I believe the current rules/opinion of the forum is that you can't have a character who fights with more than 2 arms. There are certain monsters that can do it, but you run into all sorts of rules and balance issues if you attempt to let a PC use Multi-Weapon Fighting.
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Among them, the fact that Multiweapon Fighting is a monster feat. It is as far as I know unclear whether PCs can have it.
Ask your GM.
If you're using Alchemist discoveries for extra arms, those can't wield weapons anyway.
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Original synthesist summoner with a Kali eidolon, though?
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Hello!
I'm looking into some weird character ideas, and one of them is a four armed fighter.If you are wielding four weapons (1 main - 3 off), would you be able to attack with all of them in one round? What if one wanted to wield a 2-handed weapons, plus two one-handed ones? Would they pick which one is the main?
What about shields? If you were to hold 2 or even 3 shields at the same time, would you get the AC bonus from all of them?
What if you were holding 2 shields and a bow? Could you still use the bow while keeping the shield protection? Or would you have some kind of penalty, since the shields would probably be in the way of your actions?
I'm a bit confused about which are the limits of having three or four arms..
The rules don't really handle a PC character with more than 2 arms well, and the PC options that do grant extra arms (like alchemists) have specific restrictions that prevent gaining extra attacks. The game was balanced around 2 arms and 2 hands to attack with, and really isn't intended to have PCs with more than that.
That said there are a few things that I can answer from your questions:
Yes, you can have multiple shields across your arms, but you only get 1 shield bonus from your various shields. A two-armed character can do this, they can wield two shields but they still only get 1 shield bonus to their AC.
For wielding multiple weapons, you have 1 main hand and 3 off-hands. Two-handed weapons require a main hand, so you could have only 1 two-handed weapon. Keep in mind this uses the rules for Two Weapon Fighting or Multiweapon Fighting so you take a -4 penalty to all attacks if you're wielding one-handed weapons in your off-hand, and only a -2 if you're wielding only light weapons in your off-hands. Without the TWF or Multiweapon Fighting feat the penalties are even higher.It's also worth noting that there is no Improved or Greater Multiweapon Fighting. So at best, you could take Multiweapon Fighting, Ipmroved Two Weapon Fighting, and Greater Two Weapon Fighting. This would grant you up to 4 attacks from high BAB with your main hand. 3 attacks with your off-hand from TWF, ITWF, and GTWF. And then you would have 2 more attacks from Multiweapon and Extra Arms. However, much of this is my personal interpretation and extrapolation on the rules, this part is the most contested part of how to run the rules.
Original synthesist summoner with a Kali eidolon, though?
Any summoner, at high level.
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Hello!If you are wielding four weapons (1 main - 3 off), would you be able to attack with all of them in one round? What if one wanted to wield a 2-handed weapons, plus two one-handed ones? Would they pick which one is the main?
There are fully fuctional player races with 4 arms already like the Kasatha, so those people saying that you cant take feats like multiweapon fighting are wrong. Just because a feat is in the bestiary, doesnt mean players cant take them. Improved natural weapon is found there, yet druids and any race with natural weapons like catfolk can take it.
So yes, if you have multiple arms, you can take MWF and use your all of your limbs to attack with a -2 penalty. This means you can do the following combos:1 1handed, 3 light weapons
2 1handed, 2 light weapons
1 2handed, 2 light weapons
With these combos you take -2 to all attacks. You get the normal additional penalties for using the wrong sized weapons like 4 1handed weapons etc.
What about shields? If you were to hold 2 or even 3 shields at the same time, would you get the AC bonus from all of them?
As per normal, the same kinds of bonuses do not stack. Whichever the shield with the highest bonus would supersede the others.
What if you were holding 2 shields and a bow? Could you still use the bow while keeping the shield protection? Or would you have some kind of penalty, since the shields would probably be in the way of your actions?
Legal but cheezy, and see above about the shields.
In my personal opinion, one of the most useful tactics for a 4 armed character is when weapons that need reloading or abilities that require a free hand come into play. A crossbow focused character or gunslinger who needs a free hand to reload their weapons suddenly becomes very effective with the right feats and ammo.
