Hans Qu

Everyone who knows me has heard this story —I was playing Baldur’s Gate 3, which EVERYONE was describing to me as gloriously immersive and endlessly interactive. According to everyone recommending the game, “everything I thought of, I could do [sic].”

I met this claim with skepticism, especially at the beginning of the game when I found I could not, in fact, do everything I wanted. In particular, after finding rope in the the first dungeon’s crates, that dungeon’s high rafters convinced me there had to be some way to swing ledge to ledge with that very rope. But no combination of the “Rope” item and the “Use,” “Throw,” or any other commands, led to the course of action a Dungeon Master would’ve at least let me attempt.

My immersion reached its breaking point in the caves beneath the well (oh stop it, everyone knows there are caves under the well). Trapped on a web, I thought, “Ah, simple solution: I’ll throw a rope from one character to another, and burn the web, trapping all the foes on that side and allowing me to haul my friend back up. Surely the game would allow me to tether a character to another. Surely this tactic, at least, would be accounted for. Otherwise, why would they even have rope in this game?”

Anyway, today I’ve written this article as a tribute to rope, the adventurer’s best friend. There’s so much you can accomplish with a good length of rope – You could tie down your horses, strap up your equipment, or even scale cliffs with it. And now, with these character options, you can arm yourself with it, channeling your inner Eagle Scout to give your party the leverage needed for any adventure.

The Meteor Hammer and Rope Dart require extremely technical training, but both weapons can be used to devastating effect in the right hands.

Meteor Hammer

Damage: 1d6 Bludgeoning (1d8 Bludgeoning with Rope Master feat)
Properties: Finesse, Reach, Two-Handed, Bad Catch
Mastery: Reverse Strike
Weight: 6 lb.
Price: 20 GP

A Meteor Hammer is a pair of bronze globes, bound together by a rope or chain. This weapon is noted for its sheer destructive power at range, in contrast with its low profile. It can be easily assembled and disassembled into more discreet components. It is also renowned for its Reverse Strike, and for how difficult it is to master.

Rope Mastery. This weapon deals 1d8 Bludgeoning damage on a hit when wielded by a creature with the Rope Master feat.

Bad Catch. Everybody makes one, every now and then. On an attack roll of 1, this weapon swings back and strikes its user for 1d6 Bludgeoning damage. You can only take this damage once per turn.

Rope Dart

Damage: 1d4 Piercing (1d6 Piercing with Rope Master feat)
Properties: Finesse, Reach, Two-Handed, Bad Catch
Mastery: Reverse Strike
Weight: 3 lb.
Price: 20 GP

A Rope Dart is a blade attached to a rope in order to be slung as a weapon. This weapon is notorious for its ease of concealment despite its difficulty to wield.

Rope Mastery. This weapon deals 1d6 Piercing damage on a hit when wielded by a creature with the Rope Master feat.

Bad Catch. Everybody makes one, every now and then. On an attack roll of 1, this weapon swings back and strikes its user for 1d4 Slashing damage. You can only take this damage once per turn.

Weapon Mastery: Reverse Strike

If you hit a creature with a melee attack roll this weapon, you can make an additional attack against another creature within this weapon’s reach plus 5 feet. You can only make this extra attack once per turn.

Feat: Rope Master

General Feat

You gain the following benefits.

Ability Score Increase. Increase your Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

Sling Rope. When making a d20 Test involving throwing a rope, you do so with Advantage.

Trick Knot. Knots you tie are extra secure, and cannot be untied or broken by a creature unless another creature takes the Help action to assist.

Assemble Rope Weapon. With 15 minutes of work, you may craft a Rope Dart or Meteor Hammer using a Dagger or similar item, or a reasonable blunt object weighing roughly 5lb., and 15 feet of rope.