UristMCDwarfy's page

I am very new to Pathfinder, so please forgive any ignorance or misunderstanding of rules.

I'm trying to put together a couple character options for a level 11 campaign since I don't have any other details on what that campaign will entail. I saw the Body Bludgeon rage feat and really wanted to try to build a character around using enemies as improvised weapons. That said, I'm not really into what is apparently called fluff. I like stuff that works reasonably well in most situations. That's not easy for me to gauge since I don't have much experience with what works well yet. However, once I do have a reasonable grasp of game mechanics, I like to experiment with weird options that I can't really find any evidence of anyone playing around with much before. This is one such attempt.

My main problem with this character is that I am not very clear on grapple rules. I have never even seen a grapple attempt. I've done some research on the forum and some sources seem to suggest that a pin can be attempted in the same round as grapple initiation as long as you have greater grapple. Others say it has to wait till after the maintain grapple check in the next round.

So here's what I've come up with so far.

CN Half-Orc 1 Monk(Martial Artist)/10 Barb(Breaker)
Str 20, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 7, Wis 8, Cha 7
Feats: Body Shield, Grabbing Style, Greater Grapple, Hamatula Strike, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Rapid Grappler, Stunning Fist
Rage powers: Body Bludgeon, Strength Surge, Roused Anger, ?
The basic idea is to Attack Action with some kind of piercing weapon (probably one handed to leave a hand open for grappling, but is it necessary? I could use a spiked chain as weapon if the GM takes issue with Hamatula strike interacting with grapple feats) and impale for a grapple initiation. Then, I think if I still have a move action, I can make an attempt to pin? Or does that have to wait till next round? Then grab Quickcatch Manacles (or rope for non-humanoid? or use my spiked chain? or a longer improvised spike chain?) as a swift action.

Do I have to wait till after maintain grapple check to move to pin? I could use attack action w/Hamatula to deal damage and maintain grapple? Then move action to pin and use manacles or rope or chain to tie?
So by the end of the first or second round I think I could potentially have a helpless creature to swing around at other enemies at will, right? And I can use it once per round as a literal meat shield? This is the way I interpret all of this. I'm not sure if my GM will, so any interpretations from more experienced players and GMs would be great.
I would probably be focusing heavily on items that grant me bonuses to grapple checks for gear. Party spells or Potions of Enlarge Person should be nice for grappling normal size enemies. I may just have to whip out a reach weapon and power attack for larger enemies. I looked at Titanic armor, but it is very expensive. Armor spikes will be nice. Anaconda's Coils and Tentacle Cloak could be hilarious upgrades. Breaker would let me use all kinds of fun junk somewhat effectively as improvised weapons but probably isn't completely necessary. There may be other barb archetypes that would be a lot of fun.

Trying to think about Boot Blades starts to break my brain. Can I grapple/pin/tie multiple enemies? One for each limb? Can I basically turn myself into a giant ball of helpless enemies, thrashing them at anything that dares oppose my unwilling meat club appendages? My reading of the rules says yes, though it is quite likely that I have missed something.

Any corrections, comments, or ideas are welcome. Maybe I should just pick something that I know will work instead of going deep into areas that I don't have any experience with.

I am very new to Pathfinder, so please forgive any ignorance or misunderstanding of rules. We've all got to start somewhere.

I'm trying to put together a couple character options for a level 11 campaign since I don't have any other details on what that campaign will entail. I saw the Body Bludgeon rage feat and really wanted to try to build a character around using enemies as improvised weapons. That said, I'm not really into what is apparently called fluff. I like stuff that works reasonably well in most situations. That's not easy for me to gauge since I don't have much experience with what works well yet. However, once I do have a reasonable grasp of game mechanics, I like to experiment with weird options that I can't really find any evidence of anyone playing around with much before. This is one such attempt.

My main problem with this character is that I am not very clear on grapple rules. I have never even seen a grapple attempt. I've done some research on the forum and some sources seem to suggest that a pin can be attempted in the same round as grapple initiation as long as you have greater grapple. Others say it has to wait till after the maintain grapple check in the next round.

So here's what I've come up with so far.

