Grappling is a unique feature in Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. It is not used often, but when used correctly, it can be rather devastating for whoever is being grappled.
So how does grappling work in D&D 5E? If you are within range and can use a melee attack, and your enemy is not more than one size larger than you, you can choose to attempt a “special melee attack, a grapple.” You make a Strength (Athletics) check against your opponent’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If your check is higher than theirs, they are grappled.
Though this seems straightforward, grappling is not about the initial grapple check, but what you do with your opponent after they are grappled.
What does the book say?
Player’s Handbook, page 195.
Grappling
When you want to grab a creature or wrestle with it, you can use the Attack action to make a special melee attack, a grapple. If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them.
The target of your grapple must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. Using at least one free hand, you try to seize the target by making a grapple check instead of an Attack roll: a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). You succeed automatically if the target is Incapacitated. If you succeed, you subject the target to the Grappled condition. The condition specifies the things that end it, and you can release the target whenever you like (no action required).
Escaping a Grapple. A Grappled creature can use its action to Escape. To do so, it must succeed on a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by your Strength (Athletics) check.
Moving a Grappled Creature. You can drag or carry the Grappled creature with you when you move, but your speed is halved, unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller than you.
Step-By-Step Breakdown.
Let’s say you are playing a level 5 Barbarian Goliath with a strength of 20. While in battle, you decide you want to grapple a hobgoblin enemy. It would go something like this.
- You move to get into melee combat with the hobgoblin.
- Now you use an attack to make a grapple check against the hobgoblin.
- You would then roll a D20 and add your Strength (Athletics) check. Your character is trained in athletics which will add your proficiency bonus (+3) to the check. A strength of 20 has a +5 modifier. Coupled with your proficiency bonus, you have a total of +8.
- You roll a 15 on the D20 die and add your +8 Strength (Athletics) check for a total of 23.
- The hobgoblin rolls his D20 and gets a 10, then adds his Strength (Athletics) check (+1) for a total of 11.
- Since 23 beats 11, you have now successfully grappled the hobgoblin and he will suffer the grappled condition.
Here are the conditions of being grappled.
Player’s Handbook, page 290.
Grappled
- A grappled creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed.
- The condition ends if the Grappler is incapacitated (see the condition).
- The condition also ends if an Effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the Grappler or Grappling Effect, such as when a creature is hurled away by the thunderwave spell.
Escaping a Grapple.
If you have been grappled, on your turn, you must use your action to try to escape. You can use either a Strength (Athletics) check or a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against your opponent’s Strength (Athletics) check. If your check is higher than theirs, you are free.
What does the book say?
Player’s Handbook, page 195.
Grappling
Escaping a Grapple. A Grappled creature can use its action to Escape. To do so, it must succeed on a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by your Strength (Athletics) check.
Moving a Grappled Opponent.
Once you have grappled an opponent, you can move them against their will, but only half of your movement. However, if they are two sizes smaller than you, then you’re allowed to move them with your full movement.
What does the book say?
Player’s Handbook, page 195
Moving a Grappled Creature. You can drag or carry the Grappled creature with you when you move, but your speed is halved, unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller than you.
Shoving
Shoving works identically to grappling. You use an attack to make a Strength (Athletics) check against your opponent’s Strength (Athletics) check or their Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If they fail, you can either knock them prone or shove them five feet.
You want to knock them prone. There are several reasons for this. A prone creature has disadvantage on attack rolls while you have advantage on attack rolls against them if you are within 5 feet. This allows you to grapple them more easily, sinse a grapple is technically a special attack.
Once you have your opponent prone and grappled, their movement is reduced to 0. Since it requires half of your movement to stand, they’re basically stuck on the ground until they break the grapple. Thus, any attack against you will have disadvantage, and any of your attacks, or your allies attacks, against them will be done with advantage.
If you have Extra Attack, first shove your opponent prone, then grapple them.
Here are the conditions of being knocked prone.
Player’s Handbook, page 292.
Prone
- A prone creature’s only Movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition.
- The creature has disadvantage on Attack rolls.
- An Attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the Attack roll has disadvantage
You’ve grappled your opponent, so now what?
You have successfully grappled your opponent. What do you do now? The answer is pretty much anything you can normally do. But you have an unwilling person attached to you.
Since grappling your opponent only requires one hand, your other hand will be free to make attacks, cast spells, and anything else that only requires one hand.
You can still move, though only half speed, and your opponent is coming with you. This is where it gets interesting. I tend to look for cliffs to throw people off of or fires to throw people into. I know, I have problems.
Now, if you have knocked your opponent prone and then grappled them, this is where you simply attack until they are no more, or you choose to let them go, or they break the grapple themselves.
How to be a successful grappler.
Now that we understand how grappling and shove works, it’s time to build our grappler. If you want to be a successful grappler, there are a couple of things you need to focus on.
Strength
Strength is the most important ability score you have if you want to grapple in 5E D&D. You will use it to make your athletics check for both grappling and knocking your enemy prone. Therefore, it should be your highest ability score, and I would also recommend picking a race that will give you a bonus to strength. Some of my favorite races for grapplers are Hill Dwarves and Goliaths.
