Upon trying to make a character similar to Ivy, and being dissatisfied with the outcome, I was inspired to create some new feats that continue the progression of the Whip Mastery feat chain. I love that you can eventually grapple with a whip, but I was hoping it would have been more devastating than that. With the feats I created you can now grab, constrict, and even grapple creatures larger than yourself, as well as decrease some of the penalties from the grappled condition.
I wanted to get some feedback from other players and DMs, though. (Or even developers, if they even read this part of the messageboards.) Anything from the extreme of needing to be reconstructed or trashed to small things like changing up the way the feats read. You know, RAW versus RAI and all that. Even suggestions to change the feat names are welcome. I'm not picky. I just want to perfect them for my own use as well as others.
So, anyone reading this might already know about Whip Mastery, and its Improved and Greater versions. Greater Whip Mastery lets you grapple with a whip, and even gives a small list of rules for it. None of my feats are even accessible until you can do that, so you need to be at least an 11th-level class with full bab progression (at best) before even thinking of taking my feats. Ideally, you would want to be a Dex-based Fighter to take these feats. That's what I had in mind, anyway. I even thought about making a whip Fighter archetype, but this will do for now. Oh, and the Whip Mastery feats are just there for reference.
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus (whip), bab +2
Benefit: Using a whip does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Prerequisites: Whip Mastery, bab +5
Benefit: Threaten with your whip and grasp tiny objects.
Prerequisites: Improved Whip Mastery, bab +8
Benefit: Grapple using a whip.
Prerequisites: Greater Whip Mastery, bab +11
Benefit: While using a whip, this grants you a grab special attack similar to that in the Monster Manual (page 301). Whenever you make a successful attack with a whip, you can attempt to start a grapple as a free action. This only works against creatures of your size category or smaller. A successful grab does not deal any extra damage unless you also have the constrict special attack granted by the Oppressive Snare feat. Each successful grapple check made during successive rounds automatically deals normal damage (including damage from any magical weapon properties). You also receive a +2 bonus on combat maneuver checks made to start and maintain a grapple. This bonus does not stack with the bonuses granted from the Improved Grapple and Greater Grapple feats.
Prerequisites: Greater Whip Mastery, Ensnaring Whip, bab +14
Benefit: While using a whip, this grants you a constrict special attack similar to that in the Monster Manual (page 298). Whenever you make a successful grapple check, you deal your normal weapon damage (including damage from any magical weapon properties) twice. Roll once for the initial attack or grab damage, and then roll a second time for your constrict damage. You must hold the whip with two hands after you succeed to grapple as a free action from the Ensnaring Whip feat, and maintain this grip, in order to deal any extra damage in this way. You also receive +2 bonus on combat maneuver checks made to start and maintain a grapple. This bonus does not stack with the bonuses granted from the Improved Grapple and Greater Grapple feats.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Ensnaring Whip
Benefit: While using a whip, you do not provoke any attacks of opportunity when performing a grapple combat maneuver, and maintaining a grapple is only a move action. You also receive a +2 bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense against opposed grapple checks. In addition, your Dexterity penalty from the grappled condition is reduced to a -2 penalty.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Ensnaring Whip, Expert Whip Grappler
Benefit: You can make two grapple checks each round (to move, attack, or tie up your opponent) with a whip, but you are not required to make two checks. You only need to succeed at one of these checks to maintain the grapple. You also receive a +2 bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense against opposed grapple checks. In addition, your Dexterity penalty from the grappled condition is reduced to -1, and you can now grapple creatures one size category larger than you.
Very nice i like these and if its okay will be implenting them into my home games.
Very nice i like these and if its okay will be implenting them into my home games.
Please do! Let me know how they work out because you'll probably get to use them before I do. =)
P.S. I just homebrewed a "snake sword" combining the stats for a short sword and scorpion whip (with the regular whip weapon properties). Feel free to use that in conjunction with the feats, as they are meant to be used with any kind of whip-like weapon that has reach. I'm open to suggestions to change anything about this as well.
This weapon appears to be a 3-foot blade, but upon triggering a mechanism on the hilt (as a move action), it can break apart into segments attached by a steel cord, extending to the length of a whip. This whip is treated as a melee weapon with a 15-foot reach. Unlike most other reach weapons, you can use it against foes anywhere within your reach (including adjacent foes). Using this whip provokes attacks of opportunity as if you had used a ranged weapon. You can also retract the cord and it's segments back into a sword, but doing so takes longer (standard action).
You can use the Weapon Finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier to attack rolls made with a snake sword (in either form) sized for you, even though it isn’t a light weapon. Also, any magical enhancements apply to both forms, but only to their respective weapon qualities.
Cost: 75gp
Weight: 4lbs
Sword Form
Damage: 1d6
Critical: 19-20/x2
Type: P
Special: none
Whip form:
Damage: 1d4
Critical: x2
Type: S
Special: disarm, trip
Cool ideas. Thw Snake Sword i good but at lest there should be a magical property that make the change Sword-Whip and Whip-Sword swift actions.
there is a Prestige class from 3.0, the Lasher, I think, that concentrate in mastering the use of whips if you read that Prc aybe you get new ideas.
Thanks for the tip! I'll take a look at that Lasher prestige class to see if it can help me build an archetype. As far as the snake sword, I'll probably just make a specific item called Valentine that does the trick. Something like a +1 or +2 shortsword with the transforming weapon ability that you can change from a whip to a sword as a swift action. Maybe make it adamantine or mithral too, just for kicks. I've never made a weapon like that before, but I'm sure it would cost hundreds of thousands of gold.