Just to see if it would make any difference, since my character has high dexterity and low strength (dark elf archer in this case), I decided to equip a whip I found lying around. Pretty normal whip, if a little bit higher damage than usual. (-4, 1d3+2) Cursed so I couldn't take it off, so I've been using it.
But gee, I get some nice bonuses to hit and damage just from my stats. I had read about them, but they feel more or less usable for high dex low strength characters. Doubt the usability will go very far into the game without wishes though. But still, it's killing things instead of neutering me.
Normal tactics are getting me +10 to hit and 1d3+9 damage at 23 Dex. Level 11 archer in UD:8 took out a crystal statue in 4 turns with that whip. The character's potential dex is 43. I want to increase this. If this char ends up with wishes to spend, I may consider certain whips.
Anyone out there make practical use of whips besides alignment adjustment?