What would you do to make a good grappling monk?

[DM-Rocco]

What would you do to make a good grappling monk?

Obviously improved Grapple, but what else?

I only can find feats to increase your grapple skill against bigger creatures or if you are being grappled, but nothing else that improves grapple.

 

[blargney the second]

The trouble with monks starts with the 3/4 BAB. If you really want to grapple, some levels of fighter can't go wrong.

 

[DM-Rocco]

Well, he is a jackass DM, so I am sure I won't live long enough to enjoy the PC and therefore a 3/4

Seriously, I want to make the PC a good grappler, but then use close quater monk furry attacks. Might not be min/maxed the best and I may take a few fighter levels laters, but for the first few levels I am thinking monk.

Isn't there anything that also gives a boost to grapple? A weapon perhaps? A +2 feat I overlooked?

 

[Arkhandus]

Probably best to go Half-Orc with maximum Strength, of course....

There's probably a prestige class or something from Complete Warrior that would help, but I dunno..... Was Drunken Master reprinted there? It's a monk-appropriate PrC from Sword & Fist, and it's 7th-level ability 'Drunken Embrace' gives +4 on all opposed grapple checks.

Relevant feats from Oriental Adventures (just summing these up):

Choke Hold
Prereqs: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Stunning Fist
If you maintain a pin for at least 1 full round, you render the opponent unconscious for 1d3 rounds if they fail a Fortitude save.

Earth's Embrace
Prereqs: IUS, IG, Str 15
You do critical unarmed damage each round you maintain a pin.


Also, take Clever Wrestling from Masters of the Wild (I think it was reprinted in Complete Warrior or something, wasn't it?), which requires IUS and Small or Medium size (gives a bonus to grapple checks for escaping a grapple or pin, against larger foes), just in case you need to get out of a grapple with a big nasty monster that you don't stand much chance of beating in a straight grappling-match.

Close-Quarters Fighting is also a handy defensive anti-grappling feat, since you have to recognize that no humanoid is going to be wrestling ancient dragons and frost giants very well and needs to avoid getting stuck in their clutches. It comes from Sword & Fist and I think it was reprinted in Complete Warrior or something; prereq is just a BAB of +3, and it allows you to make an AoO any time someone would try grappling you, as well as adding the damage you deal on that AoO to your opposed grapple check to avoid becoming grappled.


I'd suggest 4 levels of Fighter before becoming a Monk, though, to get WF and WS for the unarmed strike (in the meantime you can play at being a greatsword-wielding, well-armored maniac). Also, at some point take Superior Unarmed Strike (from the Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords); it's a feat that gives you some better unarmed damage, and if you are a Monk, it instead treats your effective Monk level as 4 higher for purposes of determining unarmed damage.

Heck, while you're at it, you could take the Martial Stance and Martial Maneuver feats once (they're Fighter bonus feat options, too, IIRC), and pick a useful 1st-level stance and 1st-level maneuver from the Tome of Battle. I think there's a Stone Dragon stance or maneuver at 1st-level that helps with grappling, but I can't remember for sure off the top of my head.

At the very least you could gain Burning Blade or something, right? With monkish flurry of blows, you could be getting fairly decent use out of Burning Blade, even though it would only be once per encounter from the Martial Maneuver feat.

 

[DM-Rocco]

Probably best to go Half-Orc with maximum Strength, of course....

There's probably a prestige class or something from Complete Warrior that would help, but I dunno..... Was Drunken Master reprinted there? It's a monk-appropriate PrC from Sword & Fist, and it's 7th-level ability 'Drunken Embrace' gives +4 on all opposed grapple checks.

Relevant feats from Oriental Adventures (just summing these up):

Choke Hold
Prereqs: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Stunning Fist
If you maintain a pin for at least 1 full round, you render the opponent unconscious for 1d3 rounds if they fail a Fortitude save.

Earth's Embrace
Prereqs: IUS, IG, Str 15
You do critical unarmed damage each round you maintain a pin.


Also, take Clever Wrestling from Masters of the Wild (I think it was reprinted in Complete Warrior or something, wasn't it?), which requires IUS and Small or Medium size (gives a bonus to grapple checks for escaping a grapple or pin, against larger foes), just in case you need to get out of a grapple with a big nasty monster that you don't stand much chance of beating in a straight grappling-match.

