Jester's Flail
A jester's flail is a classically Voxelian weapon component that also serves as a common motif in New Voxelian art, architecture, and official iconography.
While the name would imply that a jester's flail is always a flexible weapon, the term 'jester's flail' refers only to the ornate striking head of the weapon, which is almost always rigidly affixed to a solid wooden haft. This haft can be either short enough to use one-handed, long enough to require both hands, or even long enough to grant the wielder reach. The unique shape of the head allows it to be used in striking, stabbing, or drawing opponents in, while the hooks can also be used to entrap an opponent's equipment. Still, many jester's flails are actually flails in the traditional sense, with one or more of the heads attached via ropes or (more commonly) chains to a handle or yet another length of chain. Flexible jester's flails are difficult to counter and have the potential to completely bind up an opponent, but they are also quite difficult to wield safely (especially in close quarters).
Manufacturing process
The hooks and central barb may be constructed separately and lashed together. Alternatively, they may be forged from a single rod of metal, which is then split at one end and bent to form the hooks and barb, or even sand-cast. The jester's flail is then affixed to a length of chain, a sturdy wooden haft, or both (as in a medieval flail).
Significance
The early version of what would become the jester's flail was created when the heads of one or more fishing gaffs were lashed around a central spike to create an improvised anti-boarding weapon. During the Old Voxelian middle ages, before the fall of the Voxelian Empire, this assemblage of hooks and spike was adapted into a goedendag-like weapon, substituting the otherwise flimsy haft of a fishing gaff with a stout pole which could either be short (for personal, one-handed uses) or long (to grant the reach of a polearm). In both of these configurations, the "fisherman's lance" as it was then called proved quite effective at snagging, tripping, or disarming opponents. It would be employed in a jabbing or dragging fashion, though particularly stout examples could be used in the same manner as a flanged mace.
by BCGR_Wurth
An ornate jester's flail. Note the eyelets at the base. These serve practical and decorative purposes - as well as being indicative of the object's historical roots as an assemblage of fishing implements.
The weapon became known as a "jester's flail" though two simultaneous developments in the Voxelian Empire: versions of the weapon were created which implemented the hooks-and-point as a flail head, and the imperial court began to use the original weapon as an implement of torture in addition to warfare. Because torture was (and remains) a taboo subject among the Voxelian people outside of executions, the imperial jesters took up the heads of these flails as a part of their ornamentation, capitalizing on the contradiction that they (the jesters) served to bring pleasure while the Emperor and his flails served to bring pain. Ultimately, these ornaments found use as weapons again during the coup and ensuing riots which would see the Emperor deposed. The jester's flail has remained a symbol of intimidation, state authority, and nationalistic sentiment ever since imperial times.
Related ethnicities
Rarity
Jester's flails are common in Voxelia, where mahogany-hafted flails are wielded by security forces and cheaper versions are common home defense weapons. While the jester's flail carries some cultural baggage, similar weapons can also be found throughout human territory - though these have largely been surpassed in popularity by smaller edged weapons.
Weight
2-5 lbs
Dimensions
3-8 ft
Base Price
300 NGC
Raw materials & Components
The jester's flail as a weapon head is constructed of iron or steel; softer metals would likely bend under the strain of impact, limiting later use of the hooks.
Tools
Part of the appeal of the jester's flail is that it is relatively easy to construct. Crude versions might be built using only simple tools one might find in a home workshop. More ornate jester's flails require the use of a forge or foundry.
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