What you're looking for is a proto-Sun Sword.
Ask your DM if you can start building bastard sword up to be Sun Swords. The key thing is the feature that allows them to be wielded as Short swords, i.e. light in the off hand, which minimizes TWF penalties.
Then go to town.
==Aelryinth
What you really, really need to do is use the two-weapon warrior archetype. They get improved balance at level 11 and perfect balance at level 15. Those two features go a long way to mitigate the painful penalties of using two one-handed weapons.
the negatives are why 2WF isn't as strong as 2HF. Those to hit penalties cost you damage over time.
A very nice use of the bastard sword is to get Enlarged, to get a Heavy bastard sword, or to use Lead Blades to pop it a size category. d10 pops to 2d8...that's +4 damage. If you can get all 3...your Bastard Sword is doing 4-32 and doesn't need an off hand.
A Bastard sword used in 2 hands is only slightly less damage then a greatsword. Use a Quickdraw shield if you need AC, and you have an option that a Greatsword wielder does not...go 2handed for damage, or pop a shield and use one weapon for defense.
==Aelryinth
FYI I was also thinking of taking quickdraw, especially since I'm making use of magical scabbards. I have scabbard of vigor right now, so it'd be handy to sheathe the weapon midfight, use the effect, and then be able to get it back into the fray quicker.
You might consider skipping the two bastard sword route and focusing on the flexibility that a single Bastard Sword gives you. Using a non-light weapon in your off hand is an additional -2 on all your attacks. If you 2-hand a single bastard sword you add 1.5x the damage you would get from both your strength bonus and from power attack.
Pick up Quickdraw, Equipment Trick (Heavy Blade Scabard) and Opening Volley. Then you can whip your scabbard at an opponent as a swift action at the start of combat, get youself a bit of bonus damage and a +4 on your first attack, then charge and hit your foe with a 2-handed power attack. If you find yourself in a situation where you are closing a gap against ranged foes or otherwise needing to defend yourself you can pull your Quickdraw Shield as a free action (and put it away just as quickly). Finally you can carry a few javelins (perhaps pre-wrapped with an Amentum for additional range) for cases when you need more than one ranged attack in a combat.
IS, you need those bonuses to hit for your iteratives.
A -4 to hit is a huge penalty. If you're using Power Attack, that's giving up +8 damage a swing. _4 to hit on an iterative that's already at -10 means you might as well not be swinging.
You're thinking 'my bonuses get rid of my penalties.' That's not what's happening. What's happening is 'my penalties are eating up my bonuses!'
remember that non-TWF will NOT have those penalties, and so they'll hit more, and do more damage then you will.
It's been proven time and again that a Greatsword wielder with one weapon does more damage then a TWF with two. Why? Because he doesn't miss as much, he spends feats on upping damage instead of getting extra attacks with his off hand, and his one weapon is better then either of the TWF guy's two weapons.
==Aelryinth
Bastard sword?
IT'S A TRAP!
Can't a half-elf take a trait for Ancestral Weapon and get the bastard sword without blowing a full feat?
==Aelryinth
Suppose that's true. Plus his picture my friend did only has him with the one so it'd be sad to change that. XD Well, anyways. Like I said. Some feat builds would be much appreciated. I really like that little combo, Gnome. I actually looked at the trick feat and considered it back before I bought the vigor scabbard. But the whole combo thing really is good.
Well, even without the ranged combo, still consider Quickdraw. With a Quickdraw shield you can stash you shield as a free action before you make your attacks, 2-handed power attack and then pull the shield back out again as another free action.
Also Quickdraw helps reduce the chance of wasting attacks by letting you draw throwing weapons as part of your attack cycle. For example, if you killed one ghoul on the first attack of your full attack action... rather than waste the rest of your attacks you can draw a dagger/axe/javelin and hurl it at the next ghoul in line.
A trap? I know there are some better weapons out there. Like the... kulkris I think it was? Idk. Something. But I've always liked bastard swords personally, and its a bit of a story thing for him. I don't need to have the best kind of weapon. I'd rather have something that fits him as a character than the best thing possible, y'know?
It's a trap because it requires a feat to do nothing in particular. It's exotic and only does 1d10. A longsword is martial and does 1d8. If it's all about flavor, just use longswords and tell everyone they're really big or something, that they're bastard swords--no one will ever know unless they peep your character sheet.
>> Not really the way I like to do things.
Whatevz. I just see no reason to hamstring your character because of flavor. If you wanted your character background to be that you were a farmhand before monsters attacked, would you spend 3 levels in Commoner? Even with Exotic Weapon Proficiency (which doesn't give you a bonus btw, just lets you wield it in one hand without a non-proficiency penalty, anyone can wield it two-handed as a martial weapon) and Two-Weapon fighting you'll be looking at a -4 to hit with both weapons, before power attack.
But if you're really married to it, just make sure you take Double-Slice (so you add full strength bonus to off-hand damage rather than half) and Two-Weapon Rend (a little bonus damage if you manage to hit with both swords).
It's a shame you won't consider archetypes, because the mobile fighter archetype is excellent and without it you'll probably just be moving and attacking with one weapon anyway.
Oh I was likely always going to take quick draw. But that combo really did make me lean even more towards it. Right now shield wise I'm just using a darkwood buckler and just taking the -1 on attack rolls to keep using my sword two handed.
So the thing about bucklers is that you don't get their armor bonus in any round that you attack. Just FYI.
It's not that I won't consider archtypes. It's that I didn't find out they existed until I was level two.