CN Half-Orc 1 Monk(Martial Artist)/10 Barb(Breaker)
Str 20, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 7, Wis 8, Cha 7
Feats: Body Shield, Grabbing Style, Greater Grapple, Hamatula Strike, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Rapid Grappler, Stunning Fist
Rage powers: Body Bludgeon, Strength Surge, Roused Anger, ?
The basic idea is to Attack Action with some kind of piercing weapon (probably one handed to leave a hand open for grappling, but is it necessary? I could use a spiked chain as weapon if the GM takes issue with Hamatula strike interacting with grapple feats) and impale for a grapple initiation. Then, I think if I still have a move action, I can make an attempt to pin? Or does that have to wait till next round? Then grab Quickcatch Manacles (or rope for non-humanoid? or use my spiked chain? or a longer improvised spike chain?) as a swift action.

Do I have to wait till after maintain grapple check to move to pin? I could use attack action w/Hamatula to deal damage and maintain grapple? Then move action to pin and use manacles or rope or chain to tie?
So by the end of the first or second round I think I could potentially have a helpless creature to swing around at other enemies at will, right? And I can use it once per round as a literal meat shield? This is the way I interpret all of this. I'm not sure if my GM will, so any interpretations from more experienced players and GMs would be great.
I would probably be focusing heavily on items that grant me bonuses to grapple checks for gear. Party spells or Potions of Enlarge Person should be nice for grappling normal size enemies. I may just have to whip out a reach weapon and power attack for larger enemies. I looked at Titanic armor, but it is very expensive. Armor spikes will be nice. Anaconda's Coils and Tentacle Cloak could be hilarious upgrades. Breaker would let me use all kinds of fun junk somewhat effectively as improvised weapons but probably isn't completely necessary. There may be other barb archetypes that would be a lot of fun.

Trying to think about Boot Blades starts to break my brain. Can I grapple/pin/tie multiple enemies? One for each limb? Can I basically turn myself into a giant ball of helpless enemies, thrashing them at anything that dares oppose my unwilling meat club appendages? My reading of the rules says yes, though it is quite likely that I have missed something.

Any corrections, comments, or ideas are welcome.

First off, I'll say that I am very new to Pathfinder, so please forgive any ignorance or misunderstanding of rules. We've all got to start somewhere.

I'm trying to put together a couple options for a level 11 campaign since I don't have any other details on what that campaign will entail. I saw the Body Bludgeon rage feat and really wanted to try to build a character around using enemies as improvised weapons. That said, I'm not really into what is apparently called fluff. I like stuff that works reasonably well in most situations. That's not easy for me to gauge since I don't have much experience with what works well yet. However, once I do have a reasonable grasp of game mechanics, I like to experiment with weird options I can't really find any evidence of anyone ever using before. So here's what I've come up with so far.

CN Half-Orc 1 Monk(Martial Artist)/10 Barb(Breaker)
Str 20, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 7, Wis 8, Cha 7
Feats: Body Shield, Grabbing Style, Greater Grapple, Hamatula Strike, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Rapid Grappler, Stunning Fist
Rage powers: Body Bludgeon, Strength Surge, Roused Anger, ?

The basic idea is to Attack Action with some kind of piercing weapon (probably one handed to leave a hand open for grappling, but I don't know if it is necessary, and a spiked chain as weapon if the GM takes issue with Hamatula strike interacting with grapple feats) and impale for a grapple check. Then, I think if I still have a move action, I can make an attempt to pin? Or does that have to wait till next round? Then grab Quickcatch Manacles (or rope for non-humanoid? or use my spiked chain?) as a swift action.

If I have to wait till a maintain grapple check to move to pin, then use an attack action w/Hamatula to deal damage and maintain grapple. Then move action to pin and use manacles or rope to tie?

So by the end of the first or second round I think I could potentially have a helpless creature to swing around at other enemies at will, right? And I can use it once per round as a literal meat shield? This is the way I interpret all of this. I'm not sure if my GM will, so any interpretations from more experienced players and GMs would be great.

Of course I will be focusing heavily on items that grant me bonuses to grapple checks. Party spells or Potions of Enlarge Person should be nice for grappling normal size enemies. I may just have to whip out a reach weapon and power attack for larger enemies. I looked at Titanic armor, but I don't think the size bonuses stack and it is very expensive anyway. Armor spikes will be nice. Anaconda's Coils and Tentacle Cloak could be hilarious upgrades. Breaker would let me use all kinds of fun stuff somewhat effectively as improvised weapons but probably isn't completely necessary. Trying to think about Boot Blades starts to break my brain.

Any comments or ideas are welcome. I'm still quite new at this and haven't even seen grapple used in a campaign.