So I'm starting a Reign of Winter AP campaign as a player and one of the newer players wants to play a "judo druid." What he means is that he wants to be able to grapple and trip stuff as a bear, and he really love playing monks. How would you build a judo druid to complement the following party:
Halfling Paladin (Oath of Vengeance/Sacred Servant)
Sylph Wizard (Wind Listener)
Human Oracle of Lore
Right now my current thoughts are Str/Wis based character that is either monk1/druidx or monk4/druidx with Shaping Focus feat, with the monk part being maneuver master. Normally I would recommend straight druid, but I think we're doing fine in the casting department.
Is there any thoughts on how I would build a character like this that would be effective for the majority of levels?
Any melee druid build will work. Two meleers usually work well together, the druid can move and flank for the slow moving pally, and grappling is a great tanking mechanic.
If he wants to be properly Judo, and have some mechanical advantages of tripping and grappling, he should look into the ki throw feat line from the advanced player's guide. It allows you to trip people and move them into adjacent squares, toss them into other people, or even grapple them.
EDIT: Nevermind about the monk levels and wildshape. Shaping focus would certainly take care of that problem.
If you want to be silly...
Tiny creatures get to use their dex mod for their CMB. And there's no size limits for grapple anymore, besides the -2 for being tiny.
".... did that bat just wrestle a colossal red dragon to the ground?"
"Yes.
"I think my brain just broke..."
Maneuver master 1 or 2 should suffice considering the fact that he is going with a bear.
Improved grappling might not be needed since bears get the grab ability with their claws. This means that he gets a free grapple check with a successful hit from either, and the grapple checks to start and maintain get +4. So basically, if he turns into a bear, then he is already fantastic at grappling. Improved grappling would simply give him options in any form, and give an extra +2 to his checks.
So the bare minimum here is that he must get improved trip. A single level of maneuver master should do this fairly well since it gives any improved maneuver as a bonus feat option (imp. trip is normally only for monk 6 or above). He might also want to get the regular prerequisites of int 13 and combat expertise so he could get the greater versions normally unless he wants to divert more into monk.
He will need 6 druid levels before the bear can grab.
At 6th level, a druid can also use wild shape to change into a Large or Tiny animal or a Small elemental. When taking the form of an animal, a druid's wild shape now functions as beast shape II. When taking the form of an elemental, the druid's wild shape functions as elemental body I.
Beast Shape II: This spell functions as beast shape I, except that it also allows you to assume the form of a Tiny or Large creature of the animal type. If the form you assume has any of the following abilities, you gain the listed ability: climb 60 feet, fly 60 feet (good maneuverability), swim 60 feet, darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision, scent, grab, pounce, and trip.
Whoops, you are right. Missed that bit. 2 levels of maneuver monk would suffice then before he moves onto bigger and fuzzier things. At least if he wants to use both combat maneuvers immediately.
The ability to eventually grab still calls into question whether he would want to spend the time to get improved grapple though.
Doesn't have to be a bear, I could see a pouncing animal getting benefits from Flurry of Maneuvers.
So I'm thinking a good template I could give him is something like this:
Human
monk 1 - Combat Reflexes, Vicious Stomp, Improved Trip (bonus)
druid 2
druid 3 - Combat Expertise
druid 4
druid 5 - Shaping Focus
monk 2 - Improved Grapple (bonus)
druid 6 - Greater Improved Trip
Though that tiny bat wrestler makes me smile. I'll pass the options onto him and let him decide how he wants to make his character.
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So I was thinking about something similar a while ago, the judo monk/druid but mainly trip focused, grapple being a natural extension of druid size shenanigans.
With viscous stomp and greater trip, you can get two attacks when you trip a foe. Profit!
So this is the result of my noodling:
1. Start with Halfling (access to underfoot adept and bonus to dex)
2. Get into Monk (Underfoot Adept and Maneuver Master Archetypes) - Underfoot adept allows you to trip as if you were two sizes larger and gives you Improved Trip for free, Maneuver Master allows you to flurry of Maneuvers.
3. Pick up Greater Trip (from Maneuver Master) and Viscous Stomp (from levels)
4. Druid and shaping focus as mentioned above allows you to quickly access good wildshape forms, go straight for air elementals that boost dex (also, you can't be counter-tripped)
5. Pick up weapon finesse and fury's fall for 2x dex to trip attempts.
6. An agile amulet of mighty fist won't go amiss either.
So... all points into dex (plus Halfling bonus and enhancement equipment naturally), morph into a huge air elemental (+6 size bonus to dex), multiply that bonus by 2 and start tripping colossal creatures (you are considered colossal yourself thanks to 10 levels of Underfoot adept).
(If you can get pounce from plains druid domain) You can run up, flurry of maneuvers and trip your foeman (hit him twice thanks to greater trip and viscous stomp), flurry again and blind him (you did pick up Improved Dirty trick, didn't you?) whale on his prone form with your fists and then if he tries to get up, hit him again (I think you can't trip him as an AoO since he is already prone).
Then I guess you can insult his ancestry in Halfling as well.
Good AC too, that goes without saying.
prototype00
Ack! I just realized I spelled all my vicious as viscous. Ah well, that's what you get posting late.
prototype00