Whip

The whip or bull whip is a long, heavy, plaited lash usually made of leather or rawhide (untanned hide). The braided leather is thicker toward the handle, narrowing to a slender cord at the end. Some handles are wooden rods attached to the lash, while others are part of the same piece of rawhide. The whip's length varies from 15 to 25 feet. A whip is carried coiled and attached to the user's belt.

Common uses for the whip include leading herd animals and as a tool for punishment.

If a character wishes to knock a weapon out of an opponent's hand, this may be attempted with a whip using a Called Shot with intent to disarm. The attacker gets a -4 penalty on his attack roll. Further details are found in The Complete Fighter's Handbook in the Combat chapter.

A character proficient with the whip can entangle an opponent's limbs or weapon. Before rolling the attack die, the user declares whether or not he intends to entangle. If a hit is scored, some sort of entanglement occurs. If wielded by a non-proficient user, the chance to entangle is only 5%. If wielded by someone proficient, there is a 5% chance per level that entanglement occurs (to a maximum of 95%). Percentile dice are rolled to determine the exact effect. The entanglement chances are 50% (01-50 on 1d100) for one limb, 10% (51-60) for two limbs, 20% (61-80) for the weapon arm and the weapon, and 20% (81-00) for the head.

Hobgoblins are known to carry whips, but this is probably more for keeping prisoners and slaves in line than as a combat weapon. Still, a hobgoblin wielding a whip should be presumed to be skilled at it, and able to make the special attacks with it.

"The whip is another example of something designed for one purpose that gets used for another, much like a pitchfork, pruning hook, or harpoon. As a weapon, the whip is unimpressive if you're talking about raw damage. The whip is great for Called Shots and such, but try using a whip on a troll, and all you'll get is one slightly stung, very mad troll.

"The same holds true for armored targets. A whip is designed for hitting bare skin. Any sort of armor, including leather and padded, will help protect the wearer from the whip's sting.

"No, if someone is looking for a weapon that causes damage and is a good parrying tool, the whip is not it. If you enjoy fancy maneuvers and bizarre trick shots, then the whip is the right thing. The whip is better suited for the city environment, where there are more humans, demi-humans, and other such races which fear the lash, as opposed to the wilderness, where myriad monsters abound who do not shrink from a little pain.

"A whip is a slow weapon. Someone using a whip must have at least 10 feet between himself and the enemy, since a whip will not work too well in close quarters.

"A whip is great for a fighter who wants to disarm an opponent, snare a victim, or even wrap the whip around a beam and use it to swing over a chasm.''

-- Gorin Grimblade, Veteran Warrior

Table of Contents