Athletics
Being trained in Athletics is a must for all grapplers. It is the one skill your fighting style will depend on. You could also consider multiclassing into a Bard just to reach third level to gain Expertise which will allow you to double your proficiency bonus.
Feats
There are a couple of feats that will help you become a great grappler, but they may not be what you think.
- Tavern brawler – If you hit your opponent with an unarmed attack or an improvised weapon, you are allowed to use your bonus action to grapple. Allowing you to use your bonus action instead of an attack will simply open you up to dealing more damage quicker.
What does the book say?
Player’s Handbook, page 170.
Tavern Brawler
Accustomed to rough-and-tumble Fighting using whatever Weapons happen to be at hand, you gain the following benefits:
- Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- You are proficient with Improvised Weapons.
- Your unarmed strikes use a d4 for damage.
- When you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike or an Improvised Weapon on Your Turn, you can use a Bonus Action to attempt to grapple the target. For more, see the Grappling action and Grappled condition.
- Magic Initiate – If you choose this feat, choose the warlock spell Hex. Not only will it allow you to do more damage (1D6 necrotic) to your hexed opponent, but you can also give that opponent disadvantage on one ability check of your choice. If you’re fighting a strong foe, choose strength. If you’re fighting a quick foe, choose dexterity. This causes them to have disadvantage on escaping the grapple.
What does the book say?
Player’s Handbook, page 168.
Magic Initiate
Choose a class: bard, Cleric, druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard. You learn two Cantrips of your choice from that class’s spell list.
In addition, choose one 1st-level spell from that same list. Using this feat, you can cast the spell once at its lowest level, and you must finish a Long Rest before you can cast it again.
Your Spellcasting Ability for these Spells depends on the class you chose: Charisma for bard, Sorcerer, or warlock; Wisdom for Cleric or druid; or Intelligence for Wizard.
- Mobile – One of the best things about grappling is being able to move an opponent around the field. However, doing it at half your speed is not ideal, so any chance to increase your speed will help you move them around faster. Mobile will give you that extra 10 foot boost (5 feet after you half it) to move your opponent where you want them to go.
What does the book say?
Player’s Handbook, page 168.
Mobile
You are exceptionally speedy and agile. You gain the following benefits:
- Your speed increases by 10 feet.
- When you use the Dash action, Difficult Terrain doesn’t cost you extra Movement on that turn.
- When you make a melee Attack against a creature, you don’t provoke Opportunity Attacks from that creature for the rest of the turn, whether you hit or not.
You may notice that I did not include the Grappler feat, which seems like it would be an obvious choice for a grappler character build.
However, it is simply not worth it. If you shove your opponent, knocking them prone, and then grapple them, you will have advantage on attacks. Pinning is not great; not only does it restrain your opponent, but it also restrains you.
All in all, it’s a very disappointing feat. If you wish to check it out for yourself, it’s on page 167 in the Player’s Handbook.
Best Classes for Grapplers.
Martial classes are usually best for grapplers, however, there are some other classes you may not think of that make fantastic grapplers.
Here’s a brief list in no particular order.
- Barbarian
- Bard
- Druid
- Fighter
Barbarian
Barbarian is my favorite class for a grappler. This doesn’t mean it’s the best, although it’s up there. I just love the idea of a non-armored Goliath charging into battle in a rage, grabbing a hold of the biggest person on the field, and then dominating them.
Barbarians make great grapplers for a couple of reasons. First, their hit points are the highest in the game at D12.
Secondly, Rage. The extra damage is always nice, but the main reason is to have advantage on your athletics checks. This will help you with both grappling and shoving. As a grappler, gaining advantage for grappling is of the utmost importance.
Thirdly, extra attack. This is important so you can both shove and grapple your opponent in the same turn allowing, you to get to the most optimal position quicker. Also, who doesn’t love to do more damage afterward?
Add in Reckless Attack and Fast Movement and you are well on your way to seriously dominating whichever opponent you get your hands on.
Bard
Bard is not a class people typically think of when building a grappler. Think of being grappled by somebody that is humming a war song or a sea shanty and pounding your face as part of the rhythm section.
Spellcasting is a good reason to play a Bard. Particularly, you want to get to second-level spells so you can cast Enlarge Reduce. This way, when you look at your DM and say ‘I’d like to grapple the dragon,’ and he says emphatically you can’t because it’s too big, you then cast enlarge on yourself and gleefully watch your DM groan.
Expertise is a great way to buff your athletics check. Expertise will grant you double proficiency,thus making it much harder to break your grapple and easier for you to do the one thing your character is made for.
Though Bard is an interesting choice, I do not see much of a point in going past Level 3 as a Bard. After getting access to second-level spells and Expertise, you would be better off multiclassing into something with better hit die and martial abilities, like Barbarian or Fighter.
Druid
Druid is another interesting choice for a grappler that most people don’t think of. If you are making a Druid grappler, you will mainly be doing your grappling in your wild shape forms. Think of shapeshifting into an octopus and grappling multiple enemies, or a dire wolf with his jaws clamped down in a death grip. Not to mention, once you have access to elementals, you will be a force to be reckoned with.
