Hello everyone,
Say you use a character with a weapon equipped in main and off-hand.
In this case 2 x waraxe.Situation: combat round.
Now my question is how do attacks work?
Can I attack with both weapons making it so that I can use a main hand attack and off-hand attack in one attack round?I know there's a feat for additional off-hand attack but how does this add up?
Does this mean in total you can roll 3 attacks with the 2 weapon fighting feat? Please someone elaborate this for me. I know I am lacking knowledge at the moment so some feedback would be appreciated.
Regards
I think this belongs in rules questions, but, meh.
As far as I can tell, it goes like this: you get one with your primary hand hit per turn, and one EXTRA hit with your primary hand for 6BAB and every 5 after (6, 11, 16). Two weapon fighting gives you ONE HIT with your off hand. You need the rest of the feats to take those extra hits with your off hand. So, at BAB6, you can take IMPROVED 2WFighting for a 2nd hit with your off hand, just like you have that second hit with your primary hand. But you can't take that feat until then; it's a prerequisite.
So, at 1st level, if you have 2WFighting, you get 2 hits. (you can technically do this without the feat, but your scores are so penalized you'll ALWAYS miss) At 6th BAB you have 2 hits with your primary hand, one with your off hand. IF you take improved 2wf at that level, you get 2 with each hand. At 11th BAB you get 3 hits with your primary, one with your off...if you took improved 2wf, it's 2 with your off hand...and if you take greater 2wf at that level, 3. Got it?
A tip: don't duel-wield battleaxes. They're "1-handed weapons" that means they're too big to wield effectively with your off-hand. You get a bigger penalty than you would for, say, two hand-axes, which are light weapons, or a hand axe in your off-hand and a battle axe in your primary. If you want two big weapons, take exotic weapon in a double-weapon, like the Orc Double Axe. It's the same stats AS IF you were wielding 2 battle axes, but without the penalties.
Say you use a character with a weapon equipped in main and off-hand.
In this case 2 x waraxe.Situation: combat round.
Now my question is how do attacks work?
First of all, if all you have is a standard action (because you've moved), then you get one attack with the primary weapon. That's it. Do not pass go, do not roll d20.
That being said, if you're doing a full attack action, then you can choose to attack with both weapons. How that works out depends on what feats you have, and what you have in each hand.
The "main" 2-w-f feat (Two-Weapon Fighting) doesn't give you an additional attack, it just makes the penalties for fighting with 2 weapons way less crazy.
Assuming your 2 waraxe (which means your guy has exotic weapon proficiency [or is a dwarf] 'cause otherwise it's a 2-handed weapon) scenario...
No feats: Primary attack is at -6. Secondary attack is at -10.
2-W-F Feat: Both attacks at -4.
Using a light weapon in your off-hand reduces the penalty by 2, so replacing Waraxe#2 with a Handaxe, for instance, would let you attack at -4/-8 or -2/-2, depending if you have the feat.
When you gain extra (iterative) attacks for high BAB, they only apply to the primary weapon -- you need to use additional feats to get more attacks with the off hand (Improved and Greater TWF, respectively).
Also: Remember, the second shot only gets 1/2 STR bonus to damage, also, from being in the off hand (unless you have Double Slice feat).
The only thing I would add to what Tilnar said is a minor correction: If you move (or for any other reason) and therefore only get a standard attack instead of a full-attack, you can choose to attack with either weapon. There is no actual off-hand penalty (there is a two-weapon fighitng penalty which he described quite accruately).
So you can move up to an orc and decide to hit it with the axe in your right hand or the axe in your left hand. Either way, there is no penalty to your attack roll.
However, you do still take the 1/2 STR Modifier penalty for using your off-hand, but only on the damage roll.
The only thing I would add to what Tilnar said is a minor correction: If you move (or for any other reason) and therefore only get a standard attack instead of a full-attack, you can choose to attack with either weapon. There is no actual off-hand penalty (there is a two-weapon fighitng penalty which he described quite accruately).
So you can move up to an orc and decide to hit it with the axe in your right hand or the axe in your left hand. Either way, there is no penalty to your attack roll.
