With homebrewing: Just make the Whip a Monk Weapon, combine with Sickle and enjoy!. Without homebrewing: Kusarigama ninja fighter: So, as the title suggests, I'm very interested in making a stealthy, ninja-type that uses a Kusarigama. This is a weapon, historically used by ninja of ancient Japan, and is, in my opinion, the ultimate ninja weapon. I could be wrong but I believe the kusari is the chain-whip, the gama/kama sickle-like blade hand. But there's some obvious issues with use of this weapon in D&D 5e. Namely, that Kusarigama weapon doesn't exist in the weapon table, obviously. However, as a proxy of the Kusarigama, a player could equip their character using a War Pick or Sickle with a Whip, which would be functionally the same for attack/ability rolls, as further explained in the next paragraph. This weapon consists of a short to medium length handle, similar to an Axe handle or farm tool, along with a hooked or curved blade virtually identical to a sickle and also very similar to a War Pick. In addition to this, the weapon is connected by a long chain, typically topped off with a small metal weight and is used much like a whip to keep opponents at bay or to wrap it about the target's limbs for effects such as tripping, disarming and strangling (if successfully applied about the target's neck). Now, the first issue that comes up using this proxy-combo is that the aforementioned weapons aren't all finesse weapons, not to mention that to effectively use the chain & blade in concert requires some type of multi-strike function, such as tripping, or suffication by wrapping the neck of the target and following up with an attack from the blade portion of the weapon in quick succession. Because of the nature(s) of the proxy-weapons being used, this automatically rules out making a Monk, as they can't use martial weapons by default. The whip is a martial weapon, sadly. Also, even if you took proficiency feats for martial weapons, the Monk's unarmed strikes have to be, well, unarmed, like a punch or kick attack, not a melee weapon. So, this begs the question, how do we work within the RAW to get around these problems? Simply put, roll a fighter, with the criminal or urchin background (for the stealth proficiency), not a rogue or ranger. This is ultimately due to key features of the fighter class, the growing number of extra-attacks being the most obvious as your character progresses to higher levels. The other big factor being the subclass battle master, which then allows you to gain maneuvers, such as trip attack and lunging attack for use with the chain-whip or in melee, as needed. ********************************* Basic mechanic example as player level 5: PC uses stealth successfully to approach the target in a dark lit cave, waiting briefly for an opportune moment, he quietly lashes the chain-whip about his target's neck, and yank the target down prone in a single fluid motion, unable to cry out due to the natural effect of being suffocated with a noose. You can then either approach, or drag (with a successful DC check) the target as your movement/bonus action and perform any number of actions, with the right accompanying feats, such as: A: Use your remaining extra attack to attempt to kill it with the war pick/sickle, while still theoretically choking the target in the prone position. *It's prone, so even if you don't kill it outright, you'd get a whole extra turn to attack it before it can otherwise react! B: Grapple it to virtually guarantee it can't break free from suffocation with the grapple feat. C: Attempt to quickly interrogate it for information with an intimidation check, or perhaps using deception from the criminal background proficiency, like saying you'll let the target free with no intention of doing so. *If you're willing to loosen the chain enough for it to speak, though this would reset the suffocation effect, clearly. D: Whatever else you can think of! ********************************* PHB rules that verify such a scenario: If you take an action that includes more than one weapon attack, you can break up your movement even further by moving between those attacks. Unlike the "action" and "bonus action" described above, movement doesn't have to be a single discrete event. If you take an action that includes more than one weapon attack, you can break up your movement even further by moving between those attacks. **************************** Basic Build Recommendations: Background - Urchin or Criminal Class - Fighter Subclass - Battle Master Fighting Style - Two Weapon Fighting Weapon Style: War Pick (recommended)/Sickle & Whip Feats: Dual Wielder, Grappler (optional) Primary Stats: Str & Dex Secondary Stat: Con Recommended Race: Dwarf Subrace: Mountain Dwarf You want to maintain a reasonably high combination of Dex and Str, and if possible Con. Dex is needed to be able to succeed in stealth and/or finesse checks, while Str is a key factor in damage, attack rolls, DC checks for maneuvers, and (optional) grapple feat. The easiest way to get this combination, would be to roll Dwarf, putting your highest stat into Dex, then Str, then Con as those latter two are built into the racial bonuses. You do lose 5 feet of movement for a dwarf as a trade-off, but you've got a reach weapon and manuevers.
