Weapon Finesse

[Ravenmantle]

I've been skimming the How to Make Weapon Finesse Viable thread (reading it in detail would make my head hurt) and I'm now thoroughly confused about how the feat works. As I understand it, a character having the Weapon Finesse feat replaces his Str with Dex modifier for attack rolls. Does this also mean that he does NOT apply his Str modifier to damage?

[therealthom]

Pathfinder Game Reference document wrote:

Weapon Finesse (Combat)

You are trained in using your agility in melee combat, as opposed to brute strength.

Benefit: With a light weapon, rapier, whip, or spiked chain made for a creature of your size category, you may use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on attack rolls. If you carry a shield, its armor check penalty applies to your attack rolls.

Special: Natural weapons are considered light weapons.

Dex applies to the attack (to hit) roll only. Strength still determines damage.

[Ravenmantle]

Excellent, that's what I thought (and what I was getting from reading the feat description). I guess I was just confuzzled that such a simple feat could spark such technical discussions. But then I'm probably not the target audience for the other thread's creator. :)

[The Speaker in Dreams]

Yeah - that thread's more about (and probably better titled) "Why is skillful/finesse/etc primary combat class construction a non-option in D&D?"

Feat wise, though - nothing complex or weird about it at all. It's very clear on what it does. That thread, though, goes WAY beyond just the feat ... {as witnessed by your confusion}.

On it's own - certainly I don't think there's much confusion about *how* it works, though.