Tavern Brawler makes grappling more difficult

[Marcloure]

From the Tavern Brawler feat:

"When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike or improvised weapon on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target."

So, if I want to grapple a target, is it not better to don't deal 1d4+str damage and avoid the Attack vs AC roll, and go straight to the athletics check? I mean, it's trade of course. But overall I think that this feat don't help in grappling builds, unless you have advantage or tons of to hit bonus. Have I missed something or I did look right to the feat? Thanks.

[Naanomi]

The feat isn't great but you can always choose to grapple normally still. I like it in a combo move... trip attack with this is prone+grapple in one attack

[Mith]

So it allows you to do two things in one go: Attack and deal damage+grapple, when normally you can only do one of the two?

[Marcloure]

So it allows you to do two things in one go: Attack and deal damage+grapple, when normally you can only do one of the two?

Basically yes. But then you have to frist hit the attack and then succeed in the grapple check. Normally, you just go straight to the grapple check. As I said, it's a trade.

[MaxWilson]

Bonus action grapple is better than no grapple.

But you're correct that this feat is not any kind of must-have for a dedicated grappler.

[Coidzor]

Bonus action grapple is better than no grapple.

But you're correct that this feat is not any kind of must-have for a dedicated grappler.

It does let a PC do 1.5 more damage on average when grappling as many creatures as they have arms, and lets them have a somewhat meaningful critical in such situations, I suppose. Provided the PC isn't a monk, anyway.

[bardo]

From the Tavern Brawler feat:

"When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike or improvised weapon on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target."

So, if I want to grapple a target, is it not better to don't deal 1d4+str damage and avoid the Attack vs AC roll, and go straight to the athletics check? I mean, it's trade of course. But overall I think that this feat don't help in grappling builds, unless you have advantage or tons of to hit bonus. Have I missed something or I did look right to the feat? Thanks.

Tavern Brawler is a half-feat. You take it when you have an odd score in Str or Con and want a little flavor along with your ASI. Maybe later you get to hit somebody with a chair and also grapple them.

Bardo.