Grappling with a Magic Whip

Hello everybody.

Let us say you can Grapple creatures with a whip, I was wondering, what would happen if you have a +1 whip. would you be able to add that bonus to the grapple check? after all, it is not a roll to hit, however, it IS an attack. the +1 whip states that you add 1 to all attack rolls. would grapple be considered an attack roll? it IS a special attack, but it is not a roll to hit, and it IS a skill contest (athletics vs acrobatics/athletics). if using a whip to grapple, would you still use athletics for the contest? or the regular attack bonus.

I guess the question is, would you allow a +1 whip grant a +1 bonus to a grapple check? if so, would you still be using athletics as a grappling skill?

thank you for the answers in advance.

Considering your core assumption (that you can use whip to grapple) is a houserule, it's really up to you.

However, grapple is ability check, not attack roll, so nothing that gives you bonus to attack rolls but not ability checks applies.

As stated above: your house, your rules.

There are two ways I would set this up. One is to have the grapple be an 'on hit' rider. In this scenario I would have a strength save to resist, DC 8+prof+(str or dex). This is superior on action economy but easier to resist/escape.

Alternatively if the grapple replaces an attack and deals no damage then use athletics as normal, with all the possible expertise advantage and other boosts that go with it. The real benefit is grapple at reach can completely lock down a target without reach or range.

In either case the +1 won't make a huge impact. I would probably allow it.