Grappler
Created by Arkhain

"You waltz quite divinely. Well, except when you scream in pain."

There are four kinds of warriors in the world. Those that fight hard, those that guard well, and those that strive for a balance of the two; then the fourth, who does none of those. Grapplers learn to use their opponent's abilities and weight against them, shifting themselves rapidly and smoothly, like water in a whirlpool. Even the best dagger-fighter would do well to attempt to stay at a distance against a grappler.

The Grappler class (Grp) is designed as a prestige class for monks, fighters, barbarians, and martial artists (Beyond Monks: The Art of Fighting d20) who study a fighting style most like Judo or Xiaolin Monk "sticky hands," for Eastern concepts, and Wrestlers and Gladiators for Western settings. And by wrestler we don't mean The Rock, so by level 10 they will not be able to raise one eyebrow freely if they were not previously capable of that feat.

Hit Die: d10

Requirements:
To qualify to become a Grappler, a character must fulfill the following criteria:
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Feats: Improved Grapple, Toughness

Class Skills: 
The Grappler's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Perform (Cha), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str). 

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
--------------------------------------------------------------
  1   +0  +2   +0   +0  Grapple Bonus +1; Improved Grab  
  2   +1  +3   +0   +0  Close-Quarters Fighting
  3   +2  +3   +1   +1  Grapple Bonus +2 
  4   +3  +4   +1   +1  Maneuverability 
  5   +3  +4   +1   +1  Grapple Bonus +3, Grappling Mastery +1
  6   +4  +5   +2   +2  Improved Maneuverability
  7   +5  +5   +2   +2  Grapple Bonus +4 
  8   +6  +6   +2   +2  Professional Wrestling
  9   +6  +6   +3   +3  Grapple Bonus +5
  10  +7  +7   +3   +3  Grappling Mastery +2

Class Features: All of the following are class features for the Grappler prestige class:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Grapplers gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Grapple Bonus (Ex): Starting at level 1 and increasing every odd level afterwards, Grapplers gain a bonus of the named value to all grapple checks.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the character must hit with an unarmed attack. He can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. 

Close-Quarters Fighting (Ex): At 2nd level, when the character deals damage using Improved Grab to start a grapple, he may add the amount of damage to grapple checks to start a hold.

Maneuverability (Ex): At 4th level, when the grappler attempts to maintain the grapple, he may force his opponent into his square instead of moving into theirs.

Improved Maneuverability (Ex): At 6th level, the grappler may retain his Dexterity bonus to AC while grappling. 

Grappling Mastery (Ex): At 5th level, the grappler's unarmed attacks count as one size categories larger for purposes of dealing damage. At 10th level, they count as two size categories larger. A Small grappler's damage would progress from 1d3 to 1d4 to 1d6, a Medium character's 1d4 to 1d6 to 1d8. A Large grappler would enjoy progression from 1d6 to 1d8 to 2d6.

Professional Wrestling (Ex): The grappler may use his Improved Grab ability with a weapon in hand. He must discard the weapon thereafter, but he still gains the damage bonus to Close-Quarters Fighting. If he uses an improved weapon, he gains a +1 morale bonus to the grapple check.

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