Say you are playing a gunslinger who uses two pistols.
Normally, reloading a pistol is a standard action. With the rapid reload feat, it steps down to a move action. Using alchemical cartridges steps it down again to a free action. All of this requires a free hand to do. So normally, you can only do this routine with a singe pistol. With a 4 armed character, you could be reloading both guns every round as free actions, so as long as you have the ammo, you can attack at your full number of attacks per round without having to stop to reload.
And that is badass.
AtD
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I believe the current rules/opinion of the forum is that you can't have a character who fights with more than 2 arms. There are certain monsters that can do it, but you run into all sorts of rules and balance issues if you attempt to let a PC use Multi-Weapon Fighting.
That is not true at all. In these debates before evidence has been provided that it is possible to fight with multiple weapons. The opinion is more that this should not be available to PC, but that is an issue of balance, not rules.
To answer the OP shield bonuses do not stack so you can have 80 shields and your shield bonus to AC will not stack because shield bonuses don't stack.
1) If you are wielding four weapons (1 main - 3 off), would you be able to attack with all of them in one round?
2) What if one wanted to wield a 2-handed weapons, plus two one-handed ones? Would they pick which one is the main?3) What about shields? If you were to hold 2 or even 3 shields at the same time, would you get the AC bonus from all of them?
4) What if you were holding 2 shields and a bow? Could you still use the bow while keeping the shield protection? Or would you have some kind of penalty, since the shields would probably be in the way of your actions?
Everything written about things with more arms are written for monsters so any rulings about multi armed PC's are not explicitly covered in the RAW and as such are GM/home rulings.
That said it is not too hard at all to to assume that the rules that apply to monsters would work almost exactly the same as they would to PC's.
So to answer your questions in order based on the monster rules:
1) A creature with more than two arms still has only one main hand but it has additional off hands. You would be able to attack with all 4 arms/weapons using the Full Attack action. You would take the multiweapon fighting penalties:
A creature without this feat takes a –6 penalty on attacks made with its primary hand and a –10 penalty on attacks made with all of its off hands.
In this case the Multiweapon Fighting feat chain would be what you want to lower these penalties.
2) The character needs to pick a main hand and specify which weapon is in that hand during combat. Yes that main hand and an off hand could be used on a two handed weapon and the other hands on one handed with the two hander being the 'main' weapon just as on a regular character.
Technically the game has no static 'main' hand and the character could legally change what weapon is the 'main' from round to round as a non action, representing them focusing more on that weapon to increase it's effectiveness.
3) Shield bonuses do not stack with other shield bonuses. So using more than one shield has not AC benefit in Pathfinder. The only AC bonuses that always stack are dodge bonuses.
4) You can use a bow and a shield or shields if the GM allows it. Going only by rules you could use a bow with 2 hands and any number of shield but only get ONE shield bonus to your AC since shield bonuses do not stack.
Note that all the above is predicated with the GM allowing such since normally multiple limbs are not on standard character races. It is also assuming a relatively humanoid body layout with two arms on each side of the torso (like Tharks from John Carter for instance).
Assuming your GM allows such a race or PC then the rules I have layed out would be how your questions would be answered on a monster with multiple limbs and should work for a PC with such as well.
As to whether this is balanced for a PC to have or not I will leave up to your GM and gaming group to decide.
Right about >here<.
Also, Multiweapon Fighting attacks are at -4; there is no mention of reducing the penalty to -2 for using light weapons.
Right about >here<.
Also, Multiweapon Fighting attacks are at -4; there is no mention of reducing the penalty to -2 for using light weapons.
Neither Two-weapon fighting does, the penalties being reduced by 2 if the off weapons are Light is part of the standard rule of using more whan one weapon, not the feat
Neither Two-weapon fighting does, the penalties being reduced by 2 if the off weapons are Light is part of the standard rule of using more whan one weapon, not the featRight about >here<.
Also, Multiweapon Fighting attacks are at -4; there is no mention of reducing the penalty to -2 for using light weapons.
