D&D General Is Grappler feat mandatory/broken for monks?

[Clint_L]

The 2024 update made a point of trying to make feats more balanced. A few of the updated feats still seem like much stronger choices, and I'm wondering if I need to nerf Grappler, in particular.

General Feat (Prerequisite: Level 4+, Strength or Dexterity 13+)

You gain the following benefits.

Ability Score Increase. Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

Punch and Grab. When you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use both the Damage and the Grapple option. You can use this benefit only once per turn.

Attack Advantage. You have Advantage on attack rolls against a creature Grappled by you.

Fast Wrestler. You don't have to spend extra movement to move a creature Grappled by you if the creature is your size or smaller.

I recently took this feat on my Level 8 monk, and it feels like it should basically be mandatory on a monk, because it is stupidly powerful. Grapple is a really bad condition in 5e, and this just gives you a free attempt every round, not to mention advantage on all subsequent attacks PLUS the ability to ragdoll anyone you have grappled.

Thoughts? Suggested nerfs? Or leave it? Right now, I'm almost embarrassed to use it.

Edit: my monk is a Warrior of Mercy, which means that unless you are immune, you are also automatically poisoned. So all my attacks have advantage, yours all have disadvantage (and if you do manage to connect I can deflect it BACK ONTO YOU - stop punching yourself!), and I can move you wherever I want. It's a lot.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I think it's mostly fine. Strong, but I wouldn't put it as a must-have. It's really wonderful if you want to build something control-y for a melee character (strong with unarmed fighting style, too). Grappling is strong, but it adds such a fun dimension to a fight when your positioning is controlled by others, and it's still more popular for monsters to do it than for PC's to do it.

 

[billd91]

You could look at it as enabling a free grappling check... or as enabling a grappling attack to not have to forego the possibility of doing damage. From that perspective, I think it's a nice feat that will encourage players to grapple a lot more. So I definitely wouldn't touch that provision.
I'm not sure, taken independently, the feat's over-powered. The target still gets a save to avoid being grappled and the DC for it isn't changed. Attacking with advantage is a nice perk but not insane since it only applies to the grappler. And fast wrestler isn't too powerful unless your grapple target is your cleric buddy and you're cheese-wheeling spirit guardians by moving him around on your turn and dishing out a second helping of damage.
I think what's really making this powerful is the synergy with imposing the poisoned condition because that makes your target's attempts to escape much harder than they'd otherwise be.

 

[TorgoTheWhite]

If you fight enough Large + size monsters it becomes a dead feat. I think that fact helps balance it.

Fighting alot of Big bads? Consider if your feat will be dead

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Nice.

Our Dark Sun campaign is ramping up; with our 2014 build candlekeep characters getting nerfed back to some earlier level (DM hasn't said yet) but going to 2024 builds and keeping heritage and class. My goblin's going to struggle as there are no goblins in dark sun, and saying I'm a halfling apparently is worse. BUT! He's a Monk, and I'm def going to take Grappler. Thanks for this thread!

 

[DrJawaPhD]

Thoughts? Suggested nerfs? Or leave it? Right now, I'm almost embarrassed to use it.

It's definitely strong but I'd say that's overall a good thing* that Martial characters have new battlefield control options

*As long as you aren't combining it with Spike Growth. Grapple Monks are gamebreakingly OP (like thousands of damage per round) with Haste + Spike Growth. That's when the homebrew nerfs need to come out.

 

[Clint_L]

It's definitely strong but I'd say that's overall a good thing* that Martial characters have new battlefield control options

*As long as you aren't combining it with Spike Growth. Grapple Monks are gamebreakingly OP (like thousands of damage per round) with Haste + Spike Growth. That's when the homebrew nerfs need to come out.

I have deliberately not mentioned this combination to our casters.

I agree with the point that this exceptionally potent combination (monk+grapple, Mercy monk in particular) does nerf itself a bit as you level, since higher level opponents due tend to get both larger and more poison resistant. But most games happen at lower levels, so to me it does feel like a bit much. I'll play with it more and report back!

 

[Tessarael]

Stunning Strike is much more of a balance concern with a Monk. A grappled opponent can still attack you without disadvantage. Situationally, a Monk with the Grappler feat is good, but I don't think I would bother taking the feat if I was playing a Monk, unless the majority of opponents were only one size larger, or less, than my character.

Note that the D&D 2024 rules list the restriction on only grappling creatures up to one size larger than you under Unarmed Strike on page 377 of the 2024 Player's Handbook. "This grapple is possible only if the target is no more than one size larger than you and if you have a hand free to grab it."

 

[Charlaquin]

People seem to be pretty ok with it in this thread, but I’m with OP on this one. The 2024 Grappler feat is very strong, and on monks in particular it’s insane. We can quibble all day as to what constitutes being “mandatory,” but I would say playing a monk and not taking Grappler is suboptimal.

 

[Charlaquin]

Full-speed movement while grappling is really, really strong. DMs, don’t set any fights on cliffs if any of your players take this feat.