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

[Clint_L]

If the party has a Divination wizard or similar portent type effects that can autofail that Stunning Strike turns the tide of a battle fast.

So does any one round save or suck, potentially.

I'm not saying stunning strike is terrible. I'm saying I think it's overrated, and only got its reputation because A) monks could spam it, and B) 2014 monks had nothing better to do.

2024 monks have LOADS od options. Usually better ones than stunning strike. Stunning strike is now like a cherry on top that my monk can attempt, if she feels like, after she's already got the target badly injured, grappled, and poisoned.

 

[mellored]

Grapple is a really bad condition in 5e

Only if if you have the right conditions.

Nominally: you run up and grapple the orc, and the orc just hits you like he would do anyways. Grappling does not protect you, you're stuck next it as much as they are stuck to you, and he probably wasn't going to provoke an OA anyways.
Or your just fighting something bigger than you.

So it's entirely possible you get nothing from the feat, where as Defensive Duelist could negate an attack, or Weapon Mastery could give you an extra 1d8+0 attack, or +2 Wis could help land the Stunning Strike and boost your AC.

That said. The right conditions can be fairly common, especially if you do a little team optimization (i.e. Wizard casts Cloud of Daggers). So definitely worth considering, but not overpowered.

 

[abirdcall]

2024 Monks are very strong on their own. They were probably the most buffed class and they were actually fine before.

Deflect Attacks is probably their best ability.

The main thing balancing Grappler is that they want both dex and wis.

They can have 20/16 or 18/18 without feats at 8th level if they take the ability scores.

In my game I call for saving throws as I think fits. If PCs are pushed off cliffs they can save to grab a ledge. This goes for monsters too. I also don't allow hazard shenanigans per the DMG things like being in different spaces is an abstraction and not intended to represent what is literally happening.