What’s that flying over the ropes!? A bird!? A plane!? What’s a plane? No it’s the Jade Cockatrice! Landing a frog splash on his opponent, he’s going for the pin. 1, 2, 3 ding ding! Yet another thrilling match here in the fighting pits of Urgir! Winner by pinfall, the Jade Cockatrice!
During the day Nibblip works as a professor teaching youths history and culture. During the night the Jade Cockatrice either lurks in the shadows or pulling lariats under the stage lights.
Nibblip aka the Jade Cockatrice
The Grippli Luchador
That’s right, this is gonna be a fun Pathfinder build, meant to grapple and punish! I’m trying a new way to format these builds, let me know if you like it. Also if you’ve listened to our episode about this build on our audio show. Just know that I’ve found some key things since the recording that improved the build. Let’s get into it.
Race
Grippli of course, truly underrated and fun, these small frog people deserve to be in more games.
Alternate Racial Traits
Toxic Skin – Coating your body with poison, affecting the first creature you make contact with. Every wrestler needs to be oiled up for a fight. Glistening and deadly! This trait replaces Swamp Stride and Camouflage.
Ability Scores
Dexterity – This is the most crucial score for the build.
Wisdom – Very important aswell, keep this and Dex as high as possible.
Constitution – Being a wrestler means you need to be able to take a hit or two.
Charisma – Sadly wish it to be a higher priority, maybe instead of playing face you play heel, who cares!
Intelligence – Never said he’s a proven professor. He misplaced his degrees.
Strength – Stunted by being a small Grippli. Not needed for this build, where we’re going we don’t need strength.
Levels 1-5
Level 3 Tetori Monk/Level 2 Vigilante
AC Bonus – The monks iconic class feature, adding Wisdom to AC. Just don’t wear armor.
Graceful Grappler – You use your Monk level in place of BAB to determine CMB and CMD for grappling. At 4th level, not only do you ignore attack penalties but can even make attacks of opportunity while grappling. Also you keep your Dexterity bonus to AC when pinning an opponent or when grappled.
Improved Unarmed Strike – Allows you to always be able to make an attack even when your hands are full or while grappling. Using any logical body part to make your attack without penalty or triggering attacks of opportunity.
Improved Grapple – Gain a +2 to grapple checks and to CMD against being grappled, also without triggering attacks of opportunity when making a grapple combat maneuver.
Stunning Fist – After you hit a target with a Stunning Fist they must make a Fortitude saving throw. Failing this save makes them stunned, at 4th level you can choose to make them fatigued instead.
Feat 1 – Dirty Fighting – Grappling an opponent that you’re flanking now grants you a +4 to the attempt.
Dual Identity – The iconic class feature of a Vigilante. Having a social identity and the Vigilante identity, when switching identities you must be out of sight for a minute.
Seamless Guise – Grants you a +20 bonus to Disguise checks agaisnt anyone trying to figure you out.
Social Talent – Well-Known Expert – Honestly pick whatever social talent you want. For Nibblip this grants him the ability to take 10 to aid another on Appraise, Craft, and Knowledge checks, with a simple +1 (without any other ranks or bonuses) to these checks to appear Knowledgeable, when really he’s just winging it.
Vigilante Specialization – Stalker – Gain an ability called Hidden Strike. Allowing you to deal an extra 1D8 precision damage to an opponent who is unaware of your presence, who considers you as an ally, or who is made flat-footed by startling appearance. Rare to pull in this build but you also do Hidden Strike to an opponent you’re flanking or is denied their Dexterity bonus to AC, easier to do for sure just remember that you’ll be dealing an extra 1D4 precision damage instead.
Vigilante Talent – Living Shield – As an immediate action while grappling an opponent and is targeted by an attack, you can attempt a combat maneuver check against your grappled opponent. If you pass the check your grappled opponent becomes the new target of the incoming attack. If the check fails, your opponent escapes the grapple, leaving you open for that attack. Can be risky, but totally worth it.
Feat 2 – Agile Maneuvers – This is a pivotal feat. Replace your Strength with your Dexterity for your CMB, making it almost too easy to grapple now.
Evasion – Everyone knows about Evasion, it’s a very simple and clutch feat. Dragons breath? No problem.
Stunning Pin – When you pin an opponent you can spend a swift action to make a Stunning Fist attempt.
Still Mind – Gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells and effects.
Fast Movement – An additional 10 feet of movement baby!
Maneuver Training – You use your monk level in place of your BAB for CMB. Base attack bonuses granted from other classes are unaffected and are added normally.
