I know this is an old thread, but my question is a FAQ worthy clarification regarding this very subject...
Regarding the Threat Range on Whips (standard, run of the mill whip), someone for the first time questioned how I was doing AOO with a Whip *without* having the Improved Whip Mastery Feat yet. Now, I played this concept with a canned, pre-made PFS Con character as I understood the rules and the PFS GM didn't bat an eye lash at my use of the Whip in an AOO at 10'. After that event, I had the opportunity to build a character around the Whip concept - an Inquisitor of Calistria.
Our interpretation of the rules to date was that while the Whip has a 15' Reach, you only Threaten 10'.
WHIP
>>> "A whip deals no damage to any creature with an armor bonus of +1 or higher or a natural armor bonus of +3 or higher. The whip is treated as a melee weapon with a 15-foot reach, though you don't threaten the area into which you can make an attack."
We took this wording to mean that while you may have a 15' Reach to make a standard attack action, you don't threaten the full 15' Range; therefore, your Threat Range is 10' (Natural +5'). We found this to be backed up by the next phrase:
>>> "Using a whip provokes an attack of opportunity, just as if you had used a ranged weapon."
If using this Melee Weapon is Threatening to your neighbors to provoke said AOO against you, you must be threatening to those squares in your reach. However, there's the other side of the argument that weakly states 'its a ranged weapon' and Ranged Weapons do not get AOO's. *Sigh* Is it Ranged or Melee? The rules seem to give the whip an unnecessary identity crisis, but I believe the last statement was an analogy as to why it provokes the AOO, not to say its a Ranged Weapon with which an AOO can be performed. I standby that the Whip is a Melee weapon with Reach and calling it Ranged is just muddying the waters to justify an invalid argument.
Couple this with "Faiths of Balance", Pg 7, and the Calistria Trait -
>>>> "Opportunistic: You have learned to recognize openings that your foes leave, and you know how to take advantage of them. You gain a +1 trait bonus on attacks of opportunity when using a dagger, sword, or whip."
This would appear to imply that one would have the ability at First Level to perform AOO with all three of the stated weapons, like we want to wait until Level 7 (minimum) to obtain "Improved Whip Mastery" to get that +1 on our Whip for AOO.
Then we get to Ultimate Combat and the Whip Mastery feat chain which is unique to Pathfinder, and specifically to "Improved Whip Mastery". When I first read this I thought this was all well and good, but when questioned about it, I re-read it when the words "Natural Reach" stood out. Wait a sec, this contradicts everything that was understood before. Our initial assessment of this Feat was that with "Improved Whip Mastery" increased the threat range to the full 15' reach of the whip.
In a nutshell...
"Improved Whip Mastery" allows the wielder to now "entangle* opponents with the coils of your whip", "threaten the area of your natural** reach plus 5 feet" AND 'Grasp small objects'*.
>>> * Entangle is poorly defined, but I'm assuming it causes the "Entangled Condition" as defined even though you can only "Grasp Small Objects" and cannot "Grapple" until you've acheived "Greater Whip Mastery"... I'd just assume "Trip" him instead of "entangle". This is the difference between uselessly slowing down the opponent or stopping them cold in their tracks.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/glossary.html#_entangled
>>> ** The words "Natural Reach plus 5 feet" is what has thrown our understanding of Whip and AOO out the window.
Given how muddy this is, I do firmly believe that there needs to be a clear definition posted by Paizo in the FAQ regarding this. The current FAQ from earlier this year is as follows and "a little hazy" doesn't cut it - Its beyond hazy. The best I could find is the following and this isn't clear to matters pertaining to the Whip and any interpretation of the rules thereof regarding use of said Whip. It goes more to supporting my initial interpretation from the Core Rules.
http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fm
Reach and Objects: Can you pick up or manipulate an object in a square within your reach? Does this provoke an AOO? Does it provoke even if the foe can reach the object, but not your space?
The rules are a little hazy here, but to put it simply, you can affect objects and creatures within your reach. When picking up or manipulating objects, you generally provoke an attack of opportunity, but only against foes that can reach your space. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity from foes that cannot reach you, no matter what action you are taking, even if it includes reaching into a threatened space. Although it might seem realistic to allow an attack in such a case, it would make the game far too complicated.
This answer originally appeared in the 9/25/12 Paizo blog.
—Pathfinder Design Team, 03/01/13
There is nothing in the Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat FAQ on Whips...
There is nothing in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook FAQ either...
And nothing in the Pathfinder Society FAQ as well...
Heck, I couldn't even find an official reference from E3.5.
Sure, there's been messageboard discussions that have mentioned no AOO, but nothing to state clearly, definitively and officially from Paizo why.
Thank you...
