The Anti-grappler

[SpicyBoi_Nezu]

I just had the idea to make a character that hates being touched, and therefore is trained to oppose grappling. The two rules for this character are, he is not to be good at grappling, only preventing being grappled, escaping a grapple, and hurting anyone who touches him.

I was thinking of a Rogue with high escape artist and touch AC, utilizing sneak attack to damage in a grapple. I just need a list of feats or other ideas to help build this character into the "anti-grappler"

[Kuulvheysoon]

Grabbing Combat Focus, Combat Stability and one other combat form feat from the PHB2 will give you a +8 against grapples, in addition to a host of other benefits.

I think that it's Combat Awareness which gives you blindsight in a tiny radius, so you can always see the grappler.

[Khedrac]

The feat "Close Quarters Fighting" (Complete Warrior) is a must for this sort of build.

First off, it ensures that you get an attack of opportunity when something tries to grapple you (though you may also want Combat Reflexes).
Secondly, you get to add any damge you do in the Attack fo Opportunity to your grapple check to avoid being grappled.

If you can reliably hit for a decent amount of damage on your primary attack you become very hard to grapple.

[Zarvistic]

With 10 rogue levels you can get the special ability cartilaginous skeleton from dragon 334. It will always let you make an attack of opportunity when someone tries to grapple you, so you can prevent the grapple as long as your to-hit is high enough. It's an ex, so even anti-magic wouldn't stop you from using it.

[AvatarVecna]

Freedom Of Movement gives the following:


The subject automatically succeeds on any grapple check made to resist a grapple attempt, as well as on grapple checks or Escape Artist checks made to escape a grapple or a pin.

Any method of getting Freedom Of Movement will work. If you want it to work in an antimagic field, Scout 18 gets it as a constant Ex effect.

Here's a thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?631435-What-Ways-Exist-to-Remove-FoM-From-a-Target) of ways people could try to remove or get around FoM (most of which seems to be focused around dispelling/suppressing magic stuff). Some of it isn't, though.

[Doctor Despair]

Freedom Of Movement gives the following:



Any method of getting Freedom Of Movement will work. If you want it to work in an antimagic field, Scout 18 gets it as a constant Ex effect.

Here's a thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?631435-What-Ways-Exist-to-Remove-FoM-From-a-Target) of ways people could try to remove or get around FoM (most of which seems to be focused around dispelling/suppressing magic stuff). Some of it isn't, though.

The most accessible way (minus the Ranged Pin feat) turned out to just be wildshaping into a Mimic, as that allows you to just confer the "grappled" condition to a creature after a slam without a grapple check. Honorable mention goes to the "Crush" feat that lets a huge or larger creature confer the "pinned" condition on creatures without a grapple check.

With that said: 99.9% of opponents that want to grapple won't be a Mimic, able to turn into a Mimic, or be huge and have the Crush feat, and Ranged Pin arguably doesn't work depending on DM fiat, so FoM is pretty comprehensive.

[Troacctid]

In addition to Close Quarters Fighting, it's also worth picking up an Intercepting Weapon (Forge of War p120), which gives you a free extra attack against anyone who tries to grapple you (or charge, bull rush, or overrun you). If you add in one of those fun weapon properties that has a chance of applying a debilitating debuff to your enemy on a hit (there's a bunch of them, take your pick), you can make them even sorrier that they tried.

If you do end up getting grappled, Gnashing Armor (Champions of Ruin p40) deals automatic damage to anyone in the grapple with you, and a ring of lightning flashes (Magic Item Compendium p125) can hit them for 5d6 damage as a swift action with no save.

[SpicyBoi_Nezu]

ring of lightning flashes (Magic Item Compendium p125) can hit them for 5d6 damage as a swift action with no save.

That's exactly the kind of think I was thinking about. I originally toyed with a spellcaster, but it didn't work out the way I wanted, but with this I can get that "spicy flavor" I originally craved

[DMVerdandi]

I just had the idea to make a character that hates being touched, and therefore is trained to oppose grappling. The two rules for this character are, he is not to be good at grappling, only preventing being grappled, escaping a grapple, and hurting anyone who touches him.

I was thinking of a Rogue with high escape artist and touch AC, utilizing sneak attack to damage in a grapple. I just need a list of feats or other ideas to help build this character into the "anti-grappler"

1. You cannot sneak attack in a grapple, unless you have [Savage grapple] feat.

2.You need, Close quarters combat, Combat Stability, slippery skin, combat reflexes,Karmic strike at a minimum.


The issue with this is that rogue by itself is... a little weak.
They aren't even that fast, OR particularly great when it comes to AC. Ironically, one thing the monk excels at is being a little more speedy and hard to hit. Rogue is also hampered by wearing heavier armors, so they end up being kind of... fragile.





Sure, with those feats, you can kind of draw attacks of opportunity from enemies and counterattack and stuff, but until Robilar's gambit, which a rogue cannot get until...about [WHEW], level 16, you are kind of left wanting.

It also is an insane amount of feats just to set up counter attacks. Like, that's all you get. that and rogue class abilities. So it's really a dangerous game because, without a means of drawing a grapple, you could just get the sonic rings smacked out of you.




The fact of the matter is, you WON'T be that good at dodging attacks. Spells that have reflex saves? sure. Not any more than any other class that has high reflex saves. And then the rest of their saves aren't that good.

Feat rogue gets you some of the feats a little faster, and saves resources, but you lose sneak attack.


So to be honest, I would suggest a couple alternatives to actually make the build make any modicum of sense.



A.Play a Talashatora manifester.

Monk 1/ Tashalatora 19 is SO MUCH BETTER.

