Grapplemancer (3.5e Optimized Build)

Author's Note: "Who wants a hug?"

Introduction
Summary::A wizard that's so much better at grappling than any "traditional" grappler it blows them out of the water.

Spells

 * Enlarge Person
 * Fearsome Grapple
 * Babau Slime
 * Balor Nimbus (Optional)
 * Bladeweave (Optional)
 * Polymorph (Later on)

Progression
Starting Ability Scores (Before Racial Adjustments): (Assuming 32 Point Buy) 16 14 14 16 8 8

Race (Templates): Race::Human

Items

 * Psionic Tattoo of Grip of Iron

Grapple Check
3 (Strength) + 1 (BAB) + 3 (Octopus Familiar) + 4 + 1 (Enlarge Person, Str bonus) + 4 (Jotunbrud) + 4 (Fearsome Grapple) + 4 (Improved Grapple) + 4 (Grip of Iron) = +28

Tactics
Use Babau Slime and Balor Nimbus, both in Spell Compendium, to deal damage. Bladeweave will daze your grappled opponents (also Spell Compendium). Bladeweave and Fearsome Grapple are swift action spells, which basically means you go nuts.

Further Optimization

 * Lords of Madness: Take Aberration Blood (Flexible Limbs) to get another +2 to grapple checks.
 * Magic of Incarnum: Be an Azurin instead (all you lose is the bonus skill points) and pick up Shape Soulmeld (Girallon Arms) for +4 to grapple checks. Take Bonus Essentia to eventually get an extra +4 to grapple checks.
 * Once you hit level 7, you can polymorph into a Remorhaz to increase your grapple bonus further while maintaining all the other modifiers you normally get.
 * If you are an Elf instead, you can pick up the Elvish alternate racial wizard variant in Races of the Wild to double the bonus that Octopus gives you to grapple checks.
 * Be a goliath to get Powerful Build instead of Jotunbrud, as well as a +4 racial bonus to Strength.

Limitations

 * Low HP
 * You set a couple feats on fire.

DM Counters

 * Ranged attacks
 * Multiple attackers
 * Sneak attackers

It's important to note that none of these are really counters to the build because you can just change your spell configuration around, or prepare a few different spells or scrolls each day, and be a normal wizard that powers through all the opposition anyway.