User blog comment:The Milkman/Hearthfire Announcement: My Take/@comment-4057437-20120831031237/@comment-3492791-20120901035950

Don't let Indie fool you, that's movie magic.

The only way a whip would be able to actually grip something is if the tip was weighted. Otherwise it would simply wrap around something, then bounce back and unwind. Whips were not ever meant to be used as a weapon. They were always meant to be used to inflict pain, not physical damage (and before you bring up flogging, they are tied to a pole and hit in the same spot like forty times).

You could always have a whip with a barbed or bladed tip, thus giving it weight and damage. However if you did so, it would become twice as difficult to use. The added weight, while increasing the overall kinetic energy released on impact, but would require more invested energy and increase the recoil. So you'll tire quickly using it, and it's very likely it will bounce back and hit you. And don't forget that not if you get hit by the whip, it will cut into you. So it would take a very skilled person to whip it, and whip it good.

Since all of a whip's energy is realeased in its "snap", they also have a very specific range. We keep talking about spears being bad in close range, at least you can hit them with the pole arm, with a whip you might as well just be fist fighting them.

Now here come the biggest flaw. Armor. If you run into anyone, with any armor, you're screwed. If you have a standard whip, all it would take to block it is decent leathers. They aren't even going to feel it let alone get hurt by it. If you have a tipped whip that may be more effective, but anyone have any metal armor would present the same problem. The weight you would need to add to be able even dent metal armor would make the whip unusable. And while i've seen some talanted people hit some very small things with a whip, it's not likely they would be able to hit the very small openings in the armor while its wearer is moving, trying to make sure these spots are never visable, AND attacking them at the same time.

Also another thing I just now thought of, any type of bladed weapon, with good timing, could just slice your whip in half. It would be useless at that point.

/rant

Keep whips in the bedroom and off the battlefield.