Doctor Despair
2021-08-26, 10:42 PM
Previously, I explored some of the ways that grapple-based builds can cope with Freedom of Movement (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?631522-The-Long-Arm-of-the-Law-Optimizing-Justicar-s-quot-Hog-Tie-quot-to-Foil-Freedom-of-Movement&p=25048335&viewfull=1#post25048335). Some notable methods of grappling and hog-tying enemies who would otherwise have access to Freedom of Movement included:
Attempting to dispel or remove the effect
Initiating the grapple from range using thrown melee attacks to get a surprise round
Using the Ranged Pin feat to confer the pinned condition (note: the feat does not specifically confer the pinned condition, so ymmv)
Wildshaping into a Mimic to use slam attacks to confer the grapple condition without allowing an opposed check
With that said, I've recently become aware of a relatively concise method to become gargantuan, and that has opened up a new avenue: Crush (Savage Species). Specifically, the feat reads:
Like a dragon, you can hurl your body onto opponents to deal tremendous damage.
Prerequisite
Huge size. Size --------- Crush Base Damage. Huge --------- 2d8. Gargantuan - 4d6. Colossal ----- 4d8,
Benefit
As a standard action, you can jump or fall onto opponents, using your whole body to crush them. This attack is useful only against creatures at least three size categories smaller than yourself. The base damage for a crush attack depends on your size category, as given on the table above. Add 1 1/2 times your Strength bonus to this base damage to determine the total damage for the attack. A crush attack deals bludgeoning damage and affects as many creatures as can fit under your body (see Large and Small Creatures in Combat in Chapter 8 of the Player 's Handbook). Each creature in the affected area must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 10 + your Str modifier + your size modifier for grapple attacks). On a failure, the opponent is pinned and automatically takes crush damage each round the pin is maintained.
https://64.media.tumblr.com/d57876de7f4072fef9fdffe2fbe8a298/tumblr_mqkqx43z0X1rpn9eno1_500.gifv
Much like Mimic confers the grappled condition without an opposed check, so too does this feat explicitly allow us to confer the pinned condition without an opposed check. What's more, it does so without conferring the "grappled" condition to us! With gargantuan size, we can forcibly pin creatures of medium size or smaller on a failed save (22 + Str mod). From there, with an extra standard action, we can immediately move to hog-tie our pinned friends. The most accessible forms of extra actions for a non-caster seemed to be the Belt of Battle (burn all 3 charges for full iteratives to attempt to hog-tie) and White Raven Tactics (an extra turn in initiative as a swift action).
With that said, such a character might look like this:
Half-Goristro
Half-Ogre
LA
+6
Stat
Array
After Racial/ Template Modifiers
4th
8th
12th
Final
Str
18
40
+1
+1
-
42
Dex
14
10
-
-
-
10
Con
15
29
-
-
+1
30
Int
8
6
-
-
-
6
Wis
10
10
-
-
-
10
Cha
8
6
-
-
-
6
HD
Class
Feat
Class Feature
Notes
1
Ranger (Skilled City Dweller)
Human Heritage, TrackRanger
1st favored enemy, wild empathy
In the early game, we're an extra big half-ogre. 42 strength (after our permanent Enlarge Person) is probably enough to keep us relevant for low-op parties, and our high con can help pad our missing hp from HD a little. With a set of strongarm bracers, we can wield colossal weapons with ease, giving us another damage boost.
2
Warblade
-
Battle clarity (Reflex saves), weapon aptitude
-
3
Warblade
Crush
Uncanny dodge
While we can't hogtie enemies yet, adding Crush gives us a powerful attack option against most opponents. Our strength is set at 42, so the DC would be 38 to avoid being pinned, fairly high for a level 9 character.
4
Warblade
-
Battle ardor (critical confirmation)
-
5
Warblade
-
-
-
6
Warblade
Quick DrawWarblade, Skill Focus: Gather Information
-
We finally gain access to White Raven Tactics here, and our bab grows enough to grant us entry to Justicar.
7
Justicar
-
Bring 'em back alive, nonlethal strike +1d6
-
8
Justicar
Improved GrappleJusticar
Crippling strike
-
9
Justicar
EWP: ManaclesJusticar, player's choice
Street savvy +2
-
10
Justicar
-
Nonlethal strike +2d6
-
11
Justicar
-
Hog-tie
Here, we have 44 strength without a magical enhancement, so the Crush reflex save would be 39. Then, we have a +44 grapple bonus on our hogtie attempt against as many as two of the creatures we've pinned.
Now, I think it's well past time to acknowledge that +6 LA is far from ideal. One could settle for being a huge character with LA +2 by forgoing the Half-Goristro template (and giving up that sweet, sweet +16 to strength). The larger penalty there is that Crush would only work on small or smaller creatures. Still, that's a decent amount of opponents, and much less cost-prohibitive. Overall, I'd say that of the identified foils to freedom of movement (mimic wildshape, ranged pin, and crush), this seems like the weakest, but it's still notable - and a silly attack pattern to consider for any huge character if you have a spare feat.
