"Rough and Ready
Source Adventurer's Armory 31
Your intense familiarity with the tools of your trade allows you to use them in combat as if they were actual weapons and makes them more effective for that purpose than they would normally be. When you use a tool of your trade (requiring at least 1 rank in the appropriate Craft or Profession skill) as a weapon, you do not take the improvised weapon penalty and instead receive a +1 trait bonus on your attack. This trait is commonly used with shovels, picks, blacksmith hammers, and other sturdy tools — lutes and brooms make terribly fragile weapons."
I'm building a barbarian and getting bored of the Heirloom trait, which is seriously limited for classes that need to switch weapons to bypass DR. The Rough and Ready trait looks better, but for Society play what would be considered acceptable?
For example a woodsman/forester/lumberjack type could probably justify a Handaxe as a tool of his trade, but what about bigger two-handed axes? Would those be Battleaxes, Greataxes or something else?
Could a farmer justify taking the Scythe as a tool of his trade and gain a bonuses on all attacks with scythes?
The idea of the feat is for unconventional weapons, but some genuine weapons are based on tools already. Under the improvised weapons section on p144 it just says to find the closest match. The one downside is that you lose the crit multiplier when using it this way. +1 to attacks for a x2 instead of x3 or x4 crit multiplier is an interesting trade-off.
Do my suggestions above make sense, or have I missed something?
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The trait was not meant to be paired with an actual weapon, no matter if that weapon was historically a tool. If something is not identified as a weapon (such as a tool) then it is by definition an improvised weapon. The rules for improvised weapons can be found on page 144 of the Core Rulebook. For flavor purposes you can describe the weapon as a shovel, pick axe, frying pan, garden weasel, whatever. A medium one-handed object would do a d6 damage, a two-handed might do a d8. The crit modifier will never be more than x2 on a natural 20 however. So it sounds like you have the right idea, just don't confuse the GM by using weapon names. Make sure you say it's a woodsman's axe or a hatchet, rather than a battle axe or a hand axe.
That's correct, but p144 tells me to find the closest match based on size and damage potential. How would I know what that was?
It could be an agricultural scythe rather than one 'built for war' (according to the 3.5 PHB iirc, although it's not mentioned in the PFHB), so the same damage potential but with the lower crit modifier. Likewise a woodsmans axe would be 2h, not built for combat, so akin to a greataxe but with lower crit modifiers?
In a home game it would be a discussion with the DM, but in PFS I can't do that. What's to stop my garden weasel being a d12 weapon because it 'has the damage potential of' a greataxe?
A list of PFS approved tools would be useful as this is either too easy to break, or results in DM variation (which is even worse if it's your primary weapon).
That's why I'm posting :-)
I'm still trying to visualise a garden weasel...
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It could be an agricultural scythe rather than one 'built for war' (according to the 3.5 PHB iirc, although it's not mentioned in the PFHB), so the same damage potential but with the lower crit modifier. Likewise a woodsmans axe would be 2h, not built for combat, so akin to a greataxe but with lower crit modifiers?
lol I was thinking along these lines the other day, and how most "monk weapons" in PF were farming tools originally... and the fact that I've trained in using pens, notebooks and textbooks in self defense...
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Thanks, I now can't get the idea of a barbarian using a garden gnome as a "tool of the trade" out of my head.That's why I'm posting :-)
I'm still trying to visualise a garden weasel...
I just had the mental picture of a fighter type wielding an actual weasel and the weasel screaming cause the monster is icky
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I just had the mental picture of a fighter type wielding an actual weasel and the weasel screaming cause the monster is ickyThanks, I now can't get the idea of a barbarian using a garden gnome as a "tool of the trade" out of my head.That's why I'm posting :-)
I'm still trying to visualise a garden weasel...
Hmm, for years now I've wanted to play a goblin bard whose instrument was rat. He'd squeze it and twist it to make it scream in different notes.
(Obviously not a lawful good goblin...)
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I just had the mental picture of a fighter type wielding an actual weasel and the weasel screaming cause the monster is ickyThanks, I now can't get the idea of a barbarian using a garden gnome as a "tool of the trade" out of my head.That's why I'm posting :-)
I'm still trying to visualise a garden weasel...
Hmm, for years now I've wanted to play a goblin bard whose instrument was rat. He'd squeze it and twist it to make it scream in different notes.
(Obviously not a lawful good goblin...)
Just got several odd looks as I'm at work and giggleing all over myself right now at that .. thank you.
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Just got several odd looks as I'm at work and giggleing all over myself right now at that .. thank you.I just had the mental picture of a fighter type wielding an actual weasel and the weasel screaming cause the monster is ickyThanks, I now can't get the idea of a barbarian using a garden gnome as a "tool of the trade" out of my head.That's why I'm posting :-)
I'm still trying to visualise a garden weasel...
Hmm, for years now I've wanted to play a goblin bard whose instrument was rat. He'd squeze it and twist it to make it scream in different notes.
(Obviously not a lawful good goblin...)
You know, a druid in such a party would not be a happy camper.
"Stop That!!! How many times do I have to tell you?"
"Are you saying that you don't want +1 to your attack rolls? Even if I stop, I have lingering performance. So the rats going to keep whimpering for another two rounds, and you'll still get your bonus, because while it deeply disturbs you, he's oddly musical and makes you feel good about yourself. Zall I'm sayin."
Eventually though, the trait becomes rather moot as you would not be able to "level up" the improvised weapon. Buying a masterwork version of the object won't make it +1 to hit and you can't add weapon enchantments to it. So the question is, it's a cool way to start out a character, is it shtick that you want to stick with?
And that I think is the single most important aspect of the trait. A masterwork tool will give you +2 to farming, or gardening, or suchlike, but won't count in combat, which brings the trait back down to earth with a bump. Still a fascinating idea, but not remotely gamebreaking now you've pointed that out.