Grappling with an Unorthodox Concept

Grappling is a fun and unique mechanic which people often tailor their characters around. Commonly the Goliath Barbarian or perhaps warrior is a popular choice, for a number of obvious reasons. However due to me liking to raise the bar for a number of ridiculous reasons I would like to put forward my favorite alternative.

The Bugbear Sorcerer Grappler. Yes... sounds ridiculous doesn't it?

Grappling Refresh

Ok so first things first, lets refresh our memories as to the grappling rules. As taken from a terrific post by Ktkenshinx on grappling from Enworld, lets have a look at the basics:

1. Grappling is a "special melee attack".
2. To grapple a target, you must "use the Attack action" to then make your special melee attack (the grapple).
3. From an RAW perspective, the "Multiattack" ability of monsters cannot enable multiple grapples because it is its own action type.
4. If you have multiple attacks for the Attack action, you can replace as many of them as you want with grapple checks.
5. You cannot replace bonus action attacks (e.g. from the Monk or a Barbarian's Frenzy) with grapples.
6. A grapple check is an Ability check contested by a target's ability check. It is NOT an attack roll!
7. Your grapple target "must be no more than one size larger than you". It must also be within your reach.
8. You need at least one free hand to initiate a grapple.
9. If you or your target are subject to any involuntary movement, the grapple ends immediately.
10. Unlike in previous D&D editions, there is no penalty for grappling multiple targets. You can grapple as many targets as you have hands (typically two).

Getting Racial

Now lets start with the basics, why bugbear over goliath? Well because like the goliath, the bugbear has the all important Powerful Build racial ability, which can allow you to push and drag double the regular limit. This can be handy to drag larger or heavier foes towards a cliff for instance. But the main reason is the Long Arms ability, which allows the bugbear to initiate a grapple from 10ft instead of 5ft like the goliath.
Additionally, the +1 to dex on the bugbear probably just as desirable as +1 to con from the goliath due to its help with extra armor and initiative bonuses.
Now the bugbear also gets the Surprise Attack ability, which is just handy in certain situations.

Build and Background

So with a standard array and the bugbear, your stats should probably look something like:
Strength 14, Dexterity 14, Constitution 15, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 8, and Charisma 14.
Taking the Soldier, or Uhtgardt Tribe Member Backgrounds will provide the Athletics proficiency required for grappling. Once you hit level 4 it could be argued that taking either the Tavern Brawler, or Grappler, or War Caster feat could each be a good option. After that adding to your stats will aid you in becoming a more successful grappler overall.

Why Sorcerer?

Now this is the big question, my main reasoning is that A) sorcerers have class abilities that increase their chances of being successful grapplers, B) sorcerers get spell casting and C) proficiency with constitution saving throws.

Lets look at the class features first, the sorcerer with the draconic (or stone sorcerer if allowed) subclass, gains a nice bonus to AC and increased HP. These factors both make for a more robust grappling character. Additionally the meta magic abilities available to the sorcerer add a wide range of utility, with both the Subtle & Quickened Meta Magic options almost essential to the build.

Now the spell casting aspect, this is almost the most important part of the build. My ideas were essentially to grapple the enemy, hold them still, then use a Mold Earth or Shape Water Cantrip to cover, pin or smother the enemy as its held or dragged prone when possible/practical. It could be argued that these spells move 5ft cubed of loose soil/water, which is roughly 1 tonne of weight, enough to hold an enemy down. My final thoughts are Shocking Grasp which for obvious reasons makes sense. These spells should all be able to be cast with the Subtle Meta Magic option

First level spells I recommend are False Life & Shield at first level. These will pump up your health pool by at least 5 temp hp and you can up your AC to around 20 with the Shield spell as a reaction. After this, picking up Enlarge/Reduce or Enhance Ability will both provide huge benefits to your grappling ability. Secondly at third level, spells like Maximillian's Earth Gasp or Hold Person will allow you to "grapple" a second target with simply the power of your mind.

Later on the sorcerer can cast Polymorph, Earthbind, Levitate, Fly and many other spells that can be combined nicely with the grapple ability. Really there are plenty of fun options here for making this build more fun and unique.

Final Thoughts

Now obviously this isn't the most optimised build, neither would it most likely be the most effective. But it can be great fun and depending on the leniency of your DM, can be quiet deadly. Most spells could be seen as situational, but alternatively with the right spells you can even add battlefield control with aoe spells when facing more than a single foe. So what do you think? Is this grappling sorcerer something your might use in the future? Could you think of any better ways to utilise the sorcerer's abilities for grappling? Let me know in the comments below.