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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Crocodile Path of the Totem Warrior



NiklasWB
2018-09-26, 09:47 AM
I usually don't post small homebrews like this, but I have a potential player who was looking to make a barbarian who worships a crocodile totem, and none of the existing totems really fit (the bear could be re-skinned I suppose, but I feel like a new one could be more fitting).


Totem Spirit (3rd level)
• Crocodile: While raging you can use your bonus action to try to grapple a creature within 5 feet of you. In addition, while raging, you can use your reaction to attempt to grapple a creature leaving your reach. When a creature is Grappled by you while you are raging, you can drag or carry the Grappled creature at your normal speed, instead of half your speed. The spirit of the crocodile makes you able to catch and hold on to any prey.

Aspect of the Beast (6th level)
• Crocodile: You gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed and you can hold your breath three times as long as normal.

Totemic Attunement (14th level)
• Crocodile: While raging you can use your bonus action to attempt to overpower a creature Grappled by you. To do so, make another grapple check. If you succeed, the creature is Restrained until the grapple ends. Any creature Grappled and Restrained by you has disadvantage on any Athletics or Acrobatics checks to break the grapple, to shove you or to grapple you.


What do you guys think, is it too overpowered? Not powered enough? Just right? The basic idea was to make the totem that allowed for a great grappler, giving some extra chance to attempt grapples and extra movement with grappled targets at 3rd level, give some thematic swim speed at 6th, and then make the barbarian a lockdown expert at 14th.

clash
2018-09-26, 10:44 AM
I would change the wording on the level 3 feature a bit:
When you take the attack action while raging you can use your bonus action to try to grapple a creature within 5 feet of you.

This limits it a bit in terms of what else you can do when you make a grapple check.

When a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you can use your reaction to attempt to grapple the creature.

This prevents you from grappling people that disengage and/or have Mobile feat.

6th level is fine.

The 14th level feature I am not sure about. Part of me wants to drop the disadvantage but make so any creature you have grappled is restrained.

NiklasWB
2018-09-28, 06:56 AM
Thank you so much for your input!

New version:

Totem Spirit (3rd level)
• Crocodile: When you take the Attack Action while raging you can use your bonus action to try to grapple a creature within 5 feet of you. In addition, when a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you while you are raging you can use your reaction to attempt to grapple that creature. When a creature is Grappled by you while you are raging, you can drag or carry the Grappled creature at your normal speed, instead of half your speed. The spirit of the crocodile makes you able to catch and hold on to any prey.

Aspect of the Beast (6th level)
• Crocodile: You gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed and you can hold your breath three times as long as normal.

Totemic Attunement (14th level)
• Crocodile: While raging you can use your bonus action to attempt to overpower a creature Grappled by you. To do so, make another grapple check. If you succeed, the creature is Restrained until the grapple ends. Any creature Grappled and Restrained by you has disadvantage on any Athletics or Acrobatics checks to break the grapple, to shove you or to grapple you.


I agree 100% with your assessment of the level 3 ability. I've changed it to require the Attack Action. I also changed the reaction to only be applicable to opportunity attacks so that Disengage/Mobile/Swashbuckler can still get away. If you get the Sentinel Feat however... oh boy. ;)

The level 6 ability seems fine, thanks for confirming this.

The level 14 ability is tricky. If it is an automatic Restrain, the Feat Grappler becomes even more worthless than it already is. Making it a two part grapple also feels a bit more 'involved' than it simply being a Restrained automatically. Do you feel like the disadvantage is too strong or that the two-part grapple/restrain is too weak? I'm tryin to compare it to the Wolf, which knocks a creature prone if you hit with a melee attack. There is no save there, it just succeeds automatically. Then again, Restrained is a more detrimental condition than Prone… I just felt like making it a two-parter at least allows for a 'chance' for the opponent to avoid the Restraint, but once you are Restrained, then you are really stuck and will likely not get out unless there is forced movement or magic involved.

I'd love some more thoughts and comments however. :)

Xyrz
2018-10-01, 08:02 PM
Jumping into this conversation a little...

I love the level 6 ability! getting access to swim speed is actually not very common, so it's nice to see.

But your level 14 ability is definitely questionable I think. If you are raging, you get advantage, and they get disadvantage, and Strength is your strong-suit. This feels very powerful, maybe too powerful. The Grappler feat makes you Restrained as well when you "pin" your opponent down, which is a trade off of sorts. But here, you yourself aren't Restrained at all, making this ability straight up better than the Grappler feat I think.

Maybe, you can instead not go the Restrained route, and instead do something like:
- While you are raging, if you have a creature grappled, you can you your bonus action to make an additional attack against that creature
OR
- While raging, if a creature you have grappled escapes your grapple, you can immediately use your reaction to attempt to re-grapple the creature trying to escape

I don't know if that is still too powerful, but it would be interesting