I'm sorry, you were saying?
You can fight with a weapon wielded in each of your hands. You can make one extra attack each round with the secondary weapon.
Prerequisite: Dex 15.
Benefit: Your penalties on attack rolls for fighting with two weapons are reduced. The penalty for your primary hand lessens by 2 and the one for your off hand lessens by 6. See Two-Weapon Fighting in Combat.
Normal: If you wield a second weapon in your off hand, you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon. When fighting in this way you suffer a –6 penalty with your regular attack or attacks with your primary hand and a –10 penalty to the attack with your off hand. If your off-hand weapon is light, the penalties are reduced by 2 each. An unarmed strike is always considered light.
^ Note the last two sentences.
This multi-armed creature is skilled at making attacks with multiple weapons.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, three or more hands.
Benefit: Penalties for fighting with multiple weapons are reduced by –2 with the primary hand and by –6 with off hands.
Normal: A creature without this feat takes a –6 penalty on attacks made with its primary hand and a –10 penalty on attacks made with all of its off hands. (It has one primary hand, and all the others are off hands.) See Two-Weapon Fighting in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook.
Special: This feat replaces the Two-Weapon Fighting feat for creatures with more than two arms.
^ Note that the monster feat does not contain wording on using light weapons.
...
the penalty reduction for light weapons is not part of the benefit of the feat, is something you gain regardless of it and is also stated in the combat rules that in that case the penalties are -4 -8
Right about >here<.
Also, Multiweapon Fighting attacks are at -4; there is no mention of reducing the penalty to -2 for using light weapons.
As Entryhazard pointed out the reduced penalty for light weapons is listed in the general rules for fighting with more than one weapon.
It is not attached to the 2 weapon fighting rule intrinsically. Rather it is quoted in the feat for additional clarity.
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Everything written about things with more arms are written for monsters so any rulings about multi armed PC's are not explicitly covered in the RAW and as such are GM/home rulings.
The Kasatha has four arms and is listed in multiple sources as a PC playable race... and there are other ways a PC could have 3+ arms (e.g. mutant template from drinking Numerian fluids).
That said it is not too hard at all to to assume that the rules that apply to monsters would work almost exactly the same as they would to PC's.
The combat rules are the same for all characters.
Yes that main hand and an off hand could be used on a two handed weapon and the other hands on one handed with the two hander being the 'main' weapon just as on a regular character.
While it would usually make sense to assign the main hand to the two-handed weapon, there is no requirement to do so. A character can have a one-handed weapon in their main hand and a two-handed weapon in two off-hands.
The Kasatha has four arms and is listed in multiple sources as a PC playable race... and there are other ways a PC could have 3+ arms (e.g. mutant template from drinking Numerian fluids).
And I own and have read none of those sources so ... my bad?
The combat rules are the same for all characters.
Which is what I said using fractionally different words.
While it would usually make sense to assign the main hand to the two-handed weapon, there is no requirement to do so. A character can have a one-handed weapon in their main hand and a two-handed weapon in two off-hands.
Which I actually point out in the very next sentence from the post your quoting from.
It's also worth noting that there is no Improved or Greater Multiweapon Fighting. So at best, you could take Multiweapon Fighting, Ipmroved Two Weapon Fighting, and Greater Two Weapon Fighting. This would grant you up to 4 attacks from high BAB with your main hand. 3 attacks with your off-hand from TWF, ITWF, and GTWF. And then you would have 2 more attacks from Multiweapon and Extra Arms. However, much of this is my personal interpretation and extrapolation on the rules, this part is the most contested part of how to run the rules.
Yeah, it seems a bit hazy on the specifics on the improved stuff.
It is entirely possible that there is no 'improved' stuff allowed for more attacks.
It seems odd, but when you think about 4+ arms... you get 3 off hand attacks anyway, even without improved and greater TWF. So maybe it is like natural attacks: its main advantage is it gets all of its attacks out at (Around) full BAB. No -7 or -12 hits, just a -2. So it gets more damage out with just having more accurate offhand attacks.