Close-Quarters Fighting is also a handy defensive anti-grappling feat, since you have to recognize that no humanoid is going to be wrestling ancient dragons and frost giants very well and needs to avoid getting stuck in their clutches. It comes from Sword & Fist and I think it was reprinted in Complete Warrior or something; prereq is just a BAB of +3, and it allows you to make an AoO any time someone would try grappling you, as well as adding the damage you deal on that AoO to your opposed grapple check to avoid becoming grappled.


I'd suggest 4 levels of Fighter before becoming a Monk, though, to get WF and WS for the unarmed strike (in the meantime you can play at being a greatsword-wielding, well-armored maniac). Also, at some point take Superior Unarmed Strike (from the Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords); it's a feat that gives you some better unarmed damage, and if you are a Monk, it instead treats your effective Monk level as 4 higher for purposes of determining unarmed damage.

Heck, while you're at it, you could take the Martial Stance and Martial Maneuver feats once (they're Fighter bonus feat options, too, IIRC), and pick a useful 1st-level stance and 1st-level maneuver from the Tome of Battle. I think there's a Stone Dragon stance or maneuver at 1st-level that helps with grappling, but I can't remember for sure off the top of my head.

At the very least you could gain Burning Blade or something, right? With monkish flurry of blows, you could be getting fairly decent use out of Burning Blade, even though it would only be once per encounter from the Martial Maneuver feat.

That is helpful. I'll have to review the Tome of Battle in store. I don't have that book. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Simm]

Clever Wrestling is in CW along with the 3.5 version of earth's embrace, it deals 1d12 damage to a target for each round you maintain pin. There is also a grappling focused PrC, the reaping mauler. Over 5 levels at full BAB it gives you a +2 on all grapple checks and some other grapple related abilities, as a capstone force a save or die against opponent you pin for three rounds.

 

[Dagredhel]

How do you make a really nifty grappling Monk? Be a Barbarian!

Combine the Bear Totem Barbarian variant from Unearthed Arcana with the City Brawler alternate class features from Dragon 349.

You get...

1st Level:
Gains:
Feat: Toughness
Loses:
Fast Movement

Gains:
Feat: Improved Unarmed Strike
Feat: Two-Weapon Fighting (with Unarmed Strike only)
Only take a –2 penalty on Attack rolls with Improvised weapons
Loses:
Medium Armor Proficiency, Shield Proficiency, Martial Weapon Proficiencies

2nd Level:
Gains:
Feat: Improved Grapple (+4 to grapple checks)
Loses:
Uncanny Dodge

3rd Level:
Gains:
Feat: Great Fortitude
Loses:
Trap Sense

5th Level:
Gains:
+4 bonus on Grapple checks when Raging
Loses:
Improved Uncanny Dodge

6th Level:
Gains:
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (with Unarmed Strike only)

11th Level:
Gains:
Greater Two-Weapon Fighting (with Unarmed Strike only)

Pick up the Superior Unarmed Strike feat early to increase your base unarmed damage.

If you want to be a really Monkish Barb, go VoP!

Here is a build that takes a Bear Totem/City Brawler into Bear Warrior.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Orc + orc paragon class (from Unearthed Arcana) gives full BAB and +6 strength (4 from orc, 2 from 3rd level of orc paragon).

From Magic Item Compendium, Brawler's Gauntlets (1000gp) give +2 on grapple checks for 1 round 3/day, Gloves of the Titan's Grip (14000gp) give +8 on grapple checks for 7 rounds 3/day.

Fearsome Grapple, 2nd level sorc/wizard spell in Spell Compendium, gives +4 on grapple checks for 1 round/level, immediate action to cast.

Be as big as possible. Enlarge Person, Polymorph, Righteous Might. Or just be an ogre.

 

[Kunimatyu]

If you want to go down a rather interesting route, the Aberrant Heritage feat can grant a +2 racial bonus to grapple checks, if you don't mind having limbs that are uncannily flexible...

The Psychic Warrior is an amazing grappler. There's a power that directly enhances grapple checks, and you can buff yourself for +4 Str with Animal Affinity *and* you can Enlarge Person yourself. Add in improved grapple and you can have a 4th level guy with an insane bonus:

+3 base Str +2 Animal Affinity +4 size +4 Improved Grapple +4 Grip of Iron +2 Aberrant Heritage(I think) +3 BAB = +22 grapple at level 4. Add in some of the items mentioned above, and it gets a little gross.

 

[Owldragon]

Mostly, I just second what everybody above said. The only thing I can think to add is that if you're using incarnum, you can also take Shape Soulmeld (Girallon Arms), which gives you +2 to Climb checks and grapple checks, +2 per essentia invested.