However, you do still take the 1/2 STR Modifier penalty for using your off-hand, but only on the damage roll.
Of course, if you have a double weapon you can technically swing one side 2-handed on those standard actions, getting 1.5x Str, and use it for two weapon fighting on the full attacks
The only thing I would add to what Tilnar said is a minor correction: If you move (or for any other reason) and therefore only get a standard attack instead of a full-attack, you can choose to attack with either weapon. There is no actual off-hand penalty (there is a two-weapon fighitng penalty which he described quite accruately).
So you can move up to an orc and decide to hit it with the axe in your right hand or the axe in your left hand. Either way, there is no penalty to your attack roll.
However, you do still take the 1/2 STR Modifier penalty for using your off-hand, but only on the damage roll.
True. I tend to assume everyone would use their primary hand since there's no facing and they don't want to halve their str bonus (rounded down, too!), but I suppose if you're dual wielding axes made of mithril and cold iron, and coming up against a lycanthrope, you might have another idea. (Or a club and an axe when faced with zombies *and* skeletons).
However, you do still take the 1/2 STR Modifier penalty for using your off-hand, but only on the damage roll.
Could you point out where this is written? I thought that whenever you don't use both weapons in a full attack, you really didn't have an off-hand weapon, just two weapons.
Strength Bonus: When you hit with a melee or thrown weapon, including a sling, add your Strength modifier to the damage result. A Strength penalty, but not a bonus, applies on damage rolls made with a bow that is not a composite bow.
Off-Hand Weapon: When you deal damage with a weapon in your off hand, you add only 1/2 your Strength bonus. If you have a Strength penalty, the entire penalty applies.
Strength Bonus: When you hit with a melee or thrown weapon, including a sling, add your Strength modifier to the damage result. A Strength penalty, but not a bonus, applies on damage rolls made with a bow that is not a composite bow.
Off-Hand Weapon: When you deal damage with a weapon in your off hand, you add only 1/2 your Strength bonus. If you have a Strength penalty, the entire penalty applies.
I have to disagree with DM_Blacke on this. I interpret the rules to mean that unless you are attacking with both weapons in the same round, there is no "off-hand" penalty, not even for strength bonus damage. If you're holding two swords, one in each hand, and you want to make a single attack, then whichever one you use is, by definition, the "on-hand" and isn't penalized.
In regard to the little tangent that's developed...
I think this belongs in rules questions, but, meh.
I think that guy's right.
I have to disagree with DM_Blacke on this. I interpret the rules to mean that unless you are attacking with both weapons in the same round, there is no "off-hand" penalty, not even for strength bonus damage. If you're holding two swords, one in each hand, and you want to make a single attack, then whichever one you use is, by definition, the "on-hand" and isn't penalized.Strength Bonus: When you hit with a melee or thrown weapon, including a sling, add your Strength modifier to the damage result. A Strength penalty, but not a bonus, applies on damage rolls made with a bow that is not a composite bow.
Off-Hand Weapon: When you deal damage with a weapon in your off hand, you add only 1/2 your Strength bonus. If you have a Strength penalty, the entire penalty applies.
I suppose that ruling could be read either way.
Me, I'm not ambidextrous. I can hit much harder with my right hand than my left. I can break a two-by-four with my right hand but not with my left. I can also snap-kick higher with my left foot, but side-kick and roundhouse-kick higher with my right foot. I can't even count the number of times I hit the back of my head learning to use nunchaku left-handed, and I couldn't hit the side of my garage from ten paces throwing shuriken or knives left-handed.
So yeah, I have an "off-hand" even when I am only holding one weapon. Or no weapons.
But sure, I have no doubt that D&D adventurers are far more epic than I am, and if we want to rule that adventurers rise above these petty little limitations and are only hindered by off-hand penalties when they dual-wield, then more power to them.
I'm not sure that either interpretation is more "correct" than the other one, although, in the RAW, there is no reference to dual-wielding or TWF in the paragraph about the off-hand damage penalty, so for me, the path of least RAI is to not apply an assumed interpretation that isn't stated.