I know you don't want to "be that guy", but it seems like you're pretty new to a lot of aspects of the system. Doesn't hurt talking to your DM and asking him if he thinks its okay. *shrug*
*Looks*Seems you can... and in place of getting skill focus as a bonus feat... not really useful. Damn. @.@ Wish I had noticed that when making him... I really don't want to be the guy who goes and changes his stuff at level five, though.Can't a half-elf take a trait for Ancestral Weapon and get the bastard sword without blowing a full feat?
==Aelryinth
i would actually say to do it anyway, talk with you dm about it, as its both better for you mechanically (which'll help you--and the party by extension--keep up with later foes) and fits your character fluff-wise.
hard to be a master of the twin dragon style when you cant hit nothing, y'know?
I know. I have it in case I decide to go total defense and such.Oh I was likely always going to take quick draw. But that combo really did make me lean even more towards it. Right now shield wise I'm just using a darkwood buckler and just taking the -1 on attack rolls to keep using my sword two handed.So the thing about bucklers is that you don't get their armor bonus in any round that you attack. Just FYI.
You may wish to switch out that darkwood buckler for a regular, masterwork buckler then, since the darkwood buckler isn't actually a buckler, despite its moniker. You can't use the hand using it to use a weapon.
You may wish to switch out that darkwood buckler for a regular, masterwork buckler then, since the darkwood buckler isn't actually a buckler, despite its moniker. You can't use the hand using it to use a weapon.
Or... it could be that he is using a buckler made of the special material "darkwood". Difference being that it would have cost 2g.
You may wish to switch out that darkwood buckler for a regular, masterwork buckler then, since the darkwood buckler isn't actually a buckler, despite its moniker. You can't use the hand using it to use a weapon.Or... it could be that he is using a buckler made of the special material "darkwood".
Except that the "buckler" is described as a metal shield and thus cannot be made of the special material "darkwood," since "darkwood" objects need to be objects comprised mostly of wood.
Make tiefling with the large arms racial ability. EWP let's you wield a large bastard sword, and a regular one in your off hand.
Re-roll/retire, or weild a light/ small bastard sword in your off hand. If it is flavor you seek.
I am sorry if I offended your character concept, I was just answering the question of how to dual wield bastard swords.
Look up the spell lead blades for a chart that gives you modified base damage.
Maybe you can find a way to get large arms in game. If you can make enlarge person permanent, then I am sure you can either find a magic item or a caster who can spell craft one of the two in to being for you.
If that doesn't float your boat, then wield a small sized bastard sword in your off hand. Again, if its the flavor you seek.
You suffer a -2 for wielding a weapon larger than your size, and I think it's another -2 (maybe -4 for a -6 total) for dual wielding them that way.
Hope you are able to get something out of this post, otherwise I will go back to shutting up now.
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Have u considered using a shield? If u get a Bashing Heavy Spiked Shield the damage will be 1d10. Get the Shield Master feat chain and u will be able to attack with ur shield with out taking any penalties to Hit or AC from the shield. Get Improved critical, to crit on a 17-20, and Bashing Finish and u will be able to proc a free shield attack off ur ctits. Take it a step further and enchant both ur sword and ur shield with speed and u will be looking at 9 to 14 attacks a round, excluding AoO of course, at late game.
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Im not sure how it is in Pathfinder but in 3.0 and 3.5 it is a commutative -2 penalty for using a weapon that is larger than u and require 2 hands to wield a weapon larger than ur size. In 3.5 there was a few feats that made it were u dont take the penalties and are able to wield larger weapons 1 handed. Also if u have the 2weapon fighting feats using a 1handed sword in both hands is a -4 penalty and all penalties stack.
"Before people start telling me I should use different weapons as part of their advice, that isn't going to happen. He was a half-elf raised by his human mother in a racist human town(At least until he was nine and his mom had enough when he tried to cut off the tips of his ears and they left), is a bastard himself, etc. So the bastard sword is a bit symbolic for him."
That's what the OP said, and sticking to it. God and people say I don't read posts.
In all honesty talk to your GM about the two-weapon fighter archetype. Me and a friend where looking at that archetype for ever to see if weapon finesse would work (which I don't think it does when using two bastard swords.). and in all honesty, a -4 pen isn't as bad as you might think. Think of a archer that doesn't have precise shot, they get a -4 pen when they just have to shoot someone in combat.
Side note: The sun blade would work with the weapon finesse so whoo hoo.
But yeah, if you can, since you know what direction you kinda wanna do, talk to your GM if you can switch just a few things when your in town or something.
Best suggestion really is to ask your gm to retrain your character. Tell him you didn't know of all the features and you learned something that will keep your character the same, but make it work better for you.
This is effectively removing Fireball from your spells known and taking Fire Arrow instead.
Most gm's will understand first time error, just don't do it ten times., you really got nothing to lose. "Can I retrain my character so has the TWF archetype?"
oh nice a 18 str, never mind don't need weapon finesse.
Side Note: You can use the Sun blade as your OH and have a normal Bastard sword and just have a -2.
Seriously though, ask her. It's an honest mistake, like not knowing you get starting items in a vanilla game or not knowing that a sword must be masterwork and have a +1 bonus before you can give it abilities like flaming.
It happens, and there's nothing wrong with it. It's not a major change, you're not changing class, race, feats, weapons. A trait and some class features.
Make tiefling with the large arms racial ability. EWP let's you wield a large bastard sword, and a regular one in your off hand.
main problem is that while that removes the penalty for large weapons, it doesnt affect the penalties for a one-handed weapon in the off-hand.
also, the large bastard sword would still be a two-handed weapon despite the lack of penalties (because you're still a medium creature).
IVr got an awesome idea! I could totally change your entire character concept and you could fight with two light picks as a halfling and use TWF and weapon finesse, yea yea, thats such a better idea than anything you can come up with on your own.... yea yea.