From that perspective, it is pretty much an upgrade of TWF- you don't spend more feats, but get even better attacks. The only flaw is that it brings 2 more weapons (and enhancement costs) into the mix. Not bad for monsters, mind you, since they often go with nothing... but painful for a PC. You could always reduce costs with the 2hand/offhand/offhand combo though, and get about the same damage (Well, assuming you aren't going with sneak attack/favored enemy/etc. mechanics, where you want more hits)
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While it would usually make sense to assign the main hand to the two-handed weapon, there is no requirement to do so. A character can have a one-handed weapon in their main hand and a two-handed weapon in two off-hands.Which I actually point out in the very next sentence from the post your quoting from.
?
"Technically the game has no static 'main' hand and the character could legally change what weapon is the 'main' from round to round as a non action, representing them focusing more on that weapon to increase it's effectiveness."
I see nothing about whether two-handed weapons require the use of the main hand in that text.
Yeah, it seems a bit hazy on the specifics on the improved stuff.
It is entirely possible that there is no 'improved' stuff allowed for more attacks.
There are examples of 3+ armed creatures using Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. For example, the Xill Matriarch in Occult Bestiary or Metweska the Kasatha NPC in AP 90. These show that they get ONE extra iterative attack at -5, as usual. The Xill Matriarch can even apply this to an iterative attack from their off-hands longbow.
Thus, a 3+ armed creature with a 16+ BAB could potentially get 4 main hand attacks, 3 attacks with one off-hand via GTWF, and one attack with each remaining off-hand (with penalties potentially reduced via MWF).
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Anyone remember the hecatoncheires from the ELH with it's 100 arms? :)
Also, to people talking about 'Monster Feats' as if they were somehow disbarred from players: this may be the case in your home games, but it is a houserule.
This is the total sum of what the rules say on the matter:
Most of the following feats apply specifically to monsters, although some player characters might qualify for them (particularly Craft Construct).Since there's no text that says that pcs are unable to take monster feats, we default to the standard prerequisite rules.
An alchemist with an extra arm could certainly take Multiweapon Fighting, but he'd be unable to make use of it due to the language of the discovery that gave him the third arm.
Well, houserule reinforced by PFS excluding it from being legal.
I know you shouldn't use PFS as a definitive source for what is and isn't legal, of course, but I am more using it as supporting circumstantial evidence of general intent from a relatively vague line. The general intent being "these are things for the GM to play around with, rather than regular character options".
So while I would often agree that you should take any PFS advise on 'how to play the game' with a HUGE grain of salt, monster feats are far enough 'out there' and fringe that it is worth considering in interpreting the intent.
And I would say that some of those feats definitely should be allowed only on careful consideration of their effects- quickened SLA and ability focus seem like two that definitely could bring problems.
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"Monster Feat" isn't a thing to begin with, and the Bestiary explicitly says that PCs might be able to qualify
I believe the current rules/opinion of the forum is that you can't have a character who fights with more than 2 arms. There are certain monsters that can do it, but you run into all sorts of rules and balance issues if you attempt to let a PC use Multi-Weapon Fighting.That is not true at all. In these debates before evidence has been provided that it is possible to fight with multiple weapons. The opinion is more that this should not be available to PC, but that is an issue of balance, not rules.
To answer the OP shield bonuses do not stack so you can have 80 shields and your shield bonus to AC will not stack because shield bonuses don't stack.
That's what i was trying to say, you said it better though
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To make it clear, the Kasatha is a four armed creature that players (likely in a home game or perhaps on a future PFS Boon at some point) can play.
This creature can not take TWF as it is automatically replaced by MWF, per the Bestiary. This would supersede any restrictions placed in the campaign, including PFS. (Likely would also be mentioned in the Race Boon if given)
To the question of the thread, my line is thus, Two Handed weapon needs the Main hand to wield as the character wields light/One handed weapons in the off hands. He would not be able to double wield Two Handed Weapons, as one could not use the second weapon in the off hands. (The exception to this is the Feat that allows two Bows at the same time)
The character would also be allow to, instead, wield four weapons as MWF allows.
