[Sands] Item - Stinger (Patreon)

A simple weapon with a scorpion theme - very appropriate for the desert traveler. Your adventuring party could encounter this weapon while battling the Scorpion bandit himself, or perhaps uncover it from a Scorpion druid. Or perhaps both!

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The new mechanic introduced here is the khopesh itself, a sickle-sword! Its blunt curved edge is historically used to dislodge shields or grab enemy arms, which is also represented here. The design is a bit complicated, but I factored for the following:

Its weak damage die is compensated by its bonus action grappling ability that grants advantage at the cost of potentially spending another attack action to grapple again.

The trade-off is the loss of one hand, which limits an attack weapon to a one-handed weapon, likely with the Light trait.

A rogue may find use, but would not gain the benefits until the turn after the grapple, and may struggle to grapple with a Strength-based weapon.

A two-weapon martial class could benefit from consistent advantage, though they would only be able to use a one-handed weapon for said attack.

Ultimately, it's still up to the GM to adjudicate whether a player could use it.

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Overall, this weapon is an early-level weapon with a moderate damage die (2d4 total), with a secondary effect that only activates upon critical hit. It's a nice way to introduce some of the desert flavor to your martial players without making them too powerful.