Hey, One of my Characters in a campaign I'm running wants to use chains as weapons, which is fine, there are rules for that, but he wants then attached to Manacles around his wrist, they are broken in the middle and are about 4 feet long. I think its a cool idea and I want to let him do it, but what Kind of penalties would that incur? He has all the proficiencies need for the chains btw.
A chain with a locking gauntlet? A bit extra weight in exchange for making it REALLY hard to disarm you.
Actually I would just eyeball it. Just add the cost/price/weight of a set of manacles to the cost/price/weight of the chain weapons. I would round down/cut them some slack if it looks like the chain weapons are getting too non-optimal, the player deserves credit for a cool concept.
~will
Hey, One of my Characters in a campaign I'm running wants to use chains as weapons, which is fine, there are rules for that, but he wants then attached to Manacles around his wrist, they are broken in the middle and are about 4 feet long. I think its a cool idea and I want to let him do it, but what Kind of penalties would that incur? He has all the proficiencies need for the chains btw.
have him get exotic weapon prof. spiked chain and add the cost of a locked gauntlet to it. (spiked chain isn't a reach weapon anymore :( )
also stipulate that it needs to be in his hand to be weilded effectively, it can't be swung from the wrist or anything (that keeps him from effectively having the quickdraw feat without paying for it)
Locked gauntlets are a bad idea if they want to use their hands normally, so I'd have to say No to that as it ends up being more of a headache in the regular game outside of combat. "Oh wait guys I need to put my gauntlet back on after opening the door..."
If you have access to the APG (Advanced Players Guide) there is an item called a weapon cord that costs 1 sp. I would just have them buy two of them (one for each hand) and go with it. The problem with the locked gauntlet is that you cannot use your hands for anything while it is on, that goes against the idea of what you stated. Weapon cords just allow you to get your weapon back as a swift action if disarmed (it is dangling off your wrist just like your character is wanting) and still allow for you to use your hands (though doing some things you might want to impose a circumstance penalty usually a -2 to the action) regularly.
From a non RAW/houserule perspective:
I think this is more inline with what you are asking about probably. I would actually consider having the character pay for manacles (as they are more expensive) and chain weapon, then give the weapon cord "effect" as a freebie. This would make it so people targeting the "weapon cord" would in effect be trying to sunder the manacles and have a tougher time if they were trying to disarm the character as everything is metal at that point.
As long as the effect mechanically isn't any different from the weapon normally, how it is "described" (the fluff text) is largely irrelevant as long as you are having fun with it. Just remember the rule of K.I.S.S (Keep it simple, stupid) as my cousin always used to say. The fewer things you tinker with by adding things together, the better for balance.
Bravo for working with the player to get a concept going by the way.
Hey, One of my Characters in a campaign I'm running wants to use chains as weapons, which is fine, there are rules for that, but he wants then attached to Manacles around his wrist, they are broken in the middle and are about 4 feet long. I think its a cool idea and I want to let him do it, but what Kind of penalties would that incur? He has all the proficiencies need for the chains btw.
You should also consider to give opponents to get bonus to grapple with him. If you grab one of his chains and are strong and big enough they could turn him into a weapon like a flail. Just a thought.