Whip

Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Name	Whip
Skill	Maces & Flails
Damage	6
Accuracy	+2
Base delay (%)	11 (110%)
Min delay	5 at skill 12
Hands	1H
Size	Medium
Ranged?	No

A long plaited strip of leather. Originally developed for use in disagreements with cattle, this simple weapon is now widely used to settle differences between all sorts of creatures. “Not with a Club, the Heart is broken Nor with a Stone — A Whip so small you could not see it I've known To lash the Magic Creature Till it fell, Yet that Whip's Name Too noble then to tell.” -Emily Dickinson, “Not with a Club, the Heart is broken”. ca. 1865.

This weapon falls into the 'Maces & Flails' category. It is a one handed weapon.

Whips are one of the better early game weapons, a direct upgrade to clubs. They have good attack speed, even at low skill, and are easy to find off kobolds and other early humanoids.

Strategy

At 0 skill, a +0 whip is stronger than a short sword, dagger, or club, but weaker than a spear. It does not have the stabbing benefits of the former two weapons, but hits harder.

A whip with a "flat" brand, namely venom or electrocution, is a powerful weapon in the early game. A whip of of either brand can kill most enemies up to Lair with minimal skill investment. Without a good brand, you should upgrade to a mace or better, at least once you get some Maces & Flails skill.

Note that there is some risk with using whips at 0 skill. Since you attack at 1.1 delay (which is >1.0), monsters have a chance to get an extra turn on you. However, whips are stronger on average. If you need to use a 0 skill weapon in the first place, you'll likely prefer the better performance of a whip. At 2 Maces & Flails skill, whips attack at 1.0 delay, negating this risk entirely.

	Image
Mundane
Magical
Artifact
Snakebite

History

• Prior to 0.14, whips could possess the reaching brand.
• In earlier versions of the game, whips did as little as 4 damage and had 12 base delay, which made them close to worthless.