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Tavern Brawler

Complete guide to the Tavern Brawler feat in D&D 5e. Master unarmed combat, improvise weapons, and grapple enemies as a bonus action after hitting them.

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BenefitMechanicsSynergiesCommon MistakesDM TipsSources

Benefit

You increase Strength or Constitution by 1, become proficient with improvised weapons and unarmed strikes, and can grapple as a bonus action when you hit with unarmed or improvised attacks.

Mechanics

Tavern Brawler is a half-feat that enhances unarmed and improvised combat: **Ability Score Increase:** Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20. **Improvised Weapon Proficiency:** You are proficient with improvised weapons. **Unarmed Strike Damage:** Your unarmed strike uses a d4 for 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. **Important Details:** - Improvised weapons include chairs, bottles, tools, etc. - Bonus action grapple only triggers when you hit - Works with Strength-based builds - Best with odd STR or CON scores (13→14) - Unarmed strikes count as melee weapon attacks

Synergies

  • *Grappler feat - Restrain grappled enemies
  • *Barbarian Rage - Extra damage on unarmed strikes and grapple checks
  • *Shield Master - Shove and grapple combo
  • *Rune Knight Fighter - Grapple as a giant
  • *Monk - Already have unarmed strikes, this adds grappling
  • *Athletics expertise - Ensure grapple success

Common Mistakes

Common Mistake
Thinking improvised weapons are better than actual weapons - they're usually 1d4
Common Mistake
Forgetting you need to hit to trigger the bonus action grapple
Common Mistake
Not realizing unarmed strikes work with this feat
Common Mistake
Taking this feat when you won't use improvised weapons or grappling
Common Mistake
Missing that the d4 unarmed strike is worse than Monk martial arts
Common Mistake
Not coordinating with grapple builds (Shield Master, Grappler feat)

DM Tips

DM Tip
Tavern Brawler enables fun tavern brawl scenes
DM Tip
Improvised weapons add flavor but aren't mechanically better than real weapons
DM Tip
Grappling can control enemies effectively with this feat
DM Tip
This feat is more about flavor and versatility than raw power
DM Tip
Encourage creative use of environment as improvised weapons
DM Tip
Tavern Brawler builds are fun but not optimized

Sources & Further Reading