I've always loved flails, being the cleric's weapon of choice in 1st edition (and heck, almost better than any fighter weapons as well!). I've been disappointed for 10 years that cleric's aren't proficient :)
That aside, the stats for the light flail now aren't particularly endearing. 1d8 20/x2 you can get as a simple weapon. Certainly balanced with the disarm and trip abilities though.
Dire Flail works to actually do the dual-wielding. Fighter could get away with using independent ones (much better for dropping on a failed trip) with weapon training and greater weapon focus to make up the to-hit loss.
If you went Barbarian or Paladin or Ranger, but were still stacking feats on the weapon itself (focus/crit, etc.), it might be better to use a small light flail in the off hand (basically trading 1 point of damage to keep your attack bonus on the main hand high).
If you subscribe to the school of thought that the weapon damage and crit range don't matter that much in the long run (i.e. you buy plenty of magic on your weapons and have a huge strength bonus or sneak attack), then they work just fine, no question.
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If I player wanted such a concept, I'd be inclined to allow him to use a smaller flail in his off-hand (making it a light weapon for him, and usable in his off-hand, but only doing 1d6 damage like a small-sized flail), and just overlook the attack penalties for using a weapon scaled for a different size.
Aren't heavy flails 2-handed weapons?
So you'd have to use paired light flails in order to do the two-weapon build with flails. Or the dire flail, as some have suggested.
I've got a flail wielding fighter. I'm thinking of taking the Monkey Grip feat and using a large heavy flail. Definitely inspired by the Witch King of Angmar in Return of the King.
Maybe your GM wouldn't be opposed to the use of that feat to allow a heavy flail to be wielded in one hand? Bending the rules a bit, certainly, but it might be worth discussing.
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Aren't heavy flails 2-handed weapons?Heavy Flails are indeed 2H and 'normal' Flails one-handed. There isn't a 'light flail,' but it would be easy enough to just use the stats for a small-sized 'normal' Flail and call it a light weapon.
What is it with needing the offhand weapon to be light? There is no light flail, what's wrong with either using a non-light weapon in the off hand, or using a dire flail. I don't understand why we go so far out of our way to accomodate things that are already doable by the rules but then make them doable at little to no penalty. At the very least require an exotic weapon feat if you're going to create a light flail as you're creating a weapon no one uses thus it's exotic. Especially since the player would have the same penalty for using your small sized flail, as he would for using a normal sized flail (-2 for twf and -2 for innapropriate size is the same as -4 for using a non-light off hand weapon)
Especially since the player would have the same penalty for using your small sized flail, as he would for using a normal sized flail (-2 for twf and -2 for innapropriate size is the same as -4 for using a non-light off hand weapon)
Using a small flail in the off hand would have the same penalties for that off hand attack, but all of your main hand attacks would only be at -2, since you DO have a light weapon in the off hand now. It just depends on your flavor desire, and whether that extra -2 means that much to you. It'd be a personal choice, and both are in the Corebook as possible options.
Just my 2cp