Now, other characters that get arms in other ways have to follow the rules for those arms. Vestal Arms has it's own particulars that do not allow for extra attacks, and Eidolons uses Natural attacks (gaining Multi-attack, which is separate from MWF) and does not gain MWF automatically.
Please also remember, no matter how many hands a character has, there is only ever one Main Hand, all others are Off Hands.
Hope that helps.
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To make it clear, the Kasatha is a four armed creature that players (likely in a home game or perhaps on a future PFS Boon at some point) can play.
This creature can not take TWF as it is automatically replaced by MWF, per the Bestiary.
Unfortunately, there are actual cases contradicting this. For example, Metweska, the Kasatha in the last chapter of the Iron Gods AP, has Two-Weapon Fighting.
I agree this doesn't make much sense given that the Dex requirement of MWF is actually lower and the feat gives ALL the benefits of TWF and more. About the only way it MIGHT make sense is if MWF doesn't count as meeting the pre-requisites for ITWF & GTWF.
As to the line about MWF 'replacing' TWF in the feat description. It isn't really clear what that is meant to refer to. One reading would be that anyone with TWF automatically gets MWF instead once they have 3+ arms... but, as noted, there are examples which contradict that.
Another reading is that MWF replaces TWF for purposes of pre-requisites... in which case a character with MWF should be able to take ITWF and there is no reason they should ever need TWF. Which, again, is inconsistent with examples.
Yet another reading is that it is just describing the relationship between the two feats (one for 2 armed creatures and the other for 3+ armed), but not indicating any mechanical effect at all.
To the question of the thread, my line is thus, Two Handed weapon needs the Main hand to wield as the character wields light/One handed weapons in the off hands.
Contradicted by, amongst other examples (see below), the Upasunda Asura from Bestiary 3, which wields a longsword in its main hand and a spear in two off-hands.
He would not be able to double wield Two Handed Weapons, as one could not use the second weapon in the off hands. (The exception to this is the Feat that allows two Bows at the same time)
Contradicted by the Xill and Xill Matriarch, both of which show two bows in their stat block without any special feat or other ability. The Xill Matriarch even gets an iterative attack with her off-hands bow via the Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feat.
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The monster entries you are refering to have an ability to allow them the skill to use those weapons as they do. I am talking of character players here, not monster entries in a bestiary.
To put a finer point, TWF would use... TWO WEAPONS. If the player would want to limit themselves, they could take TWF instead and use it to qualify for the feat chain. MWF already gives the extra attacks (with the extra hands) without having the extra feats. The downside is having to have extra weapons.
I believe we have gone through this in another thread.
The use of TWF for the NPC could also be a choice for the character to use his other hands to hold potions or other things as he is TWF, or have to have extra weapons to use/carry. (Making treasure handouts simpler)
Contradicted by, amongst other examples (see below), the Upasunda Asura from Bestiary 3, which wields a longsword in its main hand and a spear in two off-hands.
Not that the rest of your examples aren't good, but that one... is it the mainhand just because it is listed first? Cause that longsword seems to be held in one hand like the kukri.
So the short spear could be the main hand and a off hand.
I mostly ask since I am unclear on the listing priority for attacks in stat blocks, and not entirely sure if every bestiary writer is also clear on such a minute detail outside of normal PC abilities (cause anything with MWF is relatively niche as far as abilities go, and it is rare to have to deal with such a complex issue with simple attack blocks)
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The monster entries you are refering to have an ability to allow them the skill to use those weapons as they do.
No such ability is listed anywhere.
I am talking of character players here, not monster entries in a bestiary.
The combat rules are the same for both.
Contradicted by, amongst other examples (see below), the Upasunda Asura from Bestiary 3, which wields a longsword in its main hand and a spear in two off-hands.Not that the rest of your examples aren't good, but that one... is it the mainhand just because it is listed first?
No, not just because of that. The most obvious reaon that we know the longsword is the main hand weapon is that it gets the main hand iterative attacks; "mwk longsword +19/+14/+9". The other manufactured weapons (spear & kukri) only get one attack each... because they are off-hand attacks.
