How would you stat up a lasso?

[FabulousFizban]

i was looking at the net and i thought, why not lasso?

[DarkKnightJin]

Quick and dirty: fluff a net to be a lasso instead.
Don't change any of the mechanics, just says it's a lasso.

[jh12]

A heeler attack imposes the prone condition and reduces the target's movement speed to 0.

A header attack imposes the restrained condition but does not reduce the target's movement speed. The target is able to move towards you at its normal speed, but must succeed on a Strength/Athletics contest against your Strength/Athletics to move away from you.

In either case, the target must spend an action to free itself, and you can use your reaction to turn it into a contest under the Escaping a Grapple rule. The rope can be cut like a net, in which case the target may free itself by spending an action.

[Man_Over_Game]

Special, 30 feet.

You can spend your Action to attempt to throw the lasso at a creature. Treat this as a Grapple, allowing you to use Dexterity or Strength attributes for the initial contested check. As long as you maintain one hand on the lasso, the creature is considered grappled by the lasso. Future contests to break the grapple use your Strength attribute.

[MagneticKitty]

Exactly like the net, except grappled instead of restrained. Also takes two hands.

[LibraryOgre]

Exactly like the net, except grappled instead of restrained. Also takes two hands.

Though I'd let you maintain with one hand and a fixed point (i.e. saddle horn).

[FrancisBean]

Special, 30 feet.

You can spend your Action to attempt to throw the lasso at a creature. Treat this as a Grapple, allowing you to use Dexterity or Strength attributes for the initial contested check. As long as you maintain one hand on the lasso, the creature is considered grappled by the lasso. Future contests to break the grapple use your Strength attribute.

One-handed or two (for the initial attack)? Does it count as a weapon attack? Melee/reach or ranged? I'm thinking in terms of whether it would count for an opportunity attack, or other class features which reference weapon attacks of various forms. Is it eligible for Extra Attack? (I'm not seeing a reason why not, so long as the same lasso can't be used whilst already grappling a target.)

I'd probably also allow the target to free him/her -self by using an action to deliver a point of fire or slashing damage to the lasso... If they have the capability to do so.

I really like this write-up and would use it in my games -- I just think there are a few things unspecified.

[Man_Over_Game]

One-handed or two (for the initial attack)? Does it count as a weapon attack? Melee/reach or ranged? I'm thinking in terms of whether it would count for an opportunity attack, or other class features which reference weapon attacks of various forms. Is it eligible for Extra Attack? (I'm not seeing a reason why not, so long as the same lasso can't be used whilst already grappling a target.)

I'd probably also allow the target to free him/her -self by using an action to deliver a point of fire or slashing damage to the lasso... If they have the capability to do so.

I really like this write-up and would use it in my games -- I just think there are a few things unspecified.

The way I wrote it, it was intended to not be an attack of any kind other than a grapple (which isn't a weapon attack, but a special attack).

I actually wrote up a weapon trait that's almost identical to what you're describing, as "Grappling" weapons. Tacked onto Whips, the new Chain, and the new Garrote weapons. I can look up the specifics on it, if you're interested.

This lasso concept is just using the same basic mechanics. I'd probably list it as Two Handed, so that you need two hands to "attack" with it (like with a normal two-handed weapon), but you only need one hand at any other time (we're heroes, after all). It'd be a ranged weapon, as the requirement for keeping one hand on it for the grapple is already listed. This also prevents any weird rulings, like using it for Opportunity Attacks.

I guess you could make it like a 15 Reach weapon, Thrown out to 30 with Disadvantage, but that'd require a lot of finagling to write correctly. Doing so would make an interesting concept of grabbing someone before they could run away, but I don't think the mess of trying to make that work would be worth it.


I like your idea about the damage. AC 5 or 10 seems like a standard.

[Vogie]

I wouldn't make it a weapon... A lasso is just rope, which most adventurers have anyway. I could see it as a feat, though.


Lariat Mastery
Requires a Strength or Dexterity score of 13 or higher
You gain proficiency with Whips, and the damage die for whips is doubled (from 1d4 to 2d4)
In addition, you can take a rope or 15-ft length or longer, and fashion it into a lasso as a bonus action.

