Net

A net was a tool generally intended for fishing or hunting, but which was often adapted as a weapon intended for entangling opponents.

Description
Nets were webs of woven rope or cord designed to trap creatures inside them. They were thus useful for fishing and for making hunting snares and traps. A net was easily three times as effective at catching fish as compared to using a fishing rod or spear.

Weaponology
Nets intended for fighting were often in diameter and were fitted with barbs or weights  to better ensnare the target. They included an attached rope to allow the wielder to throw the net and then control the victim from a distance. To be thrown effectively, a net had to be properly folded such that it would spiral open and engulf the target. Folding a net in the midst of battle took about a minute for a trained wielder. They could generally only be thrown up to about or could be dropped on targets from above.

Nets could also be wielded as melee weapons, and skilled wielders could use them to disrupt, parry, and ensnare foes.

Ensnaring a target in a net was an effective way to limit a foe's mobility, to break a spellcaster's concentration, or to disarm a weapon. A captured target could escape an average net by either cutting through it or tearing through it with sufficient strength, but doing so was often injurious and left them vulnerable to attack.

Nets were a critical component of underwater combat, allowing wielders to trap a target in order to strike. Larger nets could be used to encircle enemies, while thrown nets were heavily weighted in order to both offset the drag of the water and to more effectively limit an ensnared target's mobility. Nets could also be easily concealed or disguised as seaweed in order to set an ambush.

Availability

 * Nueth's Fine Nets, a shop in Waterdeep that specialized in rope and rope-related products such as nets.
 * The city of Tantras was well known for having a number of expert netmakers. A typical rope shop was owned by one or more masters, with six to eight skilled workers and a handful of apprentices in their employ that all worked to ‘weave’ ropes into nets by hand.

Notable Nets

 * Arygantor the Coral Net, a powerful artifact made by Nyratiis for the aquatic elf rulers and generals of Serôs in the.
 * Net of entrapment, a net imbued with magic to make it harder to break.
 * Net of plenty, an enchanted fishing net.
 * Net of snaring, similar to a net of entrapment except optimized to launch forward underwater.

General

 * Nets were a popular weapon in gladiatorial fights.

Groups

 * The Huroola tribe solely permitted male members the use of nets for fishing.

Races & Sentient Creatures

 * The frog-like sivs favored the use of nets.
 * Undersea races&mdash;such as aquatic elves, kuo-toas, locathah, merfolk, nixies, and sahuagin&mdash;made extensive use of nets in battle. Sahuagin were known to be particularly skilled in their use, and locathahs used special nets to snatch their foes' weapons from their hands.

Religions

 * Guides, the specialty priests of Lucha, favored the use of nets in combat.
 * Joydancers, the specialty priests of Church of Lliira, were permitted to wield nets without violating their vows. The weapon was favored among mystics.
 * Nets were a favored weapon of Eldath and thus were often favored in combat by peacemen, a variety of specialty priest in her church. Her avatars also wielded an enchanted net, known simply as Net.
 * The favored weapon of Marduk's avatars was an enchanted net that was said to be made of the four winds and was unbreakable so long as he stood within of it.
 * Waterwalkers, a variety of specialty priest in the Church of Istishia, favored the use of nets in combat.