Weapon Focus "unarmed strike" counts when making a grapple check?

[billd91]

My players have recently discovered that grappling characters lose their Dex bonus. The characters with sneak attack dice have made excellent use of this thanks to a grappling-focused monk and a fighter with high strength. Of course, it works both ways, but if your party is the one with the rogues in it and the other one doesn't seem to, it works pretty well.

 

[Legildur]

Interesting...would he better at battlefield control than a fighter with the same feats? ( I mean improved grapple/disarm/trip )

I would say not, in general. Typically the fighter will have better strength and higher BAB, so a fighter only loses on the grapple with regard to the damage die and lethal versus non-lethal. And he'll be superior in the disarm/trip special attacks (particularly with access to some better weapons).

But monks have other advantages, such as the Stunning Fist and Weakening Touch (if available) abilities which can really add up quickly if successful.

I personally like monks for their robustness. Reasonable AC and hps, great mobility, fantastic saves, and some nice special abilities. They can't compete with fighters for straight damage, but they can serve a party very well if they are played as a secondary combatant.