While holding a lasso, you can use the Attack action to make a special ranged attack (If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them). The range of the attack is the length of the rope minus 5 ft. Treat this special attack as a Grapple, except you may also use Dexterity(Slight of Hand) or Dexterity(Acrobatics) for the initial contested check. As long as you maintain one hand on the lasso, the creature is considered grappled by the lasso. A grappled creature can use its action to escape the grappled as normal (a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by your Strength (Athletics) check).

[Ninja_Prawn]

This is how we did it in Weird West:

http://i64.tinypic.com/novoeq.png
Basically a longer-ranged net. Keeps it simple.

[LibraryOgre]

This is how we did it in Weird West:

http://i64.tinypic.com/novoeq.png
Basically a longer-ranged net. Keeps it simple.

A DC 10 Strength check feels a little low. Like, Lassos would barely work on horses or cows at DC 10.

[sophontteks]

Special, 30 feet.

You can spend your Action to attempt to throw the lasso at a creature. Treat this as a Grapple, allowing you to use Dexterity or Strength attributes for the initial contested check. As long as you maintain one hand on the lasso, the creature is considered grappled by the lasso. Future contests to break the grapple use your Strength attribute.
This is a bit strong. It'd turn the weapon into a must-have for all martials.

It has a few big advantages over a traditional grapple.
- If the target is melee only, they are effectively out of the fight. Martials tend to have a very big advantage vs. creatures in contested athletics checks.
- Because of the reach anything that pushes the target won't break the grapple unless they move out of the weapon's 30 foot reach, removing most counters available to NPCs without athletics. Things like push, gust, gust of wind etc.
- And of course being able to grapple things that are out of melee range.

That's just too good. IMO.

[NaughtyTiger]

Special, 30 feet.

You can spend your Action to attempt to throw the lasso at a creature. Treat this as a Grapple, allowing you to use Dexterity or Strength attributes for the initial contested check. As long as you maintain one hand on the lasso, the creature is considered grappled by the lasso. Future contests to break the grapple use your Strength attribute.

I like it. It isn't an attack, it is your whole action. so it doesn't proc anything based on attack (no shield bash, extra attack, bonus action attack, no other attacks)


It has a few big advantages over a traditional grapple.

and 1 huge disadvantage, whole action. not just 1 attack.

everything you said is also valid for the net, no one says the net is OP.
the net is ranged restrained
like the net, 10 slashing damage cuts the rope (but you aren't restrained so no disadvantage)

[Mercurias]

I would say it’s a Dex action to hit and a contested strength check against YOUR strength or athletics to restrain an animal. Speaking as someone who lives on a farm, hauling a cow where it doesn’t want to go with only a rope is decidedly NOT easy, but tossing a lasso is absolutely an exercise in dexterity.

Edit: It might be a really good co-op item. Have the Barbarian do the holding and the Rogue do the throwing. Still, to immobilize an animal it takes multiple ropes. It might be the kind of thing where you take repeated actions/checks to keep dragging the target so they can’t get up or untie the rope.

[Man_Over_Game]

This is a bit strong. It'd turn the weapon into a must-have for all martials.

It has a few big advantages over a traditional grapple.
- If the target is melee only, they are effectively out of the fight. Martials tend to have a very big advantage vs. creatures in contested athletics checks.
- Because of the reach anything that pushes the target won't break the grapple unless they move out of the weapon's 30 foot reach, removing most counters available to NPCs without athletics. Things like push, gust, gust of wind etc.
- And of course being able to grapple things that are out of melee range.

That's just too good. IMO.

Those are some decent concerns. I will say that a melee unit that's limited to using one hand at range is limited to throwing weapons, which isn't something that has a lot of specialization in 5e. The enemy creature can still burn, slash, use Dexterity or Strength to break out of the grapple, and any allied creatures can burn or slash the rope, too.

You could require it to use two hands at all times. That'd be enough to address most of the concerns I'd have on what you mentioned.