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I think it would be a lot simpler to treat two-weapon fighting more like proficiency. for example, upgrading a longsword-and-shield fighter to a bastard sword-and-shield fighter takes one feat, and increases 1d8 to 1d10. typical two-weapon fighting (onehanded/light weapon, longsword and shortsword for this example) does 1d8/1d6 as opposed to a greatsword's 2d6, but it costs a total of three feats to get full benefit, -2 to hit, and standard attack only lets you attack with one weapon. we should change things so that extra damage from spells and abilities only applies once for each attack, and whenever you would normally make an attack you may attack with both weapons. there would be a series of feats:
Two-weapon proficiency
Prerequisites: none
when fighting with a light weapon and
a weapon no heavier than one-handed, you
do not take a -4 penalty to attack rolls
for non-proficiency.
Normal:
when wielding two weapons, you take
a -4 non-proficiency penalty to hit for
each of the following that
apply. these penalties stack.
1. wielding two weapons
2. off-hand weapon is one-handed
3. off-hand weapon is exotic
(applies regardless of whether wielder
is proficient in its normal use)
Ambidextrous
Prerequisites: Str 12, Dex 11
When fighting with two one-handed
weapons, you do not take a -4
non-proficiency penalty to hit.
you still take a -4 non-proficiency
penalty if you are not proficient with
two-weapon fighting. you take
a -4 penalty if you wield an exotic
weapon in your off hand, regardless of
whether you are proficient with that
weapon.
Normal:
you take a -4 penalty to attack rolls
if you wield a one-handed weapon in your off hand.
Oversized two-weapon fighting
Prerequisites: Str 16, Dex 13, Ambidextrous
you may wield exotic weapons
in your off hand.
Normal:
you take a -4 penalty to attack rolls
if you wield an exotic weapon in your
off hand.
this way, whether to fight with two weapons becomes a flavor choice rather than a strategy choice. as anyone who has played 'swordfight' with bits of sticks when they were a kid knows, it isn't that difficult to fight with two weapons. no more difficult than using a shield. this still needs a little work in one area (a +2 weapon costs 8000 gp, two +1 weapons cost 4000 gp.) but I would really like to explore this idea more and some opinions on it; I first thought of this when I was trying to make an paladin NPC for my campaign who could wear full plate, rock a two-bladed sword, and not just become a free full plate/two-bladed sword combo deal.
BTW like the Improved Weapon Finesse idea- should be cool.