What are some interesting/creative builds for a Grung character other than monks?

[Frogulous]

From Volo's subrace guide: (there are competing Grung versions around)

+2 DEX/ +1 CON
Proficiency in perception
between 2.5 and 3.5 feet tall, Small
25ft walking or climbing
Can breathe in air and water
Immune to poison
25ft longjump/15ft high jump
Water dependency: If you fail to immerse yourself in
water for at least 1 hour during a day, you suffer one
level of exhaustion at the end of that day. You can only
recover from this exhaustion through magic or by
immersing yourself in water for at least 1 hour.
Languages: Grung

Poisonous Skin (Revised). Whenever a creature grapples you or otherwise comes into direct contact with your skin you can use your reaction to force that creature to make a Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. A poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with you can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. In addition, once per round, you can also apply this poison to any piercing weapon as part of an attack with that weapon, though when you hit the poison reacts differently. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take 2d4 poison damage. The DC for your poison equals 7 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus.

Your contact poison has an additional effect that differs based upon your subrace. The effect lasts until the creature is no longer poisoned.

Blue: The poisoned creature must shout loudly or otherwise make a loud noise at the start and end of its turn.
Gold: The poisoned creature is charmed and can speak Grung.
Green: The poisoned creature’s walking speed is reduced by 5, and it must jump during its turn
Orange: . The poisoned creature is frightened of its allies unless it can also see an opponent.
Purple: The poisoned creature feels a desperate need to soak itself in liquid or mud. Any movement, except towards a body of liquid or mud, if one is in sight, counts as difficult terrain.
Red: The poisoned creature must eat if food, or what it deems to be food, is within reach.

It seems that Drunken Master monk would be a great build but I do not want to play another monk.

A magical class could help with shape water to keep water around, but I wonder if there are better options. Not sure how if the DM would let me have an endless decanter.

Any ideas? :smallsmile:

[Frozenstep]

First instinct: Make it a sorcerer, cast cloudkill, camp inside your cloud since you're immune. Maybe try to pull things in with lightning lure.

Second instinct: Make it a barbarian. The dex/con is nice, fast movement makes up for the 25 feet of movement, a reason to level con, and advantage on grapple checks which can then poison (and thus cause disadvantage on their attempts to escape).

[moonfly7]

Main a grappled build of some kind, suddenly grappling actually helps and can be useful for poisoning fools.

[Frogulous]

Cheers, that is pretty helpful :D

[Ventruenox]

The Grung jump ability would certainly be something to capitalize on with a grappling build. A 10' fall equates to 1d6 damage, and dropping something is free in action economy. Remember that creatures are automatically prone on landing, so this can be a way to generate advantage for the rest of the party and control the battlefield. Slippers of Spider Climb, Boots of Striding and Springing, and Ring of Jumping are a few magic items to keep an eye out for.

I like to overcome the water dependency with the Magic Initiate: Druid feat. Mold Earth & Create/Destroy Water to make your own koi pond to rest in once a day, and you get one additional cantrip. (I would suggest Thorn Whip for additional battlefield control)

[Frogulous]

The Grung jump ability would certainly be something to capitalize on with a grappling build. A 10' fall equates to 1d6 damage, and dropping something is free in action economy. Remember that creatures are automatically prone on landing, so this can be a way to generate advantage for the rest of the party and control the battlefield. Slippers of Spider Climb, Boots of Striding and Springing, and Ring of Jumping are a few magic items to keep an eye out for.

I like to overcome the water dependency with the Magic Initiate: Druid feat. Mold Earth & Create/Destroy Water to make your own koi pond to rest in once a day, and you get one additional cantrip. (I would suggest Thorn Whip for additional battlefield control)

That is very neat idea. In this case, how would it work mechanically? I start the round in front of the creature, attempt grapple, if it succeeds they do the poison check and enter the grappled state, then I high jump as my movement and insta-drop them? If I am the golden frog and they are charmed, does that affect anything?

[Ventruenox]

As grappling is a form of attack, I expect that initiating it would end the charmed condition of your target. If anything, as a DM I would let you do a Deception check with advantage to initiate the grapple first. ("Let me give you a hug, friend...")

Otherwise, mechanically, you got it about right. It's a convoluted way to eek out 1d6 damage, possibly the poisoned, and the prone conditions instead of just shoving your opponent prone instead. Until you have extra attack you are pretty limited in the standard grappling tactics of grapple/shove prone with your action economy.

[Frogulous]

As grappling is a form of attack, I expect that initiating it would end the charmed condition of your target. If anything, as a DM I would let you do a Deception check with advantage to initiate the grapple first. ("Let me give you a hug, friend...")

Otherwise, mechanically, you got it about right. It's a convoluted way to eek out 1d6 damage, possibly the poisoned, and the prone conditions instead of just shoving your opponent prone instead. Until you have extra attack you are pretty limited in the standard grappling tactics of grapple/shove prone with your action economy.

Since the poison save occurs after the physical contact, wouldn't that mean that the adversary would become charmed after having been grappled/attacked and right before jumping? Would the drop count as an attack, since it is indirectly dangerous? Or would the ongoing grappling condition count as a hostile attack for the purpose of cancelling the charm?

[MagneticKitty]

Flavor wise I really want to see a grung artificer with golem to pilot where it has a globe on top full of water and they fight using the golem. They built it for their water needs, they claim.
But in reality they just wanted to use it so they could give people a hug without poisoning them.

Alternately a grung barbarian would be fun. Strong enough to carry a barrel of water to use for hydration, and a grapple build to use your poison skin. Maybe the new beast barb so you are not limited by missing a heavy weapon.

[Ventruenox]

Since the poison save occurs after the physical contact, wouldn't that mean that the adversary would become charmed after having been grappled/attacked and right before jumping? Would the drop count as an attack, since it is indirectly dangerous? Or would the ongoing grappling condition count as a hostile attack for the purpose of cancelling the charm?

Best check with your DM as to how your "friendly acquaintance" would respond to being in a headlock as you jump.

For that matter, once 3rd party products like Volo's Complete Subrace Handbook are involved, your DM should be your first go-to for rules interactions.

[Wraith]

I too had seen the Grung and was wondering what I could do with their poisonous abilities. I'd considered Open Hand Monk since stacking CON, STR and/or DEX saves with Flurry Of Blows and Open Hand Techniques would mean rolling so many dice that the victim is bound to fail one or two of them..... But I too had recently played a Monk and decided against it for a second time.

The 'fluffy' idea that I had come up with was Hunter Ranger focusing on Dual-Weapon Style and later abusing Giant Slayer and Whirlwind Attack to spam poison damage as many time per round as possible against multiple targets. Your racial stat bonuses support that class fairly well, and that you also get proficiency in Survival and can specialise in Favoured Terrains to help you find water as and when you need it seemed like a neat idea.