Except the flail we got in 5e rules does no more damage than a Longsword and possesses none of the special properties that might really distinguish it as a rad weapon.
Except the special property of being a sick-ass spiked ball danglin' from my hand, rattling and bangin around. Damn, that thing is rad. Those dudes in Sposta's image look like dorks and I'd never be caught dead wielding their historically accurate abomination of a weapon.
LOL. They do look like dorks. The art style at the time seemed to bring out the dorkiness in almost anything that wasn't capital 'E' Evil.
So I would venture that a peasant flail (simple melee weapon) ought to be a 2-handed, bludgeoning weapon doing 1d8 bludgeoning and the "military flail" would be a mangual, a 2-handed, Heavy, bludgeoning Reach weapon doing 2d6 damage. The difference between the two would be accounted for by the mangual, being a Martial, would deal more damage and have a longer built-in chain. Does that sound about right?
So that would make the "martial flail" (mangual) the most powerful and effective melee weapon in 5E. Seems overpowered.
I don't care if you give it a 1d6, 1d8, or 2d6 damage at your table. If you're the DM, you will run it by your rules. I started this conversation to get more chatter on the forum about what's supposed to be a cool weapon that most people simply ignore b/c they take it for granted how it works and forget what a flail even is b/c it has exact same stats as the Warhammer (minus Versatile).
With reach, maybe 2d4. Without reach 2d6 would pro’ly be okay.
While I like the idea of the ball and chain, as someone that is relearning to use a nunchaku the idea of trying to learn to wield a spiked ball on a chain scares the excrement out of me. The idea of having those spikes hitting me when I mess up is not a pleasant thought considering how many times I hit myself with the chuks. You pretty much have to be wearing armor just to practice making it a knight’s weapon by default.
LOL. I imagine that people who used the mangual in real life probably practiced on light-weight versions of it first to become proficient with handling chains and then gradually moved to heavier and heavier weights on the ends of the chains. It's def not an easy weapon to use well for anyone whose job does not entail lots of practice time with objects designed for killing.
Except the flail we got in 5e rules does no more damage than a Longsword and possesses none of the special properties that might really distinguish it as a rad weapon.
That's because 5e wants fighters to be the basic bonk class, and making choosing a weapon more than an aesthetic choice interferes with that goal.
While I doubt such a thing would be implemented in OneD&D, I think it would be fair to give certain weapons a bonus when used in conjunction with one of the Battlemaster's Maneuvers. For example a mangual flail increasing the STR saving throw difficulty on a Pushing Attack. Or, with a rapier, get a +2 to attack rolls using your Reaction when you use Riposte.
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LOL. They do look like dorks. The art style at the time seemed to bring out the dorkiness in almost anything that wasn't capital 'E' Evil.
With reach, maybe 2d4. Without reach 2d6 would pro’ly be okay.
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LOL. I imagine that people who used the mangual in real life probably practiced on light-weight versions of it first to become proficient with handling chains and then gradually moved to heavier and heavier weights on the ends of the chains. It's def not an easy weapon to use well for anyone whose job does not entail lots of practice time with objects designed for killing.
While I doubt such a thing would be implemented in OneD&D, I think it would be fair to give certain weapons a bonus when used in conjunction with one of the Battlemaster's Maneuvers. For example a mangual flail increasing the STR saving throw difficulty on a Pushing Attack. Or, with a rapier, get a +2 to attack rolls using your Reaction when you use Riposte.