Greywander
2019-05-07, 08:14 PM
I was thinking about a STR-based melee wizard build (probably an Abjurist), and realized that such a build would be both an excellent grappler and mage killer (dat 10th level abjurist feature). Human variant for either Brawny (UA) or Prodigy (XGtE) for Athletics expertise, and get Enlarge/Reduce, and as early as 3rd level (probably more like 4th or 5th if you start with 1 or 2 levels of fighter) you can be an amazing grappler. The only thing missing is Extra Attack, which either requires Bladesinger or a multiclass. Being able to grab and shove prone in the same round seems like an integral part of grappling, otherwise you might start wondering if it's worth bothering with when you could just slap them with Booming Blade instead.
I know Shield Master can let you shove as a bonus action, allowing you to grab with your Attack action and then shove prone with your bonus action. For most people, this would work great, and you'd probably want to use a shield anyway, but the specific build I had in mind would probably use a versatile weapon instead, two-handing it when I don't need a free hand for spells or grappling. With 2 levels in fighter, I could also Action Surge if I really needed to grab + shove in the same turn, but that seems like a waste (especially since Action Surge allows me to cast two leveled spells on the same turn).
Is there any other way, short of homebrew, that I could grapple and shove on the same round without Shield Master or Action Surge? I'm guessing this will mean a bonus action shove, but maybe there are other ways to accomplish this.
Maybe the Grappler feat could be buffed to allow a bonus action grapple or shove after using the Attack action.
I know Shield Master can let you shove as a bonus action, allowing you to grab with your Attack action and then shove prone with your bonus action. For most people, this would work great, and you'd probably want to use a shield anyway, but the specific build I had in mind would probably use a versatile weapon instead, two-handing it when I don't need a free hand for spells or grappling. With 2 levels in fighter, I could also Action Surge if I really needed to grab + shove in the same turn, but that seems like a waste (especially since Action Surge allows me to cast two leveled spells on the same turn).
Is there any other way, short of homebrew, that I could grapple and shove on the same round without Shield Master or Action Surge? I'm guessing this will mean a bonus action shove, but maybe there are other ways to accomplish this.
Maybe the Grappler feat could be buffed to allow a bonus action grapple or shove after using the Attack action.