Feat 3 – Deadly Grappler – While you’re grappled, attacks you make against the grappler with an unarmed strike deal damage as if the strike were one size category larger than it actually is.
Levels 6-10
Level up in Monk rest of the way
Ki Pool – The Monks corner market in pulling of amazing stuff. Monk’s gonna Monk now!
Counter-Grapple – You now can make an attack of opportunity against an opponent attempting to grapple you. At 6th level, you can counter-grapple even if the opponent has concealment or total concealment. At 8th level you can counter-grapple even if you’re flat-footed.
Purity of Body – Immunity to all types of diseases.
Break Free – While being grappled you can add your monk level on combat maneuver or Escape Artist checks to escape it. If you fail a save against an effect that makes you entangled, paralyzed, slowed, or staggered, you can spend 1 ki point as an immediate action to attempt a new save.
Feat 4 – Kraken Style – When you succeed at a grapple check while using this style, your opponent takes bludgeoning damage equal to your Wisdom modifier in addition to any damage your grapple deals, like harming your opponent when maintaining a grapple. You gain a +2 bonus on maintaining grapples aswell.
Fast Movement – Gain +20 feet to movement.
Greater Grapple – Gain a +2 bonus on grapple checks. Once you have grappled an opponent, maintaining the grapple is now a move action. This feat allows you to make two grapple checks each round (to move, harm, or pin your opponent), but you are not required to make two checks. You only need to succeed at one of these checks to maintain the grapple. You’re not going anywhwre!
Wholeness of Body – You can heal yourself as a standard action. You can heal a number of HP equal to your monk level by spending 2 ki points. Cleric may still be required.
Feat 5 – Grabbing Style – When you use this style, you ignore the penalty on grappling an opponent with only one hand. You also keep your Dexterity bonus to AC while pinning an opponent.
Graceful Grappler – You gain the Grab special attack when using unarmed strikes as a free action. You can use this ability against opponents your own size or smaller by spending 1 ki point, or against larger opponents by spending 2 ki points. The Grab special attack also grants you +4 to start and maintain grapples.
Stunning Fist – You can choose to make your opponent sickened instead for a minute.
Levels 11-15
Inescapable Grasp – You can spend 1 ki point to suppress your opponents’ freedom of movement and magical bonuses to Escape Artist or any checks to escape your grapple. At 13th level, this ability also duplicates the effect of dimensional anchor. Now the magic casters can’t escape!
Feat 6 – Improved dirty trick – You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing a dirty trick. You gain a +2 bonus on dirty tricks, you also gain a +2 CMD against a dirty trick on you. Poke the eyes!
Pinning knockout – While you have an opponent pinned and you succeed at a grapple check to deal nonlethal damage using an unarmed strike, double that damage. 1, 2, 3!
Counter-Grapple – You can counter-grapple opponents with exceptional reach.
Diamond body – Immunity to all types of poisons.
Feat 7 – Dirty Grapple – You can make a dirty trick and a grapple together against a single target as a full-round action when initiating or maintaining a grapple. You must attempt a single combat maneuver check for both maneuvers. If your CMB is different for the two types of maneuvers, use the lower of the two bonuses. If your target’s CMD is different against the two types of maneuvers, use the higher CMD. If you succeed at the check, you successfully perform both combat maneuvers. Another risky bit, can be worth it though.
Stunning Fist – You can choose to make your opponent staggered instead for 1D6+1 rounds.
Fast Movement – Now at +40 feet movement speed, what a speedster!
Form lock – You can negate a polymorph effect by touch with a Wisdom check, adding a bonus equal to your monk level. This is a standard action requiring 2 ki points, or an immediate action if an opponent you’re grappling attempts to use a polymorph effect.
Feat 8 – Rapid grappler – Whenever you use Greater Grapple to maintain a grapple as a move action, you can then spend a swift action to make another grapple combat maneuver check at a –5 penalty. An additional opportunity to punish!
Levels 16-20
Chokehold – While you have an opponent up to one size category larger than you grappled, you can attempt a grapple combat maneuver with a –5 penalty on the check. If you succeed, you pin your opponent and put them in a chokehold. When you maintain the grapple, you also maintain the chokehold. An opponent in a chokehold cannot breathe or speak, and cannot cast spells with a verbal component. An opponent you have in a chokehold has to hold their breath or begin suffocating. Submit!
Graceful Grappler – You gain the Constrict special attack, inflicting unarmed strike damage on any successful grapple check. Works with Grab aswell. Anaconda squeeze!
