D&D 5E 5E: Whips?

Hand of Evil

Hero
Epic
I think it is time to start looking at side-effects not damage. Whips produce effects within people and animals, it is a fear factor and you have to make a WIL check to overcome it.
 

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painted_klown

First Post
Some good ideas.

I have a feat of my own.

Using this feat allows you to "Whip Grapple" an enemy in combat.

If you use the whip to perform a grapple action on your turn, all allies using a melee attack on grappled creature get an automatic crtitcal hit. At the beginning of grappled creatures turn, they must use their action to try to escape the whip grapple. To escape the whip grapple, the creature must succeed a DEX saving throw with a DC of 20.

I think that should make the whip a VERY powerful weapon. Not really for yourself, but as a utility/tool to assist in combat. Note that these suggestions do not make the whip more powerful as an attack weapon, they just make it extremely useful as a tool to grapple enemies and hold them while the rest of the party beats them down.
 
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Dausuul

Legend
I don't see why anyone wouldn't take 4 levels of Fighter if you're a Rogue anyways.
Probably because you want to play a skill monkey. Rogues get a lot of skill-based tricks and utility abilities as they advance, and you'd be sacrificing 4 levels' worth of those. Reliable Talent, for example, is an incredibly potent ability.

If your only objective is to dish out silent death, I wouldn't put more than one level in rogue (for Expertise in Stealth).
 


Avanne

First Post
I'm playing my first game of 5e and I rolled a paladin since I never have and they seem more enjoyable in this version.

After looking at the new stuff it seems like using a whip and a hand crossbow as a vengeance paladin could play out well. If you have Hunter's Mark up (vengeance lv1 extra spell) and take the Crossbow Expert feat, you can make a bonus action attack with the crossbow when you make a melee attack so you're getting a nice 2d6 from the mark plus the weapon damage from both at 10ft range with the potential to smite (ability) for more damage with the whip and if you have a smite (spell) ready you're looking at some nice damage potential at lower levels if you don't mind burning spells. Also, if you use your vow of enmity you're getting advantage on all of the attack rolls.

So a level 4 Paladin with Thunderous smite ready and hunter's mark up who chooses to use their divine smite is potentially doing 1d4 + str/dex mod + 1d6 + dex mod +2d6 (spell smite) + 2d8 (divine smite) + 2d6 (hunter's mark weapon damage) which is 8-50 + modifiers damage with 10 ft knockback and prone on a failed strength check, an additional 1d8 to undead and fiends, and if you use the vow you get advantage on the attack rolls.

The issue with the above being that as a level 4 paladin you just used up all of your spells for the day in one ridiculous attack. The nice thing about hunter's mark is it can be transferred as a bonus action after the target reaches 0 on any subsequent turn during the 1 hour effect so you can just bounce that around and still do both weapon damages and 2d6 on a target (not on the same turn but it's still nice)

Also at lvl 7 with the Vengance Paladin you can move half your speed after making an attack of opportunity that doesn't provoke one in return which you're going to do a lot more of with a whip.

Seems like a nifty concept and I'm trying it out but, again, not the most solid on this edition so what I've thought up may not even work although it seems like a decent whip build.
 

epithet

Explorer
...more the necessary use of synthetic polymers.

Up next: can druids wear plastic armour?

In a world with dragonhide and giant spider silk, who needs synthetics? Also, your druid should look into a bronzewood breastplate.

I let the whip wielder use the attack roll with the whip for the "Shoving a Creature" attack, to either trip the target or to pull it 5 feet (rather than push it.) I also allow the whip attack roll to replace the grapple roll. After skimming over this thread, I think I'm going to tie those abilities to learning the whip as a tool in addition to having the weapon proficiency--something that can be done in downtime, costing cash but not a skill or feat.

With regard to using a whip to Indiana Jones over a chasm, I'd let a character "grapple" an object (like the face of an Anubis statue) opposed with a flat 15, then make a determination about the object's ability to support the weight of the character. I will avoid making such a maneuver too difficult, because of the "rule of cool." I am fortunate to have players that do not abuse the rule of cool, your mileage may vary.
 


NotSoEpic

First Post
Ive found a decent build that utilizes the whip whip's capabilities. It requires the Sword coast to be effective because of the wizard archtype Bladesinger, which at level two allows them to gain proficiency in any one handed weapon. Using this combined with the cantrip also in Sword Coast, booming blade, You can hit someone from ten feet away, deal an extra 1d8 damage immediately, and then when they try to move into attacking range they suffer another 1d8 damage
 

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