Fishing rods as a weapon. 5E

How would one homebrew a fishing rod weapon that is both accurate and not super broken for 5E? I mean the concept is good but the range seems like an issue. I would think counting it as a whip would work but there's jack shit for whip feats and such. Any ideas TG?

Whip + grappling hook

It's a whip.

Well how would one make whips "decent"

They're already perfect for whipping.
If you want a weapon, use a sword.

It's a whip for attacks, but you can grapple at range with it Making a ranged attack with a range of 20 feet regular range with 100 foot long range, disadvantage to grapple checks beyond that initial 20 feet. Costs 10 gold.

They're niche, but they're not really that bad as a weapon. Nothing is really as good as a heavy/ranged weapon with the corresponding feat, but changing a couple damage on average for reach and finesse seems perfectly reasonable
I guess you could just ask your DM if you can make up a weapon feat. That's really all there is to it at that point

Oh and I forgot to say, it's definitely NOT something you can add your proficiency to attack people with. Fish in water that have bitten your bait yes, everything else no.

What if the player has a background as kind of a combat fisherman?

Care to elaborate on that?

Like a sea monster hunter that uses a fishing rod. I mean if they have whip proficiency I think it would be fine.

See here

They just use gimmick weapons and forget about them after a little while, like Killua and his yoyo

Well, you wouldn't. Because it's a whip. There's a reason whips in combat weren't ever a real thing. Unless you put a spiked ball at the end of it, but then it's not a whip anymore, is it?

>Well how would one make whips "decent"
Use it with a shield, take sentinel, defensive duelist. Or just be a rogue.

>background
>giving combat buffs
I think you're not quite getting the point of backgrounds

They do 0 damage, 1 on a crit. Getting hit by a fishing line isn't going to do jack shit unless it hits you in the eye. The pole might function as a shitty club, so maybe 1d4 damage.

Pretty much. Using a fishing pole as a weapon would pretty much mean you're only using certain elements of it from a design perspective and making something more like a whip, flail, or maybe some sort of snaring tool. I fishing hook really isn't suited for humans as is.
I don't think some sort of exotic weapon inspired by a fishing line is so bad though

Just like my players.

was it intentional?

Rod of the Fisherman
Uncommon
Magic Martial Weapon
Reach, Finesse
15ft Range
1d4 Piercing/Slashing
On a hit you grapple the target (only one target may be grappled this way.)
On a critical hit you grapple and restrain the target.

Rod of the Ice Fisherman
Rare
Magic Martial Weapon
Reach, Finesse
15ft Range
1d4 Piercing/Slashing
1d4 cold
On a hit you grapple the target (only one target may be grappled this way.)
On a critical hit you grapple and restrain the target and inflict a bonus 2d6 cold damage.

Used it as a long staff. Actually it was long staff i use as fishing rod. Had a water monk character. That type of monks who like to eat and relax and fishing was my meditation ritual.

Rod of the Leviathan Fisherman
Very Rare
Magic Martial Weapon
Reach, Finesse
15ft Range
1d4 Piercing/Slashing
2d4 Cold
On a hit you grapple the target (only one target may be grappled this way.)
On a critical hit you grapple and restrain the target and deal a bonus 2d6 Cold damage

1/day You may cast your rod up to 120ft away with a single weapon attack. DC 17 Dexterity save otherwise the target is pulled up to 120ft, taking 1d4 Bludgeoning damage for every 10ft pulled. Target is grappled and restrained.

Rod of the Kraken Fisherman
Legendary
Requires Attunement
Magic Martial Weapon
Reach, Finesse
15ft Range
1d4 Piercing/Slashing
3d4 Cold
On a hit you grapple the target (only one target may be grappled this way.)
On a critical hit you grapple and restrain the target and deal a bonus 4d6 Cold damage

1/day You may cast your rod up to 120ft away with a single weapon attack. DC 19 Dexterity save otherwise the target is pulled up to 120ft, taking 2d4 Bludgeoning damage for every 10ft pulled. Target is grappled and restrained.

While attuned to this Rod you can Speak, Read and Understand Deep Speech.

While attuned and wielding this Rod you have psychic resistance.

Cool, what about one that a wizard would use?

This. You're not ever going to have a realistic fishing rod as a weapon, especially not one like a modern rod. Traditional rods were much more of a light and tapering two-handed staff with a fixed-length line tied to one end, so as a club but with reach is plausible.

Just abandon simulationism+snowflakeness and call your RAW whip a "fishing pole".

Umihara Kawase