The description of Monkey Grip in the stat blocks says it allows them to use Medium weapons without penalty. Complete Warrior's entry for Monkey Grip applies a -2 penalty to attacks.
DMs wishing to retain the duodrone's combat effectiveness should probably just give them Powerful Build instead.
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The description of Monkey Grip in the stat blocks says it allows them to use Medium weapons without penalty. Complete Warrior's entry for Monkey Grip applies a -2 penalty to attack.
Though, to be fair, the older version of Monkey Grip from Sword and Fist, allowed the change in weapon size without the penalty (and, in my opinion, is more balanced in this case), so if the author(s) were using older books or were confused on the current wording of the feat such a mistake might be forgivable, or at the least explainable.
The description of Monkey Grip in the stat blocks says it allows them to use Medium weapons without penalty. Complete Warrior's entry for Monkey Grip applies a -2 penalty to attack.Though, to be fair, the older version of Monkey Grip from Sword and Fist, allowed the change in weapon size without the penalty (and, in my opinion, is more balanced in this case), so if the author(s) were using older books or were confused on the current wording of the feat such a mistake might be forgivable, or at the least explainable.
Actually, no, the old version also gave the -2 penalty to attacks. The new version doesn't, and that's because you're already suffering the -2 penalty to attacks for wielding a weapon one size category away from what you can normally wield.
What I don't understand about the new version is whether or not you can use a two-handed weapon of your size with one hand albeit with a -2 penalty, like the old version. It would make sense since you can wield a one-handed weapon one size larger than what you can wield with one-hand and two-handed weapons one size larger with two-hands so why couldn't a Medium creature wield a Medium greatsword with one hand?
I've sent questions to WotC and the Sage a million times with no reply.
But on to the duodrones, they would suffer a -2 attack penalty though I believe the purpose of Monkey Grip for them was to allow them to wield bigger weapons to deal more damage, not to hit easier.
For what it's worth, in the duodrone stat block I handed in, I included the -2 penalty. Although Razz is correct, Monkey Grip doesn't give the penalty - it's already there - it just allows you to use it with the same effort. So a Medium creature can use a Large one-handed weapon with one hand.
Otherwise, it takes more effort. So without Monkey Grip, a Medium creature can only use a Large one-handed weapon with two hands and the -2 penalty.
I didn't reprint the Monkey Grip feat in my draft (probably should have but I was cutting words wherever I could) and just had one sentence in the special abilities. I worded that poorly in indicating that Monkey Grip causes a -2 penalty when it really doesn't since the penalty is already there.
However, I haven't received my subscriber copy yet (the anticipation is driving me nuts), so I'm not sure what the final stat block looks like. In my draft, the duodrone was a 2HD Small Construct with Str 16. So the Melee line said (with my notes to the editor):
Melee masterwork spear +4 (1d8+4/x3) or slam +5 (1d6+3/x2) (BAB +1, +1 Size, +3 Str, -2 Monkey Grip, +1 masterwork, Damage is Str and a half for two hands, and medium weapon due to Monkey Grip)
Not sure if anything changed or if I made any goofs. But if it's still a 2HD Small Construct with Str 16 and is wielding a masterwork medium weapon, then the attack should be +4 if I did my arithmetic correctly.
Powerful Build could have worked, but I didn't want to overdo it. I was more interested in them using overly large weapons than necessarily being powerhouses. For CR 2 (what I put them at), a +4 attack looks about average. Some are higher, but if they still have the Surge of Strength special ability I gave them, then that'd put them on average with the heavier hitting CR 2's out there. If they had Powerful Build instead of Monkey Grip, and still had Str 16 with Surge of Strength, then they would be one of the heaviest hitting CR 2's around. I'm not sure they would be overpowered, but I would think twice about their CR then.
At the end of the day, I trust whatever the Paizo guys did to them. They have far more experience at this than I do. :)
I didn't investigate fully. I overlooked the bonus from size and the masterwork weapon bonus. Silly me. I think I must have failed a Spot check (been happening a lot lately).
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
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Actually, no, the old version also gave the -2 penalty to attacks. The new version doesn't, and that's because you're already suffering the -2 penalty to attacks for wielding a weapon one size category away from what you can normally wield.What I don't understand about the new version is whether or not you can use a two-handed weapon of your size with one hand albeit with a -2 penalty, like the old version.
The answer is no, you cannot wield a medium two handed weapon in one hand.
Monkey grip only allows the use of larger weapons in the same manner as a regular sized one. So we're talking specifically about "one handed" "Two-handed" "light" etc, etc. You can use a Large Greatsword with 2 hands because it is normally a "two handed" weapon or you can use a large longsword with one hand as it's a "one handed" weapon. You cannot change the category of the weapon with Monkey Grip.
Personally if you are going to blow a feat on Monkey Grip, you should use it to wield the "Large Table" in complete warrior.
Actually, no, the old version also gave the -2 penalty to attacks. The new version doesn't, and that's because you're already suffering the -2 penalty to attacks for wielding a weapon one size category away from what you can normally wield.What I don't understand about the new version is whether or not you can use a two-handed weapon of your size with one hand albeit with a -2 penalty, like the old version.
The answer is no, you cannot wield a medium two handed weapon in one hand.
Monkey grip only allows the use of larger weapons in the same manner as a regular sized one. So we're talking specifically about "one handed" "Two-handed" "light" etc, etc. You can use a Large Greatsword with 2 hands because it is normally a "two handed" weapon or you can use a large longsword with one hand as it's a "one handed" weapon. You cannot change the category of the weapon with Monkey Grip.
I'll have to House Rule it in my games that it's allowable then. It makes no sense that a Medium character with Monkey Grip can wield a Large longsword in one-hand (equivalent size of a Medium greatsword) but cannot wield a Medium greatsword with one-hand.
Plus it'll make one of my players angry that he can no longer dual-wield Medium mercurial greatswords with Monkey Grip.