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• Grapple has you enter your target’s space. Improved grab has them enter yours. If you boost your reach a lot, then, you can use grapple as way to pull yourself into position or pull an enemy to you, depending on whether you use improved grab or not. I just finished a campaign with a character who basically never used the move action in combat, but instead just used hookshots on enemies to get everywhere.

• The Dragon Claw feat gives you a swift-action attack that you can use in any round in which you use a touch-attack spell. The Snap Kick feat lets you add an unarmed strike any time you’re making one or more attacks. Between the two, you can use a touch attack spell (which can be done as an unarmed strike), Snap Kick on that, then use Dragon Claw and Snap Kick on that. That’s four attacks as early as 6th level, as a standard action + swift action. Plus you got to cast a spell for one of those attacks. Duskblade, eat your heart out.

• Dungeoncrasher gives you bonus damage (a lot of bonus damage) for slamming creatures into walls. Knockback is traditional for this purpose, but there are all kinds of options. Telekinesis? Throwing weapons, with the Rout feat? Lot of variety possible here.

• Grapple has you enter your target’s space. Improved grab has them enter yours. If you boost your reach a lot, then, you can use grapple as way to pull yourself into position or pull an enemy to you, depending on whether you use improved grab or not. I just finished a campaign with a character who basically never used the move action in combat, but instead just used hookshots on enemies to get everywhere.

• The Draconic Claw feat gives you a swift-action attack that you can use in any round in which you use a touch-attack spell. The Snap Kick feat lets you add an unarmed strike any time you’re making one or more attacks. Between the two, you can use a touch attack spell (which can be done as an unarmed strike), Snap Kick on that, then use Dragon Claw and Snap Kick on that. That’s four attacks as early as 6th level, as a standard action + swift action. Plus you got to cast a spell for one of those attacks. Duskblade, eat your heart out.

• Dungeoncrasher gives you bonus damage (a lot of bonus damage) for slamming creatures into walls. Knockback is traditional for this purpose, but there are all kinds of options. Telekinesis? Throwing weapons, with the Rout feat? Lot of variety possible here.

The difference between spells and maneuvers is that maneuvers are each once per encounter, instead of once per day, and on top of that, you can “recover” them mid-fight so you can even use them multiple times in a long encounter. Each of the classes has its own recovery mechanism (the rogue/ninja-analogue’s is awful and they might as well not have the option, but they also get to start with way more maneuvers than the others), to add a bit of variety/identity.

The difference between spells and maneuvers is that maneuvers are each once per encounter, instead of once per day, and on top of that, you can “recover” them mid-fight so you can even use them multiple times in a long encounter. Each of the classes has its own recovery mechanism (the monk-analogue’s is awful and they might as well not have the option, but they also get to start with way more maneuvers than the others), to add a bit of variety/identity.

Tome of Battle is what you want

In other words, what you really want is Tome of Battle, but more so. Unfortunately, Tome of Battle was one of the last supplements they released, and never got any expansion or follow-up. (Mike Mearls, I believe, said it was a in part a test bed for ideas for 4e, so maybe 4e itself is the “follow-up.”)

Tome of Battle is what you want, or at least as close as you’ll get

In other words, what you really want is Tome of Battle, but more so. Unfortunately, Tome of Battle was one of the last supplements they released, and never got any expansion or follow-up. (Mike Mearls, I believe, said it was in part a test bed for ideas for 4e, so maybe 4e itself is the “follow-up.”)