Monkey's Grip

[Fastmover]

Does Monkey's Grip allow a char to wield a Great Sword one handed?

[Claudius Maximus]

No. But you can wield a large longsword in one hand, which has the same stats as a greatsword. The difference is that you can use it one handed at -2, but others need to use with both hands, still at -2.

[Dusk Eclipse]

I am not sure, since IIRC by RAW the only thing it does is reduces the penalties of using a bigger weapon form -4 to -2.

In my RL group we do do let people who take monkey grip use two handed weapons in one hand. Despite this I don't recomend this because you loose the best part of a two handed weapon, the STR x1.5 modifier to damage rolls and the increased damage ratio when you use power attack

Edit: Ninja'ed

[CockroachTeaParty]

I don't know why Monkey Grip is so popular. It really is an awful feat compared to Power Attack. Just go purchase some of those bracers that do the same thing from Magic Item Compendium, or play a goliath, half-giant, or half-ogre.

[Foryn Gilnith]

Monkey Grip is popular?

[ravenkith]

All I have to say about monkey grip, admiral ackbar said for me.

[Pharaoh's Fist]

I don't know why Monkey Grip is so popular. It really is an awful feat compared to Power Attack. Just go purchase some of those bracers that do the same thing from Magic Item Compendium, or play a goliath, half-giant, or half-ogre.

I blame Cloud.

[DrOctagonapus12]

I blame Cloud.

This... Infinity times this

[SparkMandriller]

I always thought people picked monkey grip because it looks sorta like a free source of damage if you squint right. It's impossible to forget that power attack gives you a penalty, because you have to think about it every time you use it, but monkey grip is something much easier to forget about. Rather than "My AB is 15, but I'll PA for 2, oh no I missed PA must have ruined me curse you PA" it's "My AB is 13, oh hey I missed, too bad"

Not that I have any evidence to support this or anything.

[Ravens_cry]

All I have to say about monkey grip, admiral ackbar said for me.
And I say, screw ol' Fish Face. It's a fun feat. The mental image is dramatic, and sometimes that matters. Darn you Ackbar, darn you to heck.:smallsigh:

[horseboy]

Not that I have any evidence to support this or anything.

I saw a fighter take Monkey Grip, Troll Blooded and Power Attack. I think he hit something that wasn't a wall once all session. It got so bad I offered to let him play my AC.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Monkey Grip is popular?

Oh yeah. I see it all the time.

I guess one thing about it that makes me angry is that all it does is encourage larger versions of the normal weapons: Large greatsword, Large greataxe, Large longsword, blah blah blah.

You waste a feat on Monkey Grip to use a bigger normal weapon (crappily), when you could instead use (waste) a feat on Exotic Weapon Proficiency and use a weapon that never sees the light of day. Heck, isn't there a 'Fullblade,' somewhere, that's basically an extra-large greatsword? (I can recall 2 versions: one does 2d8 damage, another does 1d12 damage but has 10 ft. reach).

There are so many cool weapons out there that get ignored in favor of larger versions of the more popular ones. Does anyone care about the ranseur? The trident? The heavy pick? No. Monkey Grip and its ilk keep these poor, poor weapons in the dark, unloved, unwanted.

[jokey665]

Oh yeah. I see it all the time.

I guess one thing about it that makes me angry is that all it does is encourage larger versions of the normal weapons: Large greatsword, Large greataxe, Large longsword, blah blah blah.

You waste a feat on Monkey Grip to use a bigger normal weapon (crappily), when you could instead use (waste) a feat on Exotic Weapon Proficiency and use a weapon that never sees the light of day. Heck, isn't there a 'Fullblade,' somewhere, that's basically an extra-large greatsword? (I can recall 2 versions: one does 2d8 damage, another does 1d12 damage but has 10 ft. reach).

There are so many cool weapons out there that get ignored in favor of larger versions of the more popular ones. Does anyone care about the ranseur? The trident? The heavy pick? No. Monkey Grip and its ilk keep these poor, poor weapons in the dark, unloved, unwanted.

All the more reason I've incorporated Weapon Groups into my campaigns, including ALL of the weapons found in 3.5 edition books, including the Dragon Magazine Compendium. I also have a few weapons from the 3.0 Arms & Equipment guide that were never updated.

[Pharaoh's Fist]

And I say, screw ol' Fish Face. It's a fun feat. The mental image is dramatic, and sometimes that matters. Darn you Ackbar, darn you to heck.:smallsigh:

Can't you just roleplay wielding a large sword without the feat?

[Ravens_cry]

Can't you just roleplay wielding a large sword without the feat?
You can do that as an unarmed monk, theoretically.

[Jack Mann]

Monkey grip breaks one of my rules for good game design. A player should never have to pay for style. If something offers no mechanical benefit, and makes the game more fun for the player, than they shouldn't have to spend a feat for it. If a player wants to say he's using an extra big weapon, just say he's using an extra big weapon. It isn't like monkey grip, where he spends a feat to make himself mechanically worse.

Legacy weapons are also on the list...

[Myrmex]

Does Monkey's Grip allow a char to wield a Great Sword one handed?

The Sword & Fist version lets you, but 3.0 had a different weapon sizing system.


No. But you can wield a large longsword in one hand, which has the same stats as a greatsword. The difference is that you can use it one handed at -2, but others need to use with both hands, still at -2.

Isn't a large longsword the same as a bastard sword? 1d8 --> 1d10

[Leon]

Isn't a large longsword the same as a bastard sword? 1d8 --> 1d10

No, it jumps from 1d8 to 2d6
d10s get left out of the up size conversion

(a large Bastard Sword goes from 1d10 to 2d8)