Similarly, we know that the spear attack is two-handed not just because it is a two-handed weapon, but also because it is dealing 1.5x strength bonus extra damage. A single two-handed attack... ergo the spear is wielded in two off-hands.
Similarly, we know that the spear attack is two-handed not just because it is a two-handed weapon, but also because it is dealing 1.5x strength bonus extra damage. A single two-handed attack... ergo the spear is wielded in two off-hands.
Fair point there with the iteratives.
I also wonder whether multiweapon mastery has any effect on the damage. I notice that the kukri gets the same str bonus as the mainhand sword/slams when it is going pure natural attacks, but the creature lacks double slice.
Similarly, we know that the spear attack is two-handed not just because it is a two-handed weapon, but also because it is dealing 1.5x strength bonus extra damage. A single two-handed attack... ergo the spear is wielded in two off-hands.Fair point there with the iteratives.
I also wonder whether multiweapon mastery has any effect on the damage. I notice that the kukri gets the same str bonus as the mainhand sword/slams when it is going pure natural attacks, but the creature lacks double slice.
The designers building monster/NPC entries are not infallible when it comes to rules.
Using monsters/NPC's as a rules source is shaky at best for this reason.
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The designers building monster/NPC entries are not infallible when it comes to rules.
True.
Using monsters/NPC's as a rules source is shaky at best for this reason.
When the monsters/NPCs consistently show the same results and/or fit reasonable readings of the written rules then I'd argue it goes from 'shaky at best' to 'rock solid'.
Mistakes happen. The same mistake does not happen every single time a common issue comes up.
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The ability is called Multiweapon Mastery, where the monster is not getting any penalties for wielding the weapons at all. (So where the Two Handed weapon is on the iterates is a moot point)
That is why it comes up, an EX ability that a player can not get.
It reduces attack roll penalties. Nothing else. Ergo, the ability of various creatures to attack with two-handed weapons held in two off-hands has nothing to do with this ability.
Rather, creatures are able to do that because the basic rules say they can;
"Two-Handed: Two hands are required to use a two-handed melee weapon effectively."
Two hands. Nothing about one of them having to be a 'main' hand. No such rule exists... and thus no special ability is needed to 'get around' that non-existent rule.
Format: multiweapon mastery; Location: Special Attacks."
It reduces attack roll penalties. Nothing else. Ergo, the ability of various creatures to attack with two-handed weapons held in two off-hands has nothing to do with this ability.
Although, as Snowlily brought up... does each monster designer know that?
When I brought up the full str damage on the kukris, my first assumption was it came from multiweapon mastery, since the text for that ability in the stat block is slightly different than the text in the universal monster ability.
The stat block just says 'penalties'. If the designer only saw the version he was putting into the stat block...then I could see a large misinterpretation (ergo, they don't put the a supposed 'penalty' of 1/2 str damage on the kukri).
Overall, offhand 2handed weapons are far enough outside of the normal rules that the designers likely lack a consensus on how it works.
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Overall, offhand 2handed weapons are far enough outside of the normal rules that the designers likely lack a consensus on how it works.
Entirely possible.
Indeed, the Kasatha Bow Nomad Ranger archetype trades Wild Empathy for a 1st level class ability which allows it to use two bows with the two-weapon fighting feats... while the Xill and Xill Matriarch can do the exact same thing without any special ability. This suggests that the developer(s) of that class had different ideas than the people who built the stat blocks for the Xill, Xill Matriarch, Upasunda, etc.
That said... it remains a fact that there simply isn't any 'main hand required' rule. Thus, the way the various stat blocks work is precisely the way the rules are written. Two handed weapons require two hands... nothing anywhere says that one of those must be a 'main' hand.
Where do you draw the line?
Just above the elbows. Then cut.
This avoids any pesky troubles with off-hand attacks. <g>
Seriously, as others have pointed out, the rules are quite thin on how to deal with such characters. My gut feeling is... just say no. Don't go there, as that way lies madness.
