Dragonlance I found the good Hoopak Kender build

[ECMO3]

At first I was extremely underwhelmed with the Hoopak, and still think for most builds it is weak, but I did find one build it is awesome on:

Kender Rogue with a fighter dip and great weapon fighting.

This gets you proficiency with a Hoopak and Great Weapon Fighting style.

Great Weapon Fighting. When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Hoopak is a 2-handed finesse weapon which means you can reroll every 1 or 2 you roll on your attack or sneak attack. This is a flat 0.7 damage boost for every sneak attack dice. Also because it is a "melee weapon" the bonus would apply to ranged attacks made with a Hoopak as well.

This is pretty cool and takes the Hoopak from being terrible to being pretty good on a Rogue that gets proficiency and the fighting style.

Do it with an Arcane Trickster and you could reroll the 1s or 2s on your booming blade or green flame blade as well.

 

[gnarlygninja]

I'm about 70% sure the reroll is only for the weapon's damage dice, not any additional ones.

 

[ECMO3]

I'm about 70% sure the reroll is only for the weapon's damage dice, not any additional ones.

I think it would be worded differently if that was the case. I think it would say the weapons damage die, instead of the damage die for an attack.

 

[aco175]

Use it now before the 2024 nerf comes to clarify.

 

[humble minion]

Use it now before the 2024 nerf comes to clarify.

I'm hoping the entire weapons table gets a damn solid overhaul in 2024 to be honest. Hoopak included.

 

[cbwjm]

I think it would be worded differently if that was the case. I think it would say the weapons damage die, instead of the damage die for an attack.

They clarified in sage advice that it was meant to only benefit the weapon damage dice, though i agree it is worded poorly.

I also think the intent is that it is a melee weapon attack that benefits from the style, not a ranged attack made with a melee weapon.

 

[Steel_Wind]

I also think the intent is that it is a melee weapon attack that benefits from the style, not a ranged attack made with a melee weapon.

Agreed.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I also think the intent is that it is a melee weapon attack that benefits from the style, not a ranged attack made with a melee weapon.

Whilst I believe that is the intent, I would be inclined to allow it, since it's not explicitly forbidden*, and the hoopak is a weak weapon. Only for the base weapon damage though, not for any extra dice. It makes sense that someone trained in two handed weapons would be able to two-handedly sling a stone harder.

Talking of which, you could use the Magic Stone spell for hoopak ammo. Even without abilities which trigger off "attack with a ranged weapon" this allows a 140 ft. range, and in that respect is better than a regular sling.


*Update. With careful reading, I would say it is explicitly forbidden. The hoopak's special property states that "You can use the hoopak as a martial ranged weapon". I.e. when you use the sling it counts, in all respects, as a ranged weapon, and is no longer considered a melee weapon.