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Hi, everyone! I was hoping to clear up some confusion I had about whips and some other regular combat stuff from those of you who've had lots of experience.
Suppose I'm playing this character:
Indiana, 7th-level Fighter
Archetype: Lore Warden - +4 on CMB at level 7, plus free Combat Expertise
Race: Half-Elf - Ancestral Arms trait gives weapon proficiency: Whip
Strength 20 (+5 bonus)
Dex 14 (+2 bonus)
BAB = +7/+2
Weapon Training: Flail (includes whip) (+1 to attack, damage)
Weapon: Frost Whip +2 (aka Cool Whip) (+1d6 cold damage on hit)
Alternate weapon: Flail (in pack)
Weapon Proficiency (whip) (from Half Elf)
Combat Expertise (from Lore Warden)
Weapon Focus (whip) (+1 to attack rolls)
Whip Mastery (no AoO from using whip, whips can deal lethal)
Improved Whip Mastery ("While wielding a whip, you threaten the area of your natural reach plus 5 feet.")
Improved Trip (+2 to trip, no AoO)
Greater Trip (another +2 to trip, tripping opponents provokes AoO)
Combat Reflexes (extra AoO equal to dex bonus)
Power Attack (-2 to attack, +4 to damage at level 7 - choose to use before making an attack roll)
Felling Smash ("If you use the attack action to make a single melee attack at your highest base attack bonus while using Power Attack and you hit an opponent, you can spend a swift action to attempt a trip combat maneuver against that opponent.")
So, a few questions:
1. Say I make a Full attack, with my first attack as a trip: it gets a bonus of 7 (BAB) + 5 (Strength) + 4 (improved/greater trip) + 4 (Loremaster) + 1 (Weapon Focus) +2 (whip's enhancement bonus) + 1 (Weapon training, as a fighter) = +24 to trip.
a) Assuming that attack hits (I should hope so, with a +24), can I immediately make an AoO via greater trip? If so, can I use Power Attack with that?
b) Does the Cold effect deal damage?
c) Does rolling a natural 1 make me drop my whip, even though with my bonuses I'm likely not failing by more than 10?
d) Suppose I then want to make a regular attack with my +2 BAB. Can I use Power Attack? And is this math right? -> Attack bonus would be: +2 (BAB) +5 (strength) -2 (Power Attack) + 1 (Weapon Training) +1 (Weapon Focus) +2 (whip enhancement) +4 (opponent is prone) = +13, for damage of 1d3 + 1d6 (frost) + 5 (str) + 2 (whip enhancement) = 1d3 + 1d6 + 7
2. Can I use two hands on my whip to apply 1.5x my strength mod to damage? (The whip is one-handed, not light.) If not, is there any downside to me using a shield in my off-hand?
3. Improved Whip Mastery says that I threaten the range of my natural reach +5 feet. This means that I threaten a 5x5 square around me, right? If someone walks toward me, I get an AoO when they're standing in front of me, before they attack (assuming they don't lunge or spring attack or something); if I use the AoO to make a successful trip with my whip, they can choose to either attack me with a -4 bonus or stand up, in which case I can get another AoO (thanks to Combat Reflexes), which I can use to trip them again. Right?
4. Can I use Power Attack with AoOs? If yes, can I use the Felling Smash feat to trip them? (I don't think so, because I'd need to use a Swift Action). If it's my turn, can I do a Felling Smash as part of a full attack? (So attack for damage, if it hits use my swift action to trip, then attack for damage again)
5. If I'm Hasted, could I Full Attack to trip one person with +7 BAB, trip another person behind me at +7 BAB, and take a 5' foot step and try to trip yet another person with +2 BAB?
6. Before I get Improved Whip Mastery (to be able to make AoO with my whip), could I hold a dagger or some other light weapon in my off hand, and make attacks of opportunity with that?
7. A scorpion whip is a whip lined with sharp teeth; it's a light weapon, deals d4 slashing damage, and says "If you are proficient with whips, you can use a scorpion whip as a whip." Do all my feats apply to it? If I were to later invest in TWF, could I use a whip in one hand and a scorpion whip in the other with a -2 on each? (And can you imagine how sick that would be?)
Thanks for your help, gentlemen. If anyone has any critiques about this build, I'd also love to hear them; I'm not really certain if I should maintain pure fighter or maybe take a small splash of Barbarian or something.
1a-1: If you did the trip in a space that you threaten, you could take the AoO.
1a-2: You would have to have declared the Power Attack when you started, meaning +22 to the trip. Power attack then applies to all attacks you make until your next turn.
1b: Cold damage on the AoO, but no damage on the trip itself.
1c: Natural 1 means you automatically miss. You still use your roll to determine if you've failed by a given trehshold.
1d-1: see 1a-2.
1d-2: I think you get weapon training to damage, too, ya?
2a. Yes, you can use it two handed. How? No idea.
2b. No downside to a shield; you aren't finessing it.
3. I think it means you threaten 5-10 feet. You would get an AoO when they approach, which you can use to trip. If they choose to stand they provoke another attack of opportunity, but they provoke while still prone. You get the +4 to hit, but tripping them while prone doesn't do you any good.
4a. See 1a-2. If it's on for the round, you use it.
4b. No Felling Smash on AoOs. An AoO is not an "attack action" it is a "melee attack". Subtle yet powerful difference that makes a lot of feats not as cool as you'd think.
4c. No Felling Smash on a full attack. Felling Smash is an "Attack action" which is not the same as a "Full Attack Action".
5. Yes.
6. Yes, but there may be some two-weapon fighting penalties in there somewhere. Not sure on that one.
7. Yes, yes. I saw a stripper do that once. It was very sick.
Beware of Oozes, Incorporeal things, flying things, and large things with lots of legs. Your DM is assuredly going to use them.
a) Assuming that attack hits (I should hope so, with a +24), can I immediately make an AoO via greater trip? If so, can I use Power Attack with that?
Adam Moorhouse 759 is correct in that you can take an AoO, if you have a weapon that threatens him. However, you must choose to use Power Attack before making an attack roll, and its effects last until your next turn. The AoO is an attack roll, so you can choose to use Power Attack before it. So you would not PA the first trip, then turn on PA for the AoO, but then PA is active until your next turn. Any further attacks you make during your turn, or any other AoOs, even when used to trip, would have the PA bonus/penalty.
7. A scorpion whip is a whip lined with sharp teeth; it's a light weapon, deals d4 slashing damage, and says "If you are proficient with whips, you can use a scorpion whip as a whip." Do all my feats apply to it?
Nobody really knows how the UC Scorpion Whip works.
There are two weapons that are both called Scorpion Whip.
Scorpion Whip from the Adventurer's Armory is awesome. It's a whip that deals lethal damage even to creatures with armor bonuses, has a better die, and shares proficiency with the whip.
Sean K Reynolds (Developer) says about it: "A scorpion whip uses the same rules as the whip in the PFRPG Core Rulebook, except (1) it deals lethal damage, even to creatures with armor bonuses, and (2) the stats in the table."
The Scorpion Whip Gladiator Weapon from Ultimate Combat is a confusing mess.
James Jacobs (Creative Director) says about it: "if you're proficient with a whip, you can use a scorpion whip. Doesn't mean you can use a scorpion whip to do all the things a whip can do, though... just what a scorpion whip can do."
Which I think means the (UC) scorpion whip doesn't have reach, trip, or disarm. It's also Light instead of One-handed.
This Thread has some FAQ requests, if anyone is interested.