The beast.

[Beautiful-Decay]

Hello everyone.

My gm has chosen to build a fallout-like world. So I chose to joke with him a little. = create GOD/DOG.

If none of you are familiar with Fallout New Vegas - Dead money, it's a half-orc like character that has splitted personality. One of them is a "god-like" person with an high int. And the other "dog" is a character based on instincts only. This mean I've been searching for somekind of grab-feats (like "Improved Grapple" from 3.5) to fight with insticts. The 4.0 system leaves me with the question: where did the feats go? is an unarmed-grab-based character unbuildable in 4.0? (if I wish to keep up with the damage a normal character deals at my level?) I've found a few grab-based skills in the rogue's skills and thats about it. :/

 

[captainspud]

The Grappling Fighter from MP2 is based on keeping a hand open for grabs... and there's nothing stopping you from keeping the other one open as well, if you want to.

 

[theNater]

The Grappling Fighter is a great place to go for grabs, although it is a weapon class(meaning that being unarmed while using it will be rough on your damage). With your GM's permission, you might be able to take proficiency in the Monk's Unarmed Strike with a feat; it basically turns your unarmed attack into a longsword.

A few other options:
The Barbarian(from PHB2) is pretty much designed to be a highly instinctive warrior. Charging heedlessly into the thick of the enemies and smashing them to pieces is pretty much what a barbarian is for. It is a weapon user and light on grabs, but at level 1 there is the Blood Bear Rage power in the Primal Power book, which turns a Barbarian into a grabbing machine for one fight per day.

The split personality made me think Druid(also from PHB2), with GOD being the humanoid form and DOG being the beast form(reflavored into a behavioral change, rather than a physical one). No weapons needed there. Unfortunately, the first beast form grab I see shows up at level 7(it's called Latch On), but there are a lot of early beast form powers that slow the target; you could reflavor those to be unscientific grabs, with the idea that the enemy is slowed down by you dragging on him or him having to throw you off before he moves.

And, of course, unarmed attacks seem to suggest the monk. You'd have to reflavor it heavily and it doesn't appear to have many grabs, but it is pretty serious unarmed melee combat.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

There is Improved Grab from PH2. If your DM allows, you can use a cestus and refluff it as your fists. It's only +2/1d6, but it's better than nothing. Belt of the Brawler turns all your unarmed attacks into a club.

If someone in my game wanted to do this, I would allow them to take monk unarmed strike as a Superior Weapon Proficiency. Either that or as a new Monk multiclass feat.

 

[Squire James]

Brutal Brawler feat from MP2 ups unarmed damage to d6 and spiked gauntlet damage to d8. Spiked gauntlets still count as "hands free" as far as I can tell. A brawler fighter can make it to "longsword territory" while staying within the Unarmed weapon group.