Quivering palm – Once a day, you declare this action before making an attack. If you hit, then you can simply choose for the target to die. You can decide the fate of your target a number of days equal to your monk level after activation. The target must make a Fortitude saving throw to negate the death effect. Only one Quivering Palm can be in effect at one time.
Feat 9 – Grabbing drag – When you are using Grabbing Style, if you use the move grapple action, you can drag your opponent with you at your full speed. After you have done so, you can use a move action to drag again at half your speed without needing to attempt another check. You cannot use this feat if you are grappling two opponents.
Stunning Fist – You can choose to make your opponent permanently blind or deafened.
Inescapable Grasp – Your unarmed strike gains the Ghost Touch special ability, and an incorporeal creature that you strike gains the grappled condition. Inescapable grasp is a swift action and lasts until the beginning of your next turn.
Feat 10 – Grabbing master – When you are grabbing two opponents while using Grabbing Style, you can use your grapple to move or damage one or both opponents you are grappling, instead of just one. Oh joy!
Fast Movement – Now at an additional movement speed of +60 feet. Be careful of whiplash!
Neckbreaker – If you have an opponent your size or smaller helpless or pinned, after you initiate or maintain a grapple, you can make a Stunning Fist attempt at a –5 penalty. If you succeed, you wrench that opponent’s neck, dealing 2d6 Strength or Dexterity damage. If the targeted ability score is reduced to 0, any remaining damage is dealt to that opponent’s Constitution score.
Wondrous Items
This build doesn’t need armor, weapons and has no spells. But we certainly need some Items to fully excel here. As I always try to do, here’s a list of items to improve the build, note that you can’t equip or afford all of them. Be strategic.
(Neck) Amulet of Mighty Fists (upgrade whenever possible), price range 4000gp for +1 to 100,000gp for +5 – First thing to do is add the Agile enchantment, making your natural unarmed strikes go off of Dexterity completely! Then top off attack and damge bonuses as you go.
(Body) Bodywrap of Mighty Strikes, price range 3000gp for +1 to 147,000gp for +7 – Once per round you can add this bonus to attack and damage rolls of one attack, can be used an additional time when your BAB reaches +6, +11 and +16. It’s not an action to gain the bonus and can be activated during an attack of opportunity. Also gain use the bonus to gain enchantments on your strikes. Much like the amulet, just different enough though. You can either use one or the other or use them both, just be a little strategic with it as enhancement bonuses don’t typically stack.
(Belt) Belt of Dexterity, price range 4000gp for +2 to 36,000gp for +6 – Any belt that increases your ability scores is a must have. You could double up with a belt of Physical Might, or even more so get a belt of Physical Perfection! The only thing that’s gonna hurt is your coin purse.
(Wrist) Armbands of the Brawler, 500gp – Grants you a +1 competence bonus to grapple and to break grapples agaisnt you. I wish this item could scale!
(Hand) Gauntlets of the Skilled Maneuver, 4000gp – Grants you a +2 on one combat maneuver, like grapple, dirty trick, drag.
(Hand) Gauntlets of Twisting Vines, 5000gp – Grants you a +2 circumstance bonus to grapple, disarm and steal. Once per day when you pin an opponent you can activate the gauntlets. Causing vines to transfer unto the opponent and tying them up. A tied-up victim can escape by making the appropriate check against the check that pinned them. Neat!
(Hand) Mantis Embrace, 50,000gp – If you pin an opponent, you can perform a special coup de grace attack the next round with the gloves, treating them as if they were sawtooth sabres (1d8 points of slashing damage, critical threat range of 19-20) for the purpose of this attack. Should you slay your opponent with this attack, the target’s head erupts in a geyser of blood, preventing life-restoring spells that require an intact body. A creature that survives this coup de grace attack is immune to subsequent attempts from any mantis embrace for 24 hours. Hardcore!
(Slotless) Thorny Violet Ioun Stone, 8000gp – Grants you a +2 competence bonus to grapple checks. I don’t think this is better than the armbands for the price. Unless they stack, I wouldn’t get this.
(Slotless) Serpentine Tattoo, 2000gp – Three times a day when you hit with an unarmed strike, you can cause the tattoo to lunge toward the opponent like a snake. This allows you to perform a dirty trick attempt as an immediate action that doesn’t trigger attacks of opportunity. Jake “the Snake” Roberts would be proud.
Oof! I think that’s it, hopefully I didn’t miss anything! There was alot to unpack surprisingly. Hope you’ve enjoyed the build and I would love to hear about this build being used in actual application as it’s different for me, I’m curious. As always, if you have comments, questions, anything you’d like to share I would love to hear about it. Until next time, peace!
