Lasso
The lasso, or lariat, is a length of rope with a loop at the end; the wielder holds the slack in his off-hand, twirls the lasso in his other hand, and hurls the loop at his target. On a successful hit, the lariat settles over the target, giving the wielder the chance to dismount him, pull him to the ground, trip him, etc.
In other words, when you attack someone with a lasso, you must declare what you're trying to accomplish with the attack.
If you're trying to trip him, you're trying to make the loop settle about his legs. This requires a Called Shot at the legs as per the OPTIONAL: Hit Locations section.
If you hit, he must make a Dexterity ability roll, with the usual modifiers for the Pull/Tripmaneuver; if he fails, he falls, and if he succeeds, he's able to jump out of your loop before it closes.
If you're trying to pin his arms to his sides, you're trying to make the loop settle about his torso and arms. This requires a Called Shot at the arms as per the Hit Locations section. If you hit, he must make a Strength ability roll, again with the usual modifiers for Pull/Trip.
If he succeeds, he shrugs the loop off before you can pull it taut. If he fails, you pull the loop taut. Both of his arms are pinned, as in the Pin maneuver. The target gets to struggle each round, also as per the Pin maneuver rules. Each additional lasso that hits the target to Pin him gives him a –4 to his Strength ability for purposes of his struggling. When his Strength reaches 0, he has no chance of escaping.
If you're trying to dismount a rider, you're trying to make the loop settle about his torso—and then brace yourself for the impact (when his mount's movement reaches the end of your rope, both you and he are going to be jarred). This doesn't require a Called Shot; You must merely hit your target normally.
If you hit, both you and the unfortunate rider must now make Strength ability rolls. If he rolls his better than you roll yours, the lasso is torn from your hands and you take 1d2 damage. If you roll yours better than he rolls his, you yank him from his saddle and he takes 1d3 from impact with the lasso and the earth. If you both make your roll by the same amount, then both results occur; the lasso is yanked from your hands, doing 1d2 to you, and he's yanked from his horse, taking 1d3. (Incidentally, if you've had time to tie your rope to an absolutely stationary object, like a boulder, you don't have to roll against your Strength ability; you win this contest unless your target rolls a 1, in which case the rope breaks and he can ride off laughing.)
If you're trying to lasso a target's head (for example, when you're up in a tree and your target is an unsuspecting guard walking below), this is a Called Shot to his Head as per the usual rules.
If, after the modifiers, you still hit, you can yank for 1d3 damage (plus your Strength bonus). On subsequent rounds, you can yank for 1 point of damage each (plus your Strength bonus). But if you're in a position to hoist your target up in the air (for instance, if you're up on a tree-branch, lasso your victim, and then drop off the branch on the other side, holding onto the rope to hoist your victim up), you do your victim 1d4 points of strangulation damage per round (Strength bonus does not apply to this). If he can get his knife free and cut himself loose, that's good for him; if not, it's good for you. While strangling, a victim cannot shout or raise the alarm.
If you're trying to drop your loop around the head of a mounted rider . . . well, it's difficult, but possible. Make it as a standard Called Shot to the head.
If you hit, you must again make your Strength ability check. If he wins it, he takes 1d4 damage from the impact of the lasso around his neck going taut—but the lasso is still yanked from your hand, doing 1d2 to you, and he can ride off. If you win it, he takes 2d6 damage from the impact, another 1d3 from hitting the ground, and he's dismounted. If you both make it by an equal amount, he takes 1d4, is dismounted and takes an additional 1d3, and you take 1d2 from the lasso being yanked out of your hands. (If, in this example, you've had time to tie the other end of your lasso to an absolutely stationary object, your target still gets his roll. On a 1, the rope breaks and he takes 1d4 damage. Otherwise, he's automatically dismounted and takes 3d6 damage.
Such a maneuver, hard as it is to set up, could easily break someone's neck, killing him instantly.)
In the Weapons chart, the lasso was listed as a large weapon because of the amount of space it takes to twirl and wield it.
You cannot perform a Parry or Disarm with the lasso, or use it as a melee weapon for Pin—only at range.
Lasso requires its own weapon proficiency, which is not related to any other weapon proficiency. Weapon specialization gives you the normal +1 to attack rolls with the lasso and +2damage on all damaging effects of the lasso (strangulation after the initial hit is still only 1d4, not 1d4+2).
Cultures with gladiators are not the only ones which come up with the lasso. Civilizations which depend heavily on herd-beasts often have the lasso as a weapon. In some cultures, the lasso is a favorite weapon of assassins. It's up to the DM to determine if the lasso is a weapon of the player-characters' culture.
If it is not, a PC need only train with someone who has proficiency with the weapon (and the PC must have a free weapon proficiency slot) in order to learn how to make and use the lasso.
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