Can you use different weapons on different AoOs?

[Genuine]

Situation: A character is holding two one-handed or light weapons. He does not have Two Weapon Fighting.

In a normal round, he picks one of the two to do his fighting with depending on the situation (e.g. a cold iron rapier in one hand and a silver shortsword in the other). He also has combat reflexes and can make multiple AoOs in a round.

I know he can use either weapon, regardless of what was used during his turn (the AoO is separate from the full round or standard action, and penalties from those attacks (if any) don't apply).

But can he switch between weapons on separate AoOs? If creature A. casts a spell (provokes), then moves away (provoking again), afterwards creature B. also moves away (provoking), then can the PC use his cold iron weapon on his AoOs v. creature A and his silver weapon on creature B?

I'm thinking you can - but I feel like it may have been covered somewhere that I've missed.

[Mystic_Snowfang]

You can't use two AoOs in the same round

[Jiggy]

Each AoO is a completely separate event. You don't have to dedicate a single weapon to all of them.

Related fact: During your turn, you can full-attack with BAB +6/+1 and take your two attacks with different weapons, without taking TWF penalties.

[Orfamay Quest]

Mystic_Snowfang wrote:

You can't use two AoOs in the same round

Combat reflexes.

I see no reason that a person with combat reflexes holding a mace in one hand and a silver dagger in the other couldn't use the dagger against the werewolf and a mace against the skeleton, assuming they both provoked in the same round.

Now, you are correct that even combat reflexes won't give this person two separate attacks of opportunity against a person who both casts a spell and then moves away.

[Bill Dunn]

Yes. As long as he has that combat reflexes feat and can therefore exploit more than one opportunity, then he can make those attacks with two different weapons.

[MendedWall12]

Jiggy wrote:

Each AoO is a completely separate event. You don't have to dedicate a single weapon to all of them.

Related fact: During your turn, you can full-attack with BAB +6/+1 and take your two attacks with different weapons, without taking TWF penalties.

You learn something new every day. I did not know this was the case. Some of my players will be interested in this.

Edit: In this case the weapon in the off-hand only gets 1/2 the STR bonus to damage, though. So there is still a slight bonus to just wielding one weapon in the primary hand (or with two hands in the case of a one-handed melee weapon, to get the 1.5 times STR bonus damage).

[MacGurcules]

Orfamay Quest wrote:

...even combat reflexes won't give this person two separate attacks of opportunity against a person who both casts a spell and then moves away.

Actually, yes. Yes, it will.

[Kazaan]

Furthermore, TWF only applies to the Full-Attack in which you specifically take an off-hand attack. There is no "right hand is you main-hand, left hand is your off-hand" mechanic in pathfinder; the terms off-hand and main-hand only have significance if you're using TWF to get an extra attack over your BAB iteratives. This means that you still don't suffer a penalty when using two different weapons for AoOs because it isn't considered two-weapon fighting. To illustrate:

You have Bab +6/+1 (2 iteratives) and a Mace in one hand and Dagger in the other (doesn't matter which one is in which hand, the system doesn't care). Your attacks could be:
Mace +6/Dagger +1
Mace +6/Mace +1
Dagger +6/Dagger +1
Dagger +6/Mace +1

Say you also have Combat Reflexes. You could deliver AoOs with the mace at +6 and with Dagger at +6 in any combination.

Now, say you declare TWF. Presume you don't have the TWF feat. It only reduces penalties so you can still TWF, but it has significant penalties:
Mace +2/Dagger -2/Mace -3 (Off-hand in italics)
Dagger +0/Mace -4/Dagger -5

You can still make AoOs with Mace +6 or Dagger +6 in any combination.

If you do have TWF feat:
Mace +4/Dagger +4/Mace -1
Dagger +2/Mace +2/Dagger -3

You can also still make AoOs with Mace +6 or Dagger +6 in any combination.

[Gwen Smith]

Jiggy wrote:

Each AoO is a completely separate event. You don't have to dedicate a single weapon to all of them.

Related fact: During your turn, you can full-attack with BAB +6/+1 and take your two attacks with different weapons, without taking TWF penalties.

Is this a recent rule change? The reason I ask is that I saw this in theShielded Fighter archetype (5th level):

"With a full attack action, a shielded fighter may alternate between using his weapon or his shield for each attack."

Am I missing something here? Isn't this "feature" available to anyone who has a weapon, two attacks, and a bashable shield?

[Grick]

Gwen Smith wrote:

Is this a recent rule change?

No, though it was clarified in the FAQ a little over a year ago.

Gwen Smith wrote:

Isn't this "feature" available to anyone who has a weapon, two attacks, and a bashable shield?

That part of it is, yeah. The +1 bonus is what the ability really does.

[Jiggy]

Gwen Smith wrote:

Jiggy wrote:

Each AoO is a completely separate event. You don't have to dedicate a single weapon to all of them.

Related fact: During your turn, you can full-attack with BAB +6/+1 and take your two attacks with different weapons, without taking TWF penalties.

Is this a recent rule change? The reason I ask is that I saw this in theShielded Fighter archetype (5th level):

"With a full attack action, a shielded fighter may alternate between using his weapon or his shield for each attack."

Am I missing something here? Isn't this "feature" available to anyone who has a weapon, two attacks, and a bashable shield?

If I'm not mistaken, the APG (where that ability appears) was written at a time when the description of shield bashing in the CRB still contained (erroneous, and now removed) text limiting shield bashes to off-hand attacks only.

[Skylancer4]

Gwen Smith wrote:

Jiggy wrote:

Each AoO is a completely separate event. You don't have to dedicate a single weapon to all of them.

Related fact: During your turn, you can full-attack with BAB +6/+1 and take your two attacks with different weapons, without taking TWF penalties.

Is this a recent rule change? The reason I ask is that I saw this in theShielded Fighter archetype (5th level):

"With a full attack action, a shielded fighter may alternate between using his weapon or his shield for each attack."

Am I missing something here? Isn't this "feature" available to anyone who has a weapon, two attacks, and a bashable shield?

Actually if using TWF it still remains pertinent. On a full attack action (which is required to make attacks with two weapons) you have to designate main/off hand routines. With the archtype doing a full TWF attack all attacks from a TWF main/off hand can be either/or between the weapon and shield.