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Circumstances Primary Hand Off Hand
Normal penalties –6 –10
Off-hand weapon is light –4 –8
Two-Weapon Fighting feat –4 –4
Off-hand weapon is light –2 –2
and Two-Weapon Fighting feat
So, when TWF (Or MWF with four arms), you need to know where the main hand is and the off hand.
The Two Handed weapon entry say "both" hands. It, as you say, does not further elaborate that this would include the Main hand and the Off hand. The other two weapon designations does have those particulars denoted for their use as the Two Handed weapon denotes that both are used, the assumption being both hands, Main and Off. This does not come into scrutiny in the Core rules as there are no abilities inferred that would need the clarification about the Main and Off hand. That came later, with the recent four armed player character creature, the "use a/this two handed weapon in/with/as (a) one hand(ed weapon)" and other feats/abilities.
The rule, as a whole, has not changed, it is the skills of the character, four arms or no, that is changing how we look at the rule and need to interpret it for the new ways it is used. To me, it is a natural progression from the first two entries (Light and One Handed) of the weapon designation to say that the Main hand (at the very least) needs to be used for the Two Handed Weapon. Here is a quote from a post above...
That said... it remains a fact that there simply isn't any 'main hand required' rule. Thus, the way the various stat blocks work is precisely the way the rules are written. Two handed weapons require two hands... nothing anywhere says that one of those must be a 'main' hand.
"It doesn't say I can't"
It says "both" hands. The overall point is that one of those hands is the Main Hand, and the entry does not say that the weapon can be wielded by the Off Hand when the other designations do.
Yes, some clarification would help, but this isn't a particularly hard conclusion to come to when you look at the overall section of the Core Rulebook about these weapons, the Designations, what size they actually are, and what affects how the character uses over or under sized weapons. From various FAQ's and comments, this is the underlying rules for the action economy and what a character can do with it.
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The Two Handed weapon entry say "both" hands.
Where?
"Two-Handed: Two hands are required to use a two-handed melee weapon effectively. Apply 1-1/2 times the character's Strength bonus to damage rolls for melee attacks with such a weapon."
I don't see the word "both" anywhere in that text.
It, as you say, does not further elaborate that this would include the Main hand and the Off hand. The other two weapon designations does have those particulars denoted for their use as the Two Handed weapon denotes that both are used, the assumption being both hands, Main and Off.
That would be the only possibility for a creature with only two hands. Your assumption that this should then be turned into a restriction for creatures with more than two hands is completely without foundation... and contradicted by various examples of two-handed weapons wielded in two off-hands (i.e. no 'main' hand involved).
It says "both" hands.
No, it doesn't. It says "two" hands.
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And?
A typical character has two hands. Both are used to wield the weapon. Your point?
Edit...
Okok... You point is that the rules don't account for the extra arms or unusual use of Two Handed Weapons. So, we make them up?
It isn't a big mystery, the overall structure is there as I have pointed out numerous times before. Looking into the Bestiary isn't the best idea for a player to do for rules confirmation on things, as Monsters, like it or not, sometimes do not go by the same standards as the character one plays.
overall, the Light weapon and One Handed weapon has rules for Off Hand use. The Two Handed weapon does not. All the designations have rules for Two Handed Use, the Light conferring no advantage when doing so.
So where is the outliner that Two Handed weapons can be wielded in the off hand?
There isn't one.
Back in the days, the Multiweapon Fighting feats were available for many-armed characters, which basically gave you off-hands for each arm after the first.
Why shouldn't it be available in Pathfinder is rather weird...
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Its almost like they intentionally didn't port over a broken and imbalanced game element...Back in the days, the Multiweapon Fighting feats were available for many-armed characters, which basically gave you off-hands for each arm after the first.
Why shouldn't it be available in Pathfinder is rather weird...
Except they did, right from the beginning.
The only thing stopping characters from qualifying for Multiweapon Fighting was a lack of three or more arms. There are now multiple ways for characters to obtain extra arms capable of wielding weapons.
Characters are now able to qualify for a feat that has been available since Beastiary I.