levels. Consider taking either Martial Study(Mountain Hammer) + Martial Stance (Crushing Roots of the Mountain) OR Shape Soulmeld(Kraken Mantle) + Open Lesser Chakra (Arms), as your 9th and 12th level feats to pick up Constrict. The Martial Study path only works when touching the ground, which is a bummer, but gives you Mountain Hammer AKA Greater Open Says Me, and CRotM's damage is higher. The MoI path gives you a swim speed, which can be fun, and works even if you are flying or levitating, just in case you need to Ride the Dragon^TM.

 

[Dandu]

any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. he's good, but i think he could be better.

Find some way of getting Antimagic Field on him so he can be a caster killing wrestling monk.

 

[statimp]

[MENTION=97681]Wyvernhand[/MENTION]
I had been toying around with the idea of making him a talashtora. i'll write up a build to incorporate it.

constrict damage is an either or thing though isn't it? you can deal unarmed damage or you can attempt to constrict them. and if i remember correctly crushing weight of the mountain only does like 2d6+str.

going talashtora seems to be the best route. i can keep all the things that i want to keep from monk (ac, unarmed damage, movement speed) while still being able to use what are basically the only two things i have not added to his grapple modifier (expansion and grip of iron).

do you guys know of any alternate rulings to make it so your character does not visibly grow? i like the idea of a larger than average (but still medium creature) wrestling things waaayyy bigger than him. right now he has a grapple modifier that is the same as most adult dragons.

[MENTION=85158]Dandu[/MENTION]
can you think of anything good? he can already completely restrain people so he can prevent them from using spells with basically any form of component.

 

[xigbar]

@Dandu
can you think of anything good? he can already completely restrain people so he can prevent them from using spells with basically any form of component.

Assuming he gets in contact with the Wizard. What if the Wizard just Abrupt Jaunts out of your grasp everytime?

 

[statimp]

yup, that's what i would do if i was a wizard. can you think of anything that would work well? i have never looked into anti-magic stuff. we usually depend on the party caster to do that.

 

[xigbar]

yup, that's what i would do if i was a wizard. can you think of anything that would work well? i have never looked into anti-magic stuff. we usually depend on the party caster to do that.

I think there's some PrC some where, maybe it was Runescarred Berserker (?), that had an AMF effect.

 

[xigbar]

Runescarred​

Berserker
REQUIREMENTSTo qualify to become a runescarred berserker, a character

must fulfill all the following criteria.

​

​

Base Attack Bonus:+7.​

Skills: Craft (scarring) 5 ranks, Intimidate5 ranks, Sense Motive 2 ranks.

Feats: Iron Will, Survivor (FRCS),​

at least one berserker lodge feat from

Chapter 3: Regions and Feats.

​

Special: The character must be able to​

rage at least once per day, as the barbarian

class ability, and must be a member of

a berserker lodge. (For more information
about berserker lodges, see Chapter 10:
Rashemen.) Also, the character must qualify
to select regional feats from Rashemen
(Rashemen is his home region, or he
has 2 ranks in Knowledge [local—
Rashemen]).
​

CLASS SKILLS​

The runescarred berserker’s class skills

(and the key ability for each skill) are

Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal
(Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen
(Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis),Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str). See Chapter 4: Skills in the​

​

Player’ Handbook​

for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.​

CLASS FEATURES
All the following are class features of

the runescarred berserker prestige class.

​

​

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Runescarred​

berserkers gain no proficiency in anyweapon or armor. TABLE 2–9: THE RUNESCARRED BERSERKER

Class Base Fort Ref Will Runescar Spells Known

Level Attack Save Save Save Special 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

1st +1 +2 +0 +0 Scribe runescar 1 — — — —​

2nd +2 +3 +0 +0 Extra rage 2 — — — —

3rd +3 +3 +1 +1 Ritual scarring +1 2 1 — — —

4th +4 +4 +1 +1 Spawn of the frost, damage reduction 1/-
3 2 — — —​

5th +5 +4 +1 +1 Extra rage 3 2 1 — —

6th +6 +5 +2 +2 Ritual scarring +2 3 3 2 — —
7th +7 +5 +2 +2 Damage reduction 2/— 4 3 2 1 —
8th +8 +6 +2 +2 Greater rage 4 3 3 2 —
9th +9 +6 +3 +3 Extra rage, ritual scarring +3
4 4 3 2 1​

10th +10 +7 +3 +3 Damage reduction 3/—

4 4 3 3 2​

Scribe Runescar

​

​

(Sp):
At 1st level, a runescarred berserker​

learns how to carve a runescar into her own skin. A runescar is

a means of storing a spell, much like a scroll. The berserker
knows only a limited number of spells with which to imbue runescars,
selected from the runescarred berserker spell list below. To
learn a runescar spell, the berserker must have a Wisdom score
of at least 10 + the spell level. A runescar berserker can only cast
spells by crafting them as runescars; she has no other spellcasting
capability and cannot use spell completion or spell trigger magic
items based on spells from this list.
Scribing a runescar takes 1 hour, the expenditure of materials
equal to 5 gp ​

