Combat Expertise / Deadly Aim with Dual-Wielding Range / Melee

[Discomancer]

I asked this as part of another post in the Suggestions thread, but I feel it belongs here.

Basically, I want to know what the attack penalties for a gun-wielding character who is also fighting with a melee weapon and has the Deadly Aim and Combat Expertise feats.

Deadly Aim states

Deadly Aim wrote:

You can choose to take a –1 penalty on all ranged attack rolls to gain a +2 bonus on all ranged damage rolls

and Combat Expertise states

Combat Expertise wrote:

You can choose to take a –1 penalty on melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain a +1 dodge bonus to your Armor Class

From the way they are written, it would seem that there is no issue and the -1 to Combat Expertise and -1 to Deadly Aim would not stack for both weapons (giving a -1 to the gun, and a -1 to the melee weapon).

But I also want to confirm that this part of CE which states

CE wrote:

You can only choose to use this feat when you declare that you are making an attack or a full-attack action with a melee weapon

will allow for a range/melee attacker to actually use the feat if they are not full-attacking with only the melee weapon.

Many thanks!

[Jiggy]

Discomancer wrote:

But I also want to confirm that this part of CE which states

CE wrote:

You can only choose to use this feat when you declare that you are making an attack or a full-attack action with a melee weapon

will allow for a range/melee attacker to actually use the feat if they are not full-attacking with only the melee weapon.

Many thanks!

Is it an attack or full-attack?

Does it use a melee weapon?

That's all CE is asking. If both answers are yes, you're good. Whether you're also attacking with a ranged weapon, or planning to move afterwards, or using Spell Combat as a magus, or whatever else; it doesn't matter. It only matters that you're declaring an attack with a melee weapon.

Because that's what the sentence says.

[Discomancer]

Thanks for the clarification. There was a small dispute within my group so we wanted to get an outside opinion.