Hi all, It's me again. I want to thank everyone who helped me in my previous thread about getting over my mindset about support characters, You are all awesome!
This is a random unrelated ponder I had today, A grappler type character. I know Tetori Monk is considered the best grappler because it can deal with freedom of movement, But my group has never really come across freedom of movement so that is not a real worry for me.
So I'm wondering, What would be some fun classes for a grappler? I'm looking a bit at the Brawler, Possibly with the Constructed Pugilist archetype since it can fire out a grappling hook to yoink enemies in (If I understand this right), But what other fun grapplers are there?
White-Haired Witch with the Magus variant multiclass option, plus the 'Maneuver Mastery' magus arcana for Grapple checks. Allows for you to grapple something else at a 10ft+ range and not be grappled yourself. The magus arcana makes up for the only real downside of the White-Haired witch, their low BAB. I play a character like this in a Giantslayer campaign, and its fully online by level 7, and entirely functional before that since there wasn't a large gap in the BAB before that.
Alternatively, you could do something similar with the Hexcrafter Magus archetype, and taking the 'Prehensile Hair' hex and the 'Maneuver Mastery (Grapple)' magus arcana. Similar things can be done with an character that has access to the Battle Mystery (Oracle) and can get access to the Maneuver Mastery revelation and the Prehensile Hair witch hex.
The reason why these are good is because they get spells. And spells can deal with Freedom of Movement nonsense.
Druids and Bloodragers are quite good, since they can become much bigger. Honestly, a huge size druid using the Powerful Shape feat does a pretty decent job and a Bloodrager using Greater Bloodrage to get free action True Strike for his combat maneuvers is also ridiculous. You can also just have an animal companion grapple foes for you, especially constrictor snakes, but sometimes it's just fun as a Paladin to have your horse grapple enemies into submission.
Maneuver master monk can flurry-grapple for nice effect.
A verminous hunter might be an interesting grappler. Has several vermin focus options with grapple bonuses. One even adds a bleed effect.
If half-orc, can get brutal grappler and crowd of bullies to team up with your companion.
The eidolon can make a good grappler, having the grab evolution and access to larger sizes. You might even try it as a synthesist summoner, so you can do the grappling yourself.
a well done wizard is the hardest grappple target as spells make them difficult to actually target and then hit. They also have excellent escape spells besides Freedom of Movement like Liberating Command.
Grappling is more a close combat style (& weapon group) in the Game. Sadly grapplers don't do as much damage as the big 2hnd'd wpn fighter but they are a great assist with CM grapple/pin/trip for other fighters in the group.
Brawler is designed to be a grappler/close combat specialist.
There's also the subdual fighter that inflicts a lot of non-lethal to drop targets. It's tricky as cure spells heal lethal and non-lethal at the same time.
Best is somewhat situational and there are several ways to get to the same damage/condition/dirty trick -> penalty output. Trip tends to lose effectiveness past 6th level.
It might not be optimal, But I love unarmed combatants (And they work well in my group, Most of us aren't optimal and it works for us.) and being able to throw in some grappling just seems fun, I never actually tried much combat manuevers before so I thought, Why not grapple?
Freedom of Movement is not a worry for me, My GM is not gonna throw it on every single enemy just to screw me or any other grappler over, Heck we never encountered freedom of movement so it is not a worry at all.
Primalist Blood conduit (these archetypes stack) is quite nice because:
--Bloodrager spell list has a surprising number of bad touch spells, includeing the no save (but SR) touch of idiocy, and the penalty can absolutely screw over a caster.
--From primalist, you get access to strength surge, which the best CMB steroid available
--You start with Bloodrage and improved grapple at level 1, and then you still have your normal level 1 feat, and possible your human level bonus feat, and you highly likely dont need to pay the combat exerptize/dirty fighting feat tax.
A sample such character could grab the Abyssal bloodline, have scaleing natural attacks, get autoenlarge at level 4, and grab 2 rage powers, definitly strength surge being one of them, at level 8.
You do not have a way around freedom of movement, but from experience, CMB builds suffer from too high CMD, or from size issues, far more often then they do from freedom of movement (which can also be dispelled by your party).
Depending on your GM, he may allow you access to the final constrict feat chain if you use the Salamander bloodline.
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