​

× spell level × caster level, and the expenditure​

of XP equal to 1/25th the gp spent. The character

may set the caster level of the runescar at anywhere from the
minimum class level necessary for her to know the rune to
her own runescarred berserker class level. She may scribe a
runescar only on her own body. The act of scribing a runescar
is painful and deals 1d6 points of damage per spell level
at the end of the scribing time. (The berserker is free to heal
this damage by any normal means afterward—the runescar
remains until activated.)
A runescarred berserker can bear no more than seven runescars
at any one time: two on the chest, two on the upper
arms, two on the backs of the hands, and one on the face.
Runescars are dormant until activated and cannot be dispelled
(although they can be suppressed).
Runescars are considered divine spells, although a berserker
does not actively prepare or cast them. The save DC,
if necessary, is 10 + spell level + the berserker’s Wisdom
score. To activate a runescar, the character must take a
standard action and touch the rune. All runescar spells
target only the runescarred berserker or an item in her possession,
even if the spell scribed could normally be bestowed
on another subject.
After activation, the runescar’s magic is discharged, and
the rune fades to nothing but a faint outline. Typically, a
berserker’s skin is crisscrossed with dozens of old, discharged
runescars.​

​

​

Extra Rage (Ex):

​

​

A runescarred berserker gains additional​

daily uses of the barbarian rage ability. At 2nd level, she gains

one additional rage per day; at 5th level, she gains a second additional
rage; and at 9th level, she gains a third additional
rage. For example, a barbarian 8/runescarred berserker 5 can
rage three times per day from her barbarian levels, plus two
more times from her runescarred berserker levels, for a total
of five rages per day.​

​

​

Ritual Scarring (Ex):

​

​

Through frequent disfiguration of her​

own skin, a runescarred berserker gains a +1 natural armor

bonus to AC at 3rd level. This increases to +2 at 6th level, and
+3 at 9th level.​

​

​

Spawn of the Frost (Su):

​

​

Inured to the bitter cold of Rashemen’s​

winters, a runescarred berserker gains cold resistance 5.​

​

​

Damage Reduction (Ex):

​

​

Starting at 4th level, a runescarred​

berserker gains the ability to shrug off some

amount of injury from each blow or attack. Subtract 1 from
the damage the berserker takes each time she is dealt damage
from a weapon or natural attack. At 7th level and 10th level,
this damage reduction increases to 2 and then 3 points. This
overlaps (does not stack with) damage reduction from any
other class feature.​

​

​

Greater Rage:

​

​

Starting at 8th level, a runescarred berserker’s​

rage bonuses become +6 to Strength, +6 to Constitution,

and a +3 morale bonus on Will saves. Her AC penalty
remains –.​

​

​

RUNESCARRED BERSERKER SPELL LIST

Runescarred berserkers must select their runescar spells known

from the following list.​

1st level

​

​

—cure moderate wounds, divine favor, low-light​

vision*, protection from chaos/evil/good/law, resist elements, see​

​

invisibility, true strike​

2nd level
—bull’s strength, cure serious wounds, darkvision,

endurance, invisibility, keen edge, protection from elements.​

​

​

​

​

3rd level

—air walk, cure critical wounds, death ward,​

divine power, freedom of movement, greater magic​

​

​

weapon, haste.​

​

​

​

4th level

—improved invisibility, neutralize poison, restoration,​

righteous might, spell immunity, stoneskin.​

​

​

​

​

5th level

—antimagic field, dimension door, heal, polymorph​

self, spell resistance.​

​

​

​

​

*New spell described in Chapter 4: Magic and Spells.​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

[Wyvernhand]

Only Powerful Build would let you count as larger without actually being larger, and then only one size category. You have to be at least size Huge to grapple with Colossal creatures when you have Powerful Build, unless the foe initiates the grapple with you.

As far as Constrict goes, its additional. And it triggers every time you win an opposed grapple check. If a for tries to escape and fails, you use the opportunity to tighten your grip. Keep squeezing till their little heads pop right off!

The only thing I could think of to disguise the size increase would be some kind of Metapsionic equivalent to Invisible Spell from Cityscape. That makes the effects of a spell non-visible, so you would appear Medium but actually be Huge and count as Gargantuan.

 

[statimp]

[MENTION=6673175]xigbar[/MENTION]
i don't really see that fitting with this character. plus the requirements are in a very different direction than i was going.

[MENTION=97681]Wyvernhand[/MENTION]
you are totally right, i looked up constrict and it does do damage every time you make a grapple check. so that is definitely going into the build.

adult dragons are large, and i can grapple up to one size larger than myself (powerful build included). so i can grapple all the way up to most very old dragons and even a couple of the ancient ones.

i wonder if the dm would let me write up a metapsionic feat like that. hopefully. although, if i just looked medium sized and was actually huge, wouldn't people be bumping into me all the time? and it would look like i had telekinesis.