Fun things for a tavern brawler barbarian to do in combat?

[Rfkannen]

So I am planning a level 9 bear totem barbarian with progidy(athletics) and tavern brawler, a real grappler type. It has only been one session, but in that session I felt really bored in combat as every combat was first turn: shove enemy prone, attack once, bonus action grapple. Second turn: do that to another person. Every other turn, hit the people you grappled.

But I realized that I probably just wasn't being creative enough, so I was wondering if any of you had any tips for cool stuff to do in combat!?

ps. Were playing through tomb of the nine gods

[Kane0]

Ever killed a man with a table leg? Rock in a sock? Shank of Ham? Heavy duty cookware or hard labor equipment?
How about pro/show wrestling tricks? Tried throwing people around a bit?
Oh, and don't forget the good old curb stomp. Best thing for a prone victim.

[MaxWilson]

So I am planning a level 9 bear totem barbarian with progidy(athletics) and tavern brawler, a real grappler type. It has only been one session, but in that session I felt really bored in combat as every combat was first turn: shove enemy prone, attack once, bonus action grapple. Second turn: do that to another person. Every other turn, hit the people you grappled.

But I realized that I probably just wasn't being creative enough, so I was wondering if any of you had any tips for cool stuff to do in combat!?

ps. Were playing through tomb of the nine gods

Are you trying to be funny or effective? If the latter, stuff socks in their mouth to prevent spellcasting, or choke them unconscious using the "Out of Breath" rules? (This tweet (https://twitter.com/jeremyecrawford/status/816440444162715648) may interest you: there are things that can cause you to start drowning immediately instead of after (1+Con mod) minutes, so it would be reasonable for a barbarian to attempt to throttle/strangle someone they've already got pinned and prone.)

If you're trying to be funny or to display dominance for social/RP purposes, force feed them frogs that you keep on hand just for that purpose. :)

[CTurbo]

I played a Goliath Bear Totem Barb with Tavern Brawler and I was mostly a grappler, but I did enjoy throwing enemies, using enemies as a weapon, various slams, curb stomps, and an occasional neck snap.

I spoke with my DM about this concept before hand and he was pretty good about rewarding creativity as far as damage goes. It would not have been fun if some of the more creative slams or curb stomps only did 1d4+str mod damage. It was a fun character for sure.

[chainer1216]

I once used a gargoyle i killed with my bare hands to kill another gargoyle.

Beating people to a pulp with their deceased companions is always fun.

[NecessaryWeevil]

Drag them over cliffs, through AOEs, or away from their allies.

[Spacehamster]

Save any killed gnomes, halflings and goblins and dual wield their rotting corpses in battle. :)

[CTurbo]

Yeah I threw all the Wizard's minions into his Wall of Fire lol

Also used a Goblin as a club to kill his buddies

[nickl_2000]

Save any killed gnomes, halflings and goblins and dual wield their rotting corpses in battle. :)

Zombie and Skeleton arms work really well for this too.

[Grear Bylls]

There's all sorts of things you can do with grapples, shoves, punches, improvised weapons, etc. I actually wrote a guide about this stuff (in my sig) if you want to check it out. I talk about how to optimize a grappler and several techniques you can use! Check it out if you'd like!

[Jamesps]

You should actually be doing most of your damage by moving your opponents into hazardous areas. It's a lot more effective than punching them most of the time. This becomes much easier if you get slippers of spider climbing or boots of springing or some other thing that lets you spontaneously raise your altitude dramatically.

[ImproperJustice]

Take Athlete and drag them up walls and trees?

Notice like grabbing the snarky enemy mage and dragging him back to your buddies to get beaten down.

Grab magical items like an everburing candle, driftglobe, ancient grimoire of lost knowledge, or magical tankard and use them in ways they were never intended?

As you move through a dungeon arm yourself with the first flavor text item the GM describes and change in every room. Fight with support beams, silverware, sconces, chairs, doorknobs, etc...


When you finally get the Eagle totem that lets you fly, you MUST do a flying suplex while yelling Nacho!!!!! At the top pf your lungs.

[Raynor007]

Yeah, dragging/throwing is more flavorful than just hitting. Alternatively a shove+piledrive is always amusing. Shoving off a cliff, down a flight of stairs, etc. Use your environment.