By tashalatora, I am saying any psionic class after you get the feat.
Psychic Warrior and Ardent are shoe-ins, since they both use wisdom. Pick up intuitive strike and you are done. Spend the rest of the feats on your defensive build.


LURK actually gives you the vibe you want in being a rogue, but it's strictly better, especially if doing sneak damage isn't your raison'detre.Needs Kung fu genius however.
Psychic rogue is a straight up better rogue.


And the most potent of them all is[B] spell to power erudite. [Not the Cspi version, but if that's all you can use it's STILL the best. The one from dragon 319 is the actual balanced one].
I will always suggest it.

You can literally build whatever you want. Spells, you got em, powers, you got em. And you can actually build somewhat of a "don't touch me" build with contingency powers, a bunch of bigby's spells, etc. You can quite clearly become untouchable.
Focusing on Defensive powers and magic, you would be MONSTROUS. There are so many abjuration spells for completely shutting down enemies. Illusion ones have them fighting the wrong enemy, and many evocation and conjuration ones just completely disallow people from approaching.


Sure you can still play the character as someone who is sneaky, and hides[The Obito uchiha build you can make with STP erudite is FILTHY]. And guess what. You would actually get invisibility, and cloud mind, and all other types of options that make you insanely good at doing roguish things.


Just play the character as a super paranoid trickster. Play like batman with prep, to the max. Your spells and powers are totally your utility belt . Play as chael sonnen [I CAN'T LET YOU GET CLOSE].






[B]
B. Play a chameleon
This allows you to pick and choose what features you want. Want sneak attack? you got it. Want ALL THE SPELLS up to level 4, you got it. It's really good, and would actually allow you to use the spells necessary to make it work.


C. Play an archivist
The resounding theme here is the more spells you can pilfer from as many classes as possible, the better off you are. They get all divine spells.


D.Play a martial adept.
Unarmed swordsage is all you need to keep that same energy.
Focus on 2 things. Nothing else.
Counters and everything from Shadow hand.









If you DID have the option to gestalt, Actually, the only counters martial adept would be CRAZY as one half with the other being the Tashalatora Erudite.

Definitely a defensive juggernaut.

[Maat Mons]

For damaging attackers, there's some stuff here (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=9368.0).

An easy way to escape a grapple is teleportation. Being incorporeal makes you notably harder to grapple.

A low-level way to get limited access to Freedom of Movement is the granted power of the Travel domain.

[Khedrac]

A low-level way to get limited access to Freedom of Movement is the granted power of the Travel domain.

Actually no! - the Travel domain power only works on magical effects - if a monster walks up and grapples you it does nothing.

For a total time per day of 1 round per cleric level you possess, you can act normally regardless of magical effects that impede movement as if you were affected by the spell freedom of movement.
Emphasis mine. It does not actually grant freedom of movement; so if you were moving into an area of solid fog you would ignore the fog's movement reduction but still potentially be grappled by the creatures within it.

[ShurikVch]

In the Lords of Madness, both Sanctified Mind and Topaz Guardian PrC have Hard to Hold class feature: add your class level to all grapple checks to resist or escape from a grapple (if you take them both - +11)
Scaled Horror PrC gets always-on extraordinary Freedom of Movement - but only underwater...

Feats:
Evasive Reflexes (Tome of Battle): 5' step instead AoO
Opportunistic Tactician (Dragon #340): 5' step after AoO (which is free - i. e. don't count for the number of 5' steps you can usually do)
Sidestep (Miniatures Handbook): 1/round, 5' step after AoO (which is free - i. e. don't count for the number of 5' steps you can usually do)

Slippery (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#slippery) trait

Items:
Black Roses magic face paint (Dragon #337): as a standard action, thorns grow from your body - for 1 minute; any grappler would take 1d6 piercing (+1d4 Str damage from poison)
Burnoose of 1,001 Thorns (Magic Item Compendium): When activated, a burnoose sprouts hundreds of sharp thorns, which last for 5 rounds. Any creature that strikes you with a natural weapon or makes a grapple check against you (except to escape your grapple or pin) takes 1d6 points of piercing damage from the needles. This ability functions once per day.
Crystal of Glancing Blows (Magic Item Compendium): this armor augment crystal gives competence bonus on checks to prevent grapple (+2 to +10 - depending on version; the "strongest" one costs 5000 gp)
Lard (Dungeonscape): +5 circumstance bonus on Escape Artist checks and on grapple checks made to resist or escape a grapple or pin.
Oil of Slipperiness (Dungeon Master's Guide 3.0): +30 on Escape Artist checks
Oleum (Sandstorm): +4 circumstance bonus on Escape Artist checks and opposed grapple checks made to resist being grappled or to escape a pin.
Razor Armor (Book of Vile Darkness): 2d6 slashing damage on successful grapple check (Note: it don't says "grapple attack" - just "check". Thus - check to resist a grapple should do 2d6 too.) 5600 gp
Salve of Slipperiness (Dungeon Master's Guide 3.5) +20 competence on Escape Artist checks
Silkslick Belt (Magic Item Compendium): You can attempt an Escape Artist check to escape from a grapple or pin as a move action; 1/day +10 competence on the next Escape Artist check
Starver armor special ability (Underdark): When an enemy attempts a grapple check against the wearer, razor-sharp blades spring out in all directions, dealing 2d6 points of slashing damage to the grappling creature; +2

Also, it's possible to turn 5' step into 10' step - via Capricious Step (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/elocater.htm#capriciousStep), Press the Advantage martial stance (Crusader/Warblade 5; Tome of Battle), Sparring Dummy of the Master (30000 gp; Arms and Equipment Guide), Boots of Sidestepping (6000 gp; 3/day; Magic Item Compendium), or just Tumble check (DC 40; Oriental Adventures)