Don't just hack and slash like a fresh recruit! Rise above the rank and file to become a true artist of combat with the secrets found within Pathfinder Player Companion: Weapon Master's Handbook! Emulate the fighting style of your patron deity, learn to use your weapons in tricky new ways, or simply enchant your boring old sword with new and exciting magical abilities. Whether you want to perfect the use of a single weapon, become an expert on a whole group of them, or dedicate yourself to a specific fighting style, this player-friendly volume contains everything you need!
Inside this book, you'll find:
Weapon style feats giving characters focusing on one type of weapon or weapon combination new options unavailable to less specialized combatants.
Advanced weapon mastery options that let specialized fighters continue to improve with their chosen weapons, even at higher levels.
Magic item mastery, which pits a character's martial spirit against the essential nature of their magic items, resulting in radically different magic effects.
An expansion of the combat trick and stamina system introduced in Pathfinder RPG Pathfinder Unchained to cover combat feats from several Pathfinder Campaign Setting sourcebooks.
A weapon design system that allows Game Masters to let their imaginations run wild, adding almost any conceivable weapon to their campaigns.
This Pathfinder Player Companion is intended for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder campaign setting, but can easily be incorporated into any fantasy world.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-796-3
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
This is a ground-breaking player companion release. There are lots of things to praise, but the best are a series of additions to bolster some previously-untenable martial options. Instead of describing all of this in detail, I'll just note that:
1. There are options that make a halfling martial character focusing on slings a viable option(!)
2. There are options that make a martial character focusing on thrown-weapons a viable option(!!)
3. There are options that make the core Fighter a competitive class(!!!)
And there are lots of other goodies besides. As one of the designers noted: "One thing that Pathfinder DESPERATELY needs is more martial-focused extraordinary abilities that function under "rule of cool" rather than "rule of reality"." And this companion addition adds to such options in spades.
While it is filled with a lot of stuff, a lot of it is fairly underwhelming, far too specific, and tends to be either another way to do something or not terribly great.
This really SHOULD NOT have been a setting specific book, but then really, most Players Companions shouldn't either.
A lot of the options here seem to be designed with the "Okay, build an new character to use these" than "Oh awesome, here are some cool things you might be able to take next level". Far too much is Class Specific, something that should be avoided as much as possible, not continued.
Not really sure what else to say. Great idea, but my opinion is was not handled well on too many fronts. Not enough variation or options for most of the different groups within the book. Mostly too little of this and that and than too. Take away is if you really loved the Melee and Ranged Toolbox books, you will probably love this one. If you felt let down with those two, this one will be basically the same. A lot of often requested styles are not touched upon, or much/in a practical way, while others are done yet again.
I've heard the verdict on Swashbuckler Weapon Training and AWT, but what about the feats like Cut from the Air? Same problem or no? I love the idea of essentially expanding parry to projectiles and eventually spells but would I have to take martial focus first?
I'd rather not talk any more about Ascetic Style more then I already have.
Ah! Music to my ears.
So, who was responsible for the Item Mastery feats?! They actually have me considering making a Fighter for the first time ever! Lore Warden being my archetype of choice...just fits thematically, to me.
Does Slipslinger Style give you proficiency with all slings (i.e. the double sling specifically) ? I assume it should, but RAW its questionable at best.
Missed one melee style:
Spear Dancing style lets you treat any spear or polearm as a double weapon, with off-hand a light mace, losing reach and brace. Next feat lets you finesse it, and treat it as a quarterstaff for feats and abilities. Last feat gives you back reach as a swift action.
I apologize if I missed the answer to this earlier in the thread, but how does this interact with a magic weapon?
Normally, one must separately enchant both ends of a double weapon. Is this an exception?
If not, does the off-hand end always count as a nonmagical mace, or can you enchant the stick end as a weapon in its own right? You cannot normally enchant the haft of a polearm.
Does this mean you need to purchase your polearm with a masterwork haft to add magic bonuses?
I'm not exactly sure where to go to get conversation on this topic but: is it by design or just coincidence that there is not a one-handed 1d10 exotic bludgeoning weapon?
The dwarven style: Turns the hatred bonus from TH to TH/dmg; doubles it to +2/+2; allows it apply to ANYTHING that has hit you until the end of combat; AND allows the +4 AC racial bonus to AC to apply against anything you Hate?
That's terrifying, if it's all true.
==Aelryinth
All correct. It does require something to hit you first, so if you optimize AC too heavily, it will be difficult to get that hit. It also means you won't get the bonuses without first taking some pain.
But this is also awesome if you are turtling up anyway.
For example if you are an AC build Dwarven Hatred Style and Seething are a pretty awesome way to bump your AC even higher.
Dwarven Fury is just Gravy.
I love this book. SO many things for Martial Minded Characters.
Owen, I was disappointed in the weapon masters handbook.
I'm obviously sorry you are disappointed. However, suggestions that change how core rules operate, such as changing Vital Strike so it works on a charge without any other player resource being spent on it, or giving every martial character weapon training as part of the base character classes, just aren;t going to happen in a Player Companion. These books are ways to contextualize the existing rules in Golarion-specific ways, and offer new campaign-specific options that work within the existing rule framework.
We're not going to overturn how the whole games work in a 32-page soft back.
There are, of course, options here that are more than a list of feats. Advanced weapon training specifically looked at a way to expand what kind of fighter builds a player can create without making the fighter give up feats. The divine fighting techniques offer different kinds of alternatives.The stamina and combat tricks boost feats characters already have.
But a straight redesign of martial classes that boosts their baseline power for no swap-out isn't something a Player Companion is ever going to do.
This book is chock full of so much awesome.
The advanced fighter options make it worthe the purchase for anyone who ever plays a fighter.
The divine styles are excellent as are the racial style feats.
My Dwarven Warpriest of Imodae is loving Iomedae's Inspiring Word and the advanced option, along with the Dwarf Hatred Style.
This is working amazing in play and fullfills a fighter/Paladin role.
Being the main frontliner is totally cool as I can Charge and drop a nice +2 to hit and saves on the whole party - a Decent trade for not 2 handing a charge.
It lets me PA on the first hit while dropping a Shaken (flat footed to me). This usually results in me being stuck on the first hit, triggering Dwarven Seething for either AC or Damage.
Then popping Deadly stroke instead when smiting, instead of a full attack is gravy for a class that only gets 2 attacks normally.
“Tempered champions are trained to master their deities’ favored weapons.”
That’s funny considering both the base paladin and the archetype aren’t proficient with the deity’s weapon like a cleric or warpriest are. Can we please make an errata that fixes this? Kind of difficult to “master” a weapon when you’re dumping feats just to be proficient in a deity’s exotic weapon or unarmed strike.