monkey grip... is it worth it?

[Felnar]

well, perhaps the feat is better spent elsewhere but...
if you're a sword and shield fighter using a bastard sword or dwarven waraxe (another feat for all but dwarves), monkey grip gives you +4 dmg (on avg) for -2 to hit.
essentially 2 for 1 power attack with a one handed weapon.

and if you can find a medium weapon that does 2d10, the chart shows Monkey Grip would be very beneficial.

 

[Kat']

Yeah, or you could net 1 level of Exotic Weapon Master (not particularly hard to get in...) and take the special ability increasing your Power Attacks with your normal bastard sword or dwarven waraxe.

 

[nittanytbone]

One other time when it could be useful -- dealing with random loot. If your DM threw in a large holy avenger, I'd consider taking the feat so as to be able to use it more effectively rather than selling it.

 

[escaflowne777]

Yes. Get your dm to let you use a one-size-larger fullblade, you've got a weapon that deals 3d8 and -4 to attack, plus monkey grip for a weapon that does 3d8 at -2? Add levels in frenzied berserker and get supreme power attack, and you've created a monster.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Get your dm to let you use a one-size-larger fullblade...

A Fullblade's just a Large bastard sword in 3.5 anyway; one size larger, and it's Huge, and outside the purview of Monkey Grip...

-Hyp.

 

[phindar]

I actually took Monkey Grip with my current character, and I've come to the opinion that its not terrible. It's not great, but its not terrible. (How's that for a ringing endorsement.) Some things to keep in mind, though:

I'm playing a paladin, so I'm not what you'd call feat dependent.

My GM let's Large Reach weapons have Large Reach, so my character gets an extra 5' of Reach with his glaive and his lance. (Yeah, its a house rule, but it was the tipping point for me. I figured the only way to see if it makes Monkey Grip marginally useful was to try it in play.)

When combined with Enlarge Person, this lets my character do more damage and control even more real estate.

I took Monkey Grip at 1st level, and while Weapon Focus or something similar might have averaged out better, rolling boxcars with a Large long sword is a nice feeling.

 

[Hypersmurf]

My GM let's Large Reach weapons have Large Reach, so my character gets an extra 5' of Reach with his glaive and his lance. (Yeah, its a house rule, but it was the tipping point for me. I figured the only way to see if it makes Monkey Grip marginally useful was to try it in play.)

It's effectively a 3.5 update of the reach variant described in Savage Species.

-Hyp.

 

[phindar]

I looked over the weapon size chart hoping I was missing something, that maybe Monkey Grip was a better alternative for characters who couldn't get Power Attack, like an elf with a 20 Dex and Weapon Finesse who wanted to wield a Large rapier. But a Large rapier is only a d8 up from a d6 and that's completely worthless. My paladin at least goes from a long sword's d8 to a 2d6.

I think if the damage relative to weapon size were more consistent (say, if each weapon did about 150% of the damage of the same weapon of the smaller size), the Monkey Grip would be more viable-- particularly for characters who aren't going the Power Attack route.

Take for instance a Small character who wants to wield a Medium weapon. A halfling's d10 Small great axe becomes a d12, and that sucks. But a human's bastard sword at d10 becomes 2d8 at Large, and that's a much better deal. Likewise, the small bastard sword is d8 at Small and d10 at Medium, so its weird that it makes such a dramatic leap to 2d8 at Large.

Monkey Grip will never be a great feat, but its odd that whether its almost not suboptimal or completely flippin' useless depends so much on the particular weapon you're increasing.

 

[Bad Paper]

Those abilities are worded so they don't combine.

err, uh, no? I'm lookin at the goliath in Races of Stone, and Monkey Grip in Complete Warrior. The goliath text: "The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category." Monkey Grip: "You are able to use a larger weapon than other people your size..."

 

[Nifft]

err, uh, no? I'm lookin at the goliath in Races of Stone, and Monkey Grip in Complete Warrior. The goliath text: "The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category." Monkey Grip: "You are able to use a larger weapon than other people your size..."

I think the issue here is:

1/ Monkey Grip does not change your size.

2/ Powerful Build stacks with anything that changes your size.

Cheers, -- N