Attempting to dispel or remove the effect
Initiating the grapple from range using thrown melee attacks to get a surprise round
Using the Ranged Pin feat to confer the pinned condition (note: the feat does not specifically confer the pinned condition, so ymmv)
Wildshaping into a Mimic to use slam attacks to confer the grapple condition without allowing an opposed check
With that said, I've recently become aware of a relatively concise method to become gargantuan, and that has opened up a new avenue: Crush (Savage Species). Specifically, the feat reads:
Like a dragon, you can hurl your body onto opponents to deal tremendous damage.
Prerequisite
Huge size. Size --------- Crush Base Damage. Huge --------- 2d8. Gargantuan - 4d6. Colossal ----- 4d8,
Benefit
As a standard action, you can jump or fall onto opponents, using your whole body to crush them. This attack is useful only against creatures at least three size categories smaller than yourself. The base damage for a crush attack depends on your size category, as given on the table above. Add 1 1/2 times your Strength bonus to this base damage to determine the total damage for the attack. A crush attack deals bludgeoning damage and affects as many creatures as can fit under your body (see Large and Small Creatures in Combat in Chapter 8 of the Player 's Handbook). Each creature in the affected area must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 10 + your Str modifier + your size modifier for grapple attacks). On a failure, the opponent is pinned and automatically takes crush damage each round the pin is maintained.
https://64.media.tumblr.com/d57876de7f4072fef9fdffe2fbe8a298/tumblr_mqkqx43z0X1rpn9eno1_500.gifv
Much like Mimic confers the grappled condition without an opposed check, so too does this feat explicitly allow us to confer the pinned condition without an opposed check. What's more, it does so without conferring the "grappled" condition to us! With gargantuan size, we can forcibly pin creatures of medium size or smaller on a failed save (22 + Str mod). From there, with an extra standard action, we can immediately move to hog-tie our pinned friends. The most accessible forms of extra actions for a non-caster seemed to be the Belt of Battle (burn all 3 charges for full iteratives to attempt to hog-tie) and White Raven Tactics (an extra turn in initiative as a swift action).
With that said, such a character might look like this:
Half-Goristro
Half-Ogre
LA
+6
Stat
Array
After Racial/ Template Modifiers
4th
8th
12th
Final
Str
18
40
+1
+1
-
42
Dex
14
10
-
-
-
10
Con
15
29
-
-
+1
30
Int
8
6
-
-
-
6
Wis
10
10
-
-
-
10
Cha
8
6
-
-
-
6
HD
Class
Feat
Class Feature
Notes
1
Ranger (Skilled City Dweller)
Human Heritage, TrackRanger
1st favored enemy, wild empathy
In the early game, we're an extra big half-ogre. 42 strength (after our permanent Enlarge Person) is probably enough to keep us relevant for low-op parties, and our high con can help pad our missing hp from HD a little. With a set of strongarm bracers, we can wield colossal weapons with ease, giving us another damage boost.
2
Warblade
-
Battle clarity (Reflex saves), weapon aptitude
-
3
Warblade
Crush
Uncanny dodge
While we can't hogtie enemies yet, adding Crush gives us a powerful attack option against most opponents. Our strength is set at 42, so the DC would be 38 to avoid being pinned, fairly high for a level 9 character.
4
Warblade
-
Battle ardor (critical confirmation)
-
5
Warblade
-
-
-
6
Warblade
Quick DrawWarblade, Skill Focus: Gather Information
-
We finally gain access to White Raven Tactics here, and our bab grows enough to grant us entry to Justicar.
7
Justicar
-
Bring 'em back alive, nonlethal strike +1d6
-
8
Justicar
Improved GrappleJusticar
Crippling strike
-
9
Justicar
EWP: ManaclesJusticar, player's choice
Street savvy +2
-
10
Justicar
-
Nonlethal strike +2d6
-
11
Justicar
-
Hog-tie
Here, we have 44 strength without a magical enhancement, so the Crush reflex save would be 39. Then, we have a +44 grapple bonus on our hogtie attempt against as many as two of the creatures we've pinned.
Now, I think it's well past time to acknowledge that +6 LA is far from ideal. One could settle for being a huge character with LA +2 by forgoing the Half-Goristro template (and giving up that sweet, sweet +16 to strength). The larger penalty there is that Crush would only work on small or smaller creatures. Still, that's a decent amount of opponents, and much less cost-prohibitive. Overall, I'd say that of the identified foils to freedom of movement (mimic wildshape, ranged pin, and crush), this seems like the weakest, but it's still notable - and a silly attack pattern to consider for any huge character if you have a spare feat.