1) Is dual wielding with Rapiers allowed in Pathfinder (not referring to Pathfinder Society). I have an interesting concept for a character, which requires this be possible.
2) What do you guys think of the TWF system in Pathfinder? The link, below, leads to a discussion forum on the subject...
Thanks for any responses this may have garnered!
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?724084-Two-Weapon-Fighting-in-3-5-and-P athfinder
1) Yes, You can dual wield two one handed weapons but you take extra penaltys for doing so.
Circumstances Primary Hand Off Hand
Normal penalties –6 –10
Off-hand weapon is light –4 –8
Two-Weapon Fighting feat –4 –4
Off-hand is light&TWF feat –2 –2
In this case Dual wielding Rapiers would be -6/-10
Or -4/-4 if you have TWF feat.
2) Also as far as the link you posted, did a quick scan, Normally yes I would say that Two-Weapon Fighting style doesn’t deal as much damage as a strength build, but with the release of the Advanced Class Guide you can now pick up a feat called Slashing Grace and use Dex to hit and Damage with the selected one-handed slashing weapon(sorry, no bludgeoning or piecing) eliminating many of the problems a lot of people had with TWF Dex based builds.
Prerequisite(s): Dex 13, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus with chosen weapon.
Benefit: Choose one kind of one-handed slashing weapon (such as the longsword). When wielding your chosen weapon one-handed, you can treat it as a one-handed piercing melee weapon for all feats and class abilities that require such a weapon (such as a swashbuckler's or a duelist's precise strike) and you can add your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier to that weapon's damage. The weapon must be one appropriate for your size.
PS: I really like the Two-Weapon Fighter Archetype for the Fighter, it makes TWF much more enjoyable as you level, further reduces penaltys, and being able to attack with both weapons as a standard action.
1) It's allowed, but the accuracy penalty isn't worth the miniscule damage increase when compared to smaller weapons.
2) It costs a lot of feats to be good at it, you have relatively poor mobility, and it's trickier to build a good one than other melee builds. Those complaints aside, the system works and two-weapon-fighters are functional characters.
It's something you can do, but it would be ineffective/require a heavy investment.
If you play other systems, I'd recommend saving this concept for 5e, in which you will need a feat to TWF with rapiers, but dex to hit/damage with rapiers is free.
Once Fencing Grace (dex-to-damage with rapiers) comes out there will be a decent reason to go 'case of rapiers'.
The 'reality' of Two-Weapon Fighting is badly represented in these systems because they're totally abstract in so many ways, and tend to play to absurdly simplistic ideas about using two weapons.
On a practical level, Dual Wielding can actually work out quite well in the right circumstances, but only if the problems with it can be compensated for. As one example: a Strength-based Dual-Wielder can use a Cestus as their off-hand weapon, so that any time they can't utilize their two-weapon fighting they can two-hand their main weapon.
1) Yes, You can dual wield two one handed weapons but you take extra penalties for doing so.
** spoiler omitted **
In this case Dual wielding Rapiers would be -6/-10
Or -4/-4 if you have TWF feat.2) Also as far as the link you posted, did a quick scan, Normally yes I would say that Two-Weapon Fighting style doesn't deal as much damage as a strength build, but with the release of the Advanced Class Guide you can now pick up a feat called Slashing Grace and use Dex to hit and Damage with the selected one-handed slashing weapon(sorry, no bludgeoning or piecing) eliminating many of the problems a lot of people had with TWF Dex based builds.
** spoiler omitted **PS: I really like the Two-Weapon Fighter Archetype for the Fighter, it makes TWF much more enjoyable as you level, further reduces penalties, and being able to attack with both weapons as a standard action.
I'll have to take a look at that archetype. I don't usually use them, so I'm not too knowledgeable about them.
My problem though, as a Bard, I'll already have a 0 BaB. With Weapon Finesse, I'd get a +4 (or -2, -6) unless, I opted for TWF (as you suggest) at 1st. Sure, it'd be less penalties... But still *grumbles unhappily*.
Why is dual-wielding a Bard so difficult!? *cries*
