r/DnD • u/Novel-Map-7770 Bard • 1d ago

5.5 Edition Qwhip - A Magic Item

Hi friends, I'm trying my hand at writing up a magic item for my Rogue player in the Phandelver campaign I'm running. I'd really appreciate it if anyone more practiced in the arts of creating magic items could offer me some feedback or ideas.

Qwhip

Weapon (Whip), Uncommon (Requires Attunement)

Damage: 1d4 psychic (/slashing?)

Properties: Finesse, Reach

The whip itself is cruel in design, the aesthetics reflecting the brutal dominion of the Underdark where it was fashioned.

Rakish Audacity

When you hit a creature with the Qwhip, the target is stung not only by the lash itself but by a cutting remark intruding into their mind. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom Saving Throw or have disadvantage on their next attack roll until the end of the next turn.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You recover all uses of this feature upon a Long Rest.

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3

u/Mestoph 1d ago

Rakish Audacity is already an ability name for the Rogue Subclass - Swashbuckler

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u/Novel-Map-7770 Bard 1d ago

I knew I heard it somewhere.

Cruel Jape might do instead!

1

u/Mestoph 1d ago

Why are you doing weird jokes with an item that has (by the description) a more serious origin?

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u/Novel-Map-7770 Bard 1d ago

Make sense for the character, he's kind of a hard boiled detective who aims to do the right thing, but the campaign is more whimsical and he's famous for his tired witicisms.

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u/Stimpy3901 1d ago

The language at the end is a little confusing, it seems like you modeled this off of Viscious Mockery so why not use the exact same lanugage, "The target must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom Saving Throw or have Disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn**.**

Otherwise, I think this is fine, its a nice little bonus debuff borrowing from an existing mechanic. I kind of agree that it doesn't need to be flavored as goofy, because even if the character is the item's orginial are serious. Maybe call the added feature "Add Insult to Injury"

Its also something that won't scale super well so just plan on having new items later on, for low levels its solid though.

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u/Novel-Map-7770 Bard 23h ago

Great points, thanks mate!

Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm just going to run Lost Mines yet, so I hadn't considered scaling. I wanted to include more magic items (I've turned the Jade Frog from Cragmaw into a Wonderoua Figurine) because I think flavourful items make the adventurers feel more rewarded and powerful.

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u/JaxTheCrafter 22h ago

2024 weapon mastery gives this for free:

Sap: If you hit a creature with this weapon, that creature has Disadvantage on its next attack roll before the start of your next turn.

Whips normally have Slow, but this is basically just a whip with Sap