I have a custom item from a Pathfinder Society sheet and have some questions.
The item is a +1 whip with a sickening effect (DC 15 fort.)
I don't have the exact text right now, but the description was pretty simple. It did not, in particular, specify whether damage was necessary for the effect to go off.
Do we think this weapon more like the Cruel ability, where you merely need to hit for the effect to go off?
Or is it like Spell Storing, where actual damage is required?
I can get the specific text when I get home, if necessary.
Obviously getting damage from a whip is pretty difficult to do.
Here is the text of the item:
I think it should work, unless the target has DR.
Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack, such as injury poison, a monk's stunning, and injury-based disease. Damage reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains. Nor does it affect poisons or diseases delivered by inhalation, ingestion, or contact.
This is the only thing I found regarding a lack of damage on a hit failing to trigger specials.
So if it's not negated through DR, it should work.
The problem is whip rules. Virtually any armor (+1 ac or +3 natural armor) negates damage. So if we take that route it's only good on monks and wizards w/o mage armor. Hence my quandry...
You can't expect to just use a whip without investing four feats in removing special penalties that apply only to whips. Whips have too much potential to let you do things other than "I hit him in the face with my sword for damage", so they desperately needed to be made as weak as possible.
The problem is whip rules. Virtually any armor (+1 ac or +3 natural armor) negates damage. So if we take that route it's only good on monks and wizards w/o mage armor. Hence my quandry...
Armor negates damage from the whip, yes.
That's different than:
DR negates damage from the whip.
Nothing is the rules say that "Whenever anything completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects"
It says, "Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects"
So if it's anything other than damage reduction completely negating the damage, it's not RAW legal to deny the special effects.
You should be safe for PFS.
Ah i ran into that whip problem with my inquisitor of Calistria.
It´s really too powerful to use a whip. Not only need most persons take EWP except for bards and said inquisitors, but you need to wait for second level or later if you are not a full BAB class for the first of that feats. Oh and then you might want to use weapon finesse. So clearly before level 5 it´s just too overpowered to be in melee combat with a whip. And it will be level 9 before you shine.
Guess that whip mentioned here should work on a hit though untill you meet damage reduction. Armor is normally negated by the magical +1.
|
Scorpion whips deal lethal damage, and are treated as whips for proficiency, i.e. a bard can use it with no investment in anything else.
You still don´t threaten and cause AoO´s if someone is next to you.
|
Just want to add in my experience in 3.5 when I played the first Adventure Path. I made a Soul Knife that ended up becoming a Pyrokinetist. One of the powers was a fire whip.
She could do AoO's in a 15' area and do Fire damage.
This was a fun character. I only wish there was a equivalent in Pathfinder.
|
Kazaan the key to this is the vector of the whip. If it said contact, we could ignore the damage requirement. we know it's not inhalation or ingestion either. So it all comes down to if it's just touch that requires it or not, and it's not specified, (it might be within the module...)
I don't think it's a stretch to say that it requires damage.
Ie it's meant to hit slaves, prisoners, etc
Since it is a named item you can´t put any other enchantments on it.