Tavern Brawler Feat Analysis
The Tavern Brawler feat in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition enhances a character's ability to fight effectively in unconventional, often chaotic, environments, particularly those involving improvised weapons and unarmed combat.
Core Benefits:
- Ability Score Increase: Provides a +1 bonus to Strength or Constitution.
- Improvised Weapon Proficiency: Grants proficiency with improvised weapons. This means you add your proficiency bonus to attack rolls made with objects not typically designed as weapons (e.g., a chair leg, a bottle, a heavy tankard).
- Unarmed Strike Improvement: Your unarmed strikes use a d4 for damage, an improvement from the standard 1 + Strength modifier damage.
- Bonus Action Grapple: 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. This is a significant action economy advantage.
Strategic Applications:
This feat is particularly beneficial for:
- Strength-based characters: Fighters, Barbarians, Paladins, and some Strength-based Rangers or Rogues can leverage the Strength increase and grappling capabilities. The Constitution option also offers survivability.
- Grappler builds: The bonus action grapple is highly efficient. It allows a character to attack (potentially with an improvised weapon for d4 damage or more, depending on DM ruling for the object) and then immediately attempt to grapple, all within their turn without forgoing an attack from their Attack action. This synergizes well with classes that gain extra attacks.
- Creative players and specific character concepts: Those who enjoy interacting with the environment and using everyday objects as weapons will find the improvised weapon proficiency valuable. It adds mechanical support to "bar fight" specialists or characters who are resourceful under pressure.
- Characters lacking consistent bonus action options: It provides a reliable and combat-effective use for a bonus action.
Considerations:
- Unarmed Damage Scaling: While the d4 unarmed strike is an improvement over the base 1 damage, it does not scale further with level unless combined with Monk features or certain fighting styles. Monks inherently gain better unarmed strike damage dice.
- Improvised Weapon Damage: While proficiency is granted, the damage die for an improvised weapon is typically a d4 unless the object resembles an existing weapon (DM's discretion). Some DMs might be more or less generous with what can be used and its effectiveness.
- Feat Opportunity Cost: Feats are a limited resource. Depending on the build and party role, other feats such as Great Weapon Master, Polearm Master, Sentinel, Shield Master, or straight Ability Score Increases might offer more impactful combat advantages or fulfill a specific character concept more effectively.
- Prerequisites for Grappling Success: While the feat grants the bonus action attempt, successful grappling still relies on winning an Athletics (Strength) check against the target's Athletics (Strength) or Acrobatics (Dexterity) check. A character still needs a good Strength score and possibly proficiency in Athletics to be a reliable grappler.
In summary, Tavern Brawler is a flavorful and mechanically distinct feat. It excels for Strength-based characters aiming to control enemies through grappling, utilize their environment creatively in combat, and add a rugged, brawling style to their repertoire. Its primary strengths lie in the action economy of the bonus action grapple and the versatility of improvised weapon proficiency.
