This multi-flanged metal whip has a short haft and 4 short tails ending in teardrop-shaped blobs of bronze. It is designed to be used as a shield in the off-hand, and grants the usual +2 bonus to AC. Any time that a 1-handed melee attack against the wielder misses by only 1 or 2 points, the attacker must make a contested grapple check against the wielder (attacker acrobatics or athletics vs the wielder's athletics). If the wielder wins the contest by 5 or more, the weapon has become entangled in the flail and the attacker is grappled while they keep hold of it; if they let go, it remains tangled in the flail. In either case, a successful grapple check must be made by the attacker to remove the weapon from tails. If the wielder wins by 4 or fewer points, the attacker's weapon has been knocked from their hand to the ground. If the attacker wins the contest, they retain their weapon as usual and it is not tangled or grappled.

Picking up an item is a free interaction, and the attacker may freely pick their weapon back up if it's still their turn and they haven't already interacted with an object on that turn. Anyone else adjacent to the space can attempt to kick it away or to shove the attacker and take the weapon from their space. Other situational circumstances may apply. For instance: 

• Reactions - If the wielder does not pick up their weapon, they can still take an attack of opportunity as a reaction, but can't use the dropped weapon in the attack. If they have no other weapons their reaction attack of opportunity would be unarmed instead of a with a weapon. 
• Role Play opportunities - once disarmed, a DM might allow for an intimidation roll, etc, to see if combat ends in the wielder's favor.
• Additional actions - after successfully grappling a weapon, the wielder may extract it as an action, or may throw the flail and the entangled weapon up to 30' as an action. 

Shields require the Utilize action to Don or Doff. You gain the Armor Class benefit of a Shield only if you have training with it.

Notes: Damage, Combat