When using wild shape and grappling, you want to pick monsters that have higher strengths and are trained in athletics, thus making grappling easier. Also, something with flying speed or climbing speed would be interesting. What happens when a giant vulture grapples with somebody and flies up 20 feet? if your opponent successfully breaks the grapple, they only have one way to go; down.
Elemental wild shape is the Cadillac of wild shape grappling. All are great choices, though earth elementals stand out with higher armor class, higher hit points, and higher damage. Air elementals are particularly fun, though not as strong as the others. Once you’ve grappled your opponent and fly them up 45 feet, 4d6 falling damage anybody? Max falling damage is 20D6 just in case you were wondering. 😉
When making your druid grappler, Circle of the Moon is going to be your best choice for your druid circle. Gaining quicker access to stronger wild shapes is crucial to being a great Druid grappler. No multiclassing here since the only way to gain higher wild shape is to level up as a Druid.
Fighter
Fighters is a more obvious choice for a grappler, probably for the reasons you’re already thinking. With decent hitpoints, good armor class, ability score improvements, extra attack, and last but not least, Action Surge, you really can’t go wrong when choosing Fighter for your grappler.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of Action Surge for a grappler. At second level you will be able to shove and grapple an opponent in the same round, which is much better than waiting for Extra Attack at level 5. Although you will have to take a short or long rest to regain the ability, it is a huge advantage.
Extra Attack is also very important to have for your grappler, and like most martial classes, Fighter receives it at 5th level.
As far as Martial Archetypes, I would stick with the Eldrich Knight, which gives you access to spells like Enlarge. You will definitely want to take the War Caster feat if you choose this archetype. Eldrich Strike is pretty handy as well.
Battlemaster’s also make great grapplers because of their versatility. There are a lot of Maneuvers that can help you in grappling situations, like Lunging Attack, Disarming, Evasive Footwork, Perry, and Trip Attack, just to name a few. One of my favorites is Disarming because not only can you disarm them, but you can drag them away from their weapon.
FAQ’s About Grappling
How do you grapple in 5e?
If you are within range and can use a melee attack, and your enemy is not more than one size larger than you, you can choose to attempt a grapple check. You make a Strength (Athletics) check against your opponent’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If your check is higher than theirs, they are grappled.
What does grappling do in 5e?
If you wish to grab or wrestle your opponent, you can use one of your attacks to make a special melee attack, a grapple. You make a Strength (Athletics) check against your opponent’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If your check is higher than theirs, they are grappled and will suffer the grappled condition found on page 290 of the Player’s Handbook.
Can you attack if you are grappling 5e?
Yes, absolutely. The one thing to remember is grappling requires you to always have one hand on your opponent to maintain the grapple. If you do choose to attack your grappled opponent, you will only be able to use one-handed weapons, daggers, long swords, battle axes, unarmed strikes etc. They can also attack you even though they are grappled.
Does grapple give advantage 5E?
No, grappling does not grant advantage. When you grapple an opponent, their speed is reduced to 0 and they can’t benefit from any bonus to their speed. (See the grappled condition in the Player’s Handbook page 290).
Do you have to hit to grapple 5E?
No, you do not have to hit to grapple. If you are within melee range and have at least one free hand and the creature is not more than one size larger than you, you make a special melee attack which is an Athletics (Strength) check against their Athletics (Strength) check or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If you win the check, they are grappled and suffer the grappled condition. No damage attack is necessary. See the grappled condition in the Player’s Handbook page 290.
Can you grapple and shove in the same turn 5E?
Yes, you can grapple and shove in the same turn if you have Extra Attack. To grapple or to shove requires an attack, not an attack action. Therefore, if you have multiple attacks, you can do both. If you only have one attack you can do one or the other, but not both.
Can you grapple as a bonus action?
No, you cannot use a bonus action to grapple. If you wish to grapple somebody, you use a special melee attack to attempt a grapple. If you have multiple attacks, it only requires one of them, not your whole attack action. One way to use a bonus action to grapple is to take the Tavern Brawler feat which allows you to grapple after making a successful unarmed strike or improvised weapon strike.
Is breaking a grapple an action?
Yes, you must use your action to attempt to escape a grapple. To do so, you either roll a Strength (Athletics) check or a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against your opponent’s Strength (Athletics) check. If you succeed, you are free. If you fail, you remain grappled. See grappled conditions on page 290 of the Player’s Handbook.
Can you reverse a grapple 5E?
Yes, you can grapple an opponent who is currently grappling you. If you have one free hand you can grapple your opponent. You make a Strength (Athletics) check against your opponent’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If your check is higher than theirs, they are grappled and will suffer the grappled condition found on page 290 of the Player’s Handbook. However, since you did not break their grapple on yourself, you are also suffering from the grapple condition.
Is releasing a grapple a free action 5e?
Yes, you can release a grappled opponent as a free action. The rules state on page 195 of the Player’s Handbook, “…you can release the target whenever you like (no action required).” On your turn, you can release your grappled opponent without it costing movement, bonus action, or your action.
There is no right or wrong, there is only your imagination.
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