Stolen seconds's page

There is a bit of a precedent for this, in double weapons. In the description of double weapons:

You can use a double weapon to fight as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. A double weapon can be wielded as a one-handed weapon, but it cannot be used as a double weapon when wielded in this way—only one end of the weapon can be used in any given round.

Using this as a guide, it would stand to reason that you could hold a second weapon without penalties, but can only attack with one of the two weapons per round, not per iterative attack. Personally, if I were DM, I would allow switching back and forth, but would keep an eye out if it gets too ridiculous.

There's no defense bonus, IMHO, because characters in D&D 3.5 (and by extension, PF) are American action heroes, rather than Asian. Watch any Wuxia film (i.e. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), then watch an American action film (i.e. Die Hard). In the Wuxia film, characters don't get hit very much. Laying a scratch on someone is seen as an act of skill. Furthermore, when someone does get hit, it is often fatal. In the American film, the hero gets hit all the time. Explosions, shrapnel, the inevitable fight with the huge foreign guy (usually Russian, maybe German), the hero gets the snot knocked out of him time and time again. However, he remains standing. The current system favors taking the hit and surviving it, rather than avoiding it altogether. In other words, this system is built to play John McClane, not Wu Wei.

Stolen seconds wrote:

You can force a stalemate with a reach weapon. Move to 5 ft away and attack. Blocked by Crane. AoO not possible due to fighter being out of range. Crane rival then has two options: Move away, not attacking at all, or take a 5 ft step in to attack, and take a Lucerne Hammer to the face next round. If the crane rival is a Fighter instead of a monk, an enlarge person spell tips it in the favor of the polearm user, as the increased range of attacks makes it difficult to escape without being within a 5 ft step.

As for bowstrings being nonmagical, by that reasoning, I should be able to sunder a monk's arm or leg. It is a weapon, after all.

Find me the rules for enchanting a locking guantlet. They don't specifically exist either.

But you can only sunder objects, and arms or legs are part of creatures, and you can't sunder a creature.

You can fight defensively while SPring Attacking, as pointed out above.

The arguments about ignoring the Monk don't work if the Crane is a fighter...nor if its one of the new Monks, who can really lay a smack down.

Reach does nothing but provoke an AoO...maybe. If spring attacking, there is no AoO. If not Spring Attacking, the best you can do is avoid the return AoO from the Crane as he parries, in which case he's still ahead 2:1. And if you're using a Reach Weapon, he doesn't even have to move away...YOU DO, or you can't attack him! Which means now YOU have to make the acrobatics check, or suffer an additional AoO!

And, of course, his readied action could be "Move up to my opponent and attack when he withdraws to attack me."

So THAT tactic doesn't work.
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Keep in mind I'm not at all worried about this being used in the hands of enemies. Enemies are pretty standardized, and the party will take them out.

I'm more worried about it being used in the hands of PC's to make them basically invulnerable to the big bad melee machine. basically, for -1 to hit, the PC gets a +4 AC bonus, cancels out the BBEG's best attack (and...

A reach weapon would put you 5 ft away, too close for a spring attack. If you're not a monk, You can take a 5 ft step in, avoiding AoO but eating your movement for the round, move in, using Crane style to eat the AoO, still eating your movement, or use these tactics to move away. Move up to strike, and the polearm user can take a 5 ft step back, avoiding any AoO for leaving a threatened square and hit you once (more if Crane was used to negate the previous AoO). The only advantage Monk has in this situation is the ability to get further away. Make that mistake, and I'll back up as far as I can (bleeding out your exit distance, and ready actions to hit you when you come into range forcing Three attacks (an AoO coming in, the readied attack, and an AoO coming out. You can use acrobatics, but remember you can only move half your speed when you do that.

Additionally, you can't ready a move and an attack. You can only ready one type of action (move, standard, swift, etc)

While there are no specific rules dictating bowstrings (this is an abstraction, after all), your reasoning definitely goes against RAI for sunder. What would be the point of enchanting bows, with that thought process? Whether the string is sundered or the wood, the bow is rendered useless. It's a bit of lawyering to reinforce your point. If you want to get that detailed, that string should only be able to be sundered by slashing weapons. Piercing weapons should not be able to sunder at all. I should be able to sunder the straps on magical armor with anything. Doesn't break the armor, just makes it useless for the time being. Straps can be replaced. You reasoning just puts a tax on ranged fighters.

As for the continuing of this thread, I am a terrible minmaxer (my go to character in 3.x was themed sorcerers. I am a concept nerd.), I am very fond of strategy. This is an excellent exercise to me. I apologize to anyone hoping this ends :)

You can force a stalemate with a reach weapon. Move to 5 ft away and attack. Blocked by Crane. AoO not possible due to fighter being out of range. Crane rival then has two options: Move away, not attacking at all, or take a 5 ft step in to attack, and take a Lucerne Hammer to the face next round. If the crane rival is a Fighter instead of a monk, an enlarge person spell tips it in the favor of the polearm user, as the increased range of attacks makes it difficult to escape without being within a 5 ft step.

As for bowstrings being nonmagical, by that reasoning, I should be able to sunder a monk's arm or leg. It is a weapon, after all.

I am currently running my group through the Carrion Crown AP. They are moving through the Haunting of Harrowstone. While I enjoy the mechanic of Trust Points, as it gives me a mechanic to keep my players from devolving into the dreaded 'Chaotic Hero' alignment. However, I have run into a problem that I can't seem to find any errata for. I shall hide it, just in case:

Has there been some ruling to fix this, and if not, how did you deal with it in your experiences?