optimize grapple

[snakeman830]

I am sorry, I guess I used the wrong words.  I didn't mean just anything that improves your strength, I also meant anything that improves your strength checks.

Not true RAW, sadly.  Grapple is never defined as a Strength check.

[weenog]

How has the Black Blood Cultist (CoR) not been mentioned?  Savage Grapple breaks grappling in half on a character built for it.  Seriously, automatic hits with every natural weapon you have whenever you succeed on a grapple check is obscene.  Power Attack for full, just to make sure they're dead.

Oh, and coup de gras as a move action is handy.

The Power Attack seems somewhat necessary in any build, considering grapple damaging things with DR ends up bad, without the appropriate items.

Girallon Arms route seems to be pretty much The way to optimize the check.

This is something quick I thought of, high str, though it won't reach such an optimized check

Orc? LA3 Werebear / 6HD Werebear / LA1 Feral / Barbarian 1 / Black Blood Cultist 8 / Soul Eater 1

Feral actually turns the Lycan animal HD into far less crappy HD.
Pick up the usual schtick of feats
The benefits of DR13/silver, Fast Healing 3 & Energy Drain are pretty solid in a grapple

Probably around 50-60 str, and maybe a 40-50 grapple check by estimates.


Would also be somewhat hilarious to just have a CDG stranglehold build. I'm not sure of anything particularly reliable to paralyze or sleep with. The undead graft arm is a pretty weaksauce DC. Or maybe dumping a fear/cower capability on, since they won't fight back...

Doesn't work unless both are inherited for more LA, which is never a good idea.  Lycanthrope is for humanoids or giants only, Feral changes type to monstrous humanoid.  Even if you do arrange it to work, the type change does not affect your animal HD.

LA3, I was certainly implying inherited, not afflicted. I don't think there's anything illegal about the template inheritance. Natural Lycanthrope get's it on with Feral humanoid of the same humanoid race, producing a Feral Natural Lycanthrope of said race.

The HD boost isn't a function of the type change, monstrous humanoid is still d8. It's just a function of the template. (maybe you were thinking magical beast?)

Where are there rules stating that the template would not affect the animal HD?

Those HD aren't of your type to begin with, they're animal HD regardless of what you are.

I tried to spin straw into gold more or less the same way some time ago, it doesn't work.  You're stuck with the crummy animal HD regardless of what your type originally was or what it changes to.

[snakeman830]

I disagree.  They are racial HD, and as such can be altered by templates.

[AtomicKitKat]

Just parking a mention of Fleshgrinding Returning Locking Garrottes of Throwing. At least, I think that's what the Assassin used. Maybe it was using the Bloodstorm Blade PrC to throw them(Fleshgrinding+Returning probably hits +5). Definitely had Justicar as an option for Death Attack of Bondage.

[PipTheBlue]

Reaping Mauler can become slightly more valuable if you take a 3 level dip in the Leviathan Hunter PrC from Stormwrack.

Clever Wrestling
You face many creatures capable of crushing you in their tentacles, claws, or teeth. To better resist such attacks, you gain Clever Wrestling as a bonus feat at 3rd level, even if you would not otherwise qualify for the feat.

What this means is that you can become larger than medium size and still retain the use of this feat and thus, the use of all of Reaping Mauler's class abilities.

[Tshern]

Reaping Mauler can become slightly more valuable if you take a 3 level dip in the Leviathan Hunter PrC from Stormwrack.

Clever Wrestling
You face many creatures capable of crushing you in their tentacles, claws, or teeth. To better resist such attacks, you gain Clever Wrestling as a bonus feat at 3rd level, even if you would not otherwise qualify for the feat.

What this means is that you can become larger than medium size and still retain the use of this feat and thus, the use of all of Reaping Mauler's class abilities.

Unfortunately the class is still utter crap. Your decision to say 'slightly more valuable' is incredibly accurate here.

[Lycanthromancer]

If you want to get rid of those animal HD, fail your saves vs negative levels. They become permanent level loss. Now you can level up in actual classes, instead.

[Jackinthegreen]

Shame Clever Wrestling isn't a Fighter feat, otherwise Martial Monk could pick it up and continue into being a Large+ Reaping Mauler.

[sirpercival]

If you want to get rid of those animal HD, fail your saves vs negative levels. They become permanent level loss. Now you can level up in actual classes, instead.

Do you get to choose which hit dice you lose when you're drained?  Because if so... start as an abjurer 5/incantatrix 10.  Lose 2 levels of wizard.  Take 7 levels of Iot7V.  Win.

[bearsarebrown]

Kelpstrand is even better then you listed it. You make a grapple check WITH ALL STANDARD MODIFIERS then add CL and Wis. And you make CL/3 many checks. You can shut down an insane amount of creatures at once.

Oh and it's Conjuration (Creation) SR: No. And only a 2nd level spell so you can Metamagic the balls off it.

One of the best Druid spells.

[skydragonknight]

Kelpstrand is even better then you listed it. You make a grapple check WITH ALL STANDARD MODIFIERS then add CL and Wis. And you make CL/3 many checks. You can shut down an insane amount of creatures at once.

Oh and it's Conjuration (Creation) SR: No. And only a 2nd level spell so you can Metamagic the balls off it.

One of the best Druid spells.

...God Druid?

[sirpercival]

Kelpstrand is even better then you listed it. You make a grapple check WITH ALL STANDARD MODIFIERS then add CL and Wis. And you make CL/3 many checks. You can shut down an insane amount of creatures at once.

Oh and it's Conjuration (Creation) SR: No. And only a 2nd level spell so you can Metamagic the balls off it.

One of the best Druid spells.

I know, I just love kelpstrand... I'll update the list to be a little more specific.

[Tshern]

Kelpstrand is even better then you listed it. You make a grapple check WITH ALL STANDARD MODIFIERS then add CL and Wis. And you make CL/3 many checks. You can shut down an insane amount of creatures at once.

Oh and it's Conjuration (Creation) SR: No. And only a 2nd level spell so you can Metamagic the balls off it.

One of the best Druid spells.

You don't get strength and size bonuses. At least not according to SpC. Instead they are replaced by wisdom bonus and CL.

[Jackinthegreen]

The online version uses Wis and CL in place of Str and size mods. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040131a

[bearsarebrown]

Online versions adds in the line rather than your Strength bonus and size bonus which SpC is missing. Eh, I'm not too disappointed, the spell deserved a nerf. It's still really good.

[zook1shoe]

Were-Sewerm gives you a +16? racial bonus on grapples

[PhaedrusXY]

Were-Sewerm gives you a +16? racial bonus on grapples

Holy fkn balls, Batman. There's the basis for your ultimate grappler build. This + Black Blood Cultist = "OMG, snakes! Why'd it have to be snakes?!?"

[zook1shoe]

Also at 5hd its got like 31 Str

[Jackinthegreen]

Sewerm is in Serpent Kingdoms, page 85 for those curious.

At 5HD it's actually 29 Str, but that's pretty impressive on its own.

[sirpercival]

Is it just me, or is Serpent Kingdoms entirely borked?