So far, when it comes to TWF, I've seen the following weapons:
- longsword & shield
- longsword & short sword
- rapier & dagger
- dagger & dagger
- longsword/rapier & hand crossbow/pistol
- sawtooth saber & sawtooth saber
- kukri & kukri
- scimitar & scimitar
- katana & wakisashi
- katana & katana
However... what other weapons actually work well when paired for TWF? Have players and GMs come up with crazy combos that ended up being surprising useful and deadly?
Cestus+Shield used to be a strong combo for the Brawler Fighter. It's fallen out of favor since the release of Advance Weapon Training though since you can't use that mechanic with the archetype.
I haven't seen it but apparently shield & shield can work. It sounds incredibly wonky but it even has historical precedent.
Unarmed & unarmed isn't worth using if you have some form of flurry, but there are odd cases where it is viable.
Are you counting the use of one double weapon for TWF here?
I've played a dwarf ranger who used a dwarven waraxe and a light hammer - the hammer was so I had the option of throwing a weapon when short dwarven legs were too slow. Potentially also helpful vs. DR/bludgeoning though that never actually came up.
Cestus+Shield used to be a strong combo for the Brawler Fighter. It's fallen out of favor since the release of Advance Weapon Training though since you can't use that mechanic with the archetype.
Hmmm... can you tell me more abous this?
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Unarmed & unarmed isn't worth using if you have some form of flurry, but there are odd cases where it is viable.
My major problem with unarmed strikes is that... the damage output justs sucks... unless you're a monk, brawler or similar.
At this point, the Improved Unarmed Strike feat should have been bundled with a damage-scaling extra.
Are you counting the use of one double weapon for TWF here?
No, because, well, it's just one weapon in the end.
I've played a dwarf ranger who used a dwarven waraxe and a light hammer - the hammer was so I had the option of throwing a weapon when short dwarven legs were too slow. Potentially also helpful vs. DR/bludgeoning though that never actually came up.
Interesting. Oddly enough, I haven't seen the axe/hammer combo that much for dwarven fighters either... or the hammer equivalent of the Dwarwen Waraxe for that matter :P
Are you counting the use of one double weapon for TWF here?
Monks TWF-ing with a Quarterstaff works quite nicely.
Are you counting the use of one double weapon for TWF here?Monks TWF-ing with a Quarterstaff works quite nicely.
As I said, I do not count double weapons for this topic, since it's just one single weapon.
My major problem with unarmed strikes is that... the damage output justs sucks... unless you're a monk, brawler or similar.
At this point, the Improved Unarmed Strike feat should have been bundled with a damage-scaling extra.
I said odd cases - a bloody-knuckled rowdy bloodrager or an esoteric magus gets scaling damage but not flurry. IUS has been bundled with a damage-scaling extra in such cases. Bad touch clerics might be able to make it work. I wouldn't be surprised to find some variety of inquisitor can do it, they can do everything else.
I've seen wakizashi & wakizashi a couple times to save on feats, but I wouldn't call it unconventional. There was a pirate game that featured a cutlass and a hook-hand as well, but that was more working well flavor-wise than mechanically. There was also cestus & cestus a long time ago for the aforementioned Brawler Fighter, but again not really unconventional.
I have heard a good case for cestus and scimitar. The idea being that when a full attack is not available you can switch to wielding the scimitar in 2 hands (and switch back when a full attack is again available) as a free action.
I have heard a good case for cestus and scimitar. The idea being that when a full attack is not available you can switch to wielding the scimitar in 2 hands (and switch back when a full attack is again available) as a free action.
This combo plays like a double weapon, but it tends to have better crit stats. However, in return, you have more trouble with weapon specific feats (weapon focus, for example, which helps to remove the sting of TWF penalties).
It also has a generally nice visual style.
On the Dwarven front, I've had one Heavy Pick/Light Pick dual wielder in a game, and my Giantslayer game was due to have a Dorn-Dergar user that would eventually dual-wield them. We never got past the first module though.
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Thunder & Fang ie an earthbreaker and klar
I make use of a pretty fun build for my Dwarven Slayer: Heavy Pick and Kukri
With Butterfly Sting, as you count as your own ally, you can pass Kukri crits off to your Heavy Pick for 4x damage. You can get all your TWF feats from Ranger Combat style.
I usually make the Kukri Keen and the Heavy Pick Thundering.
Brawlers can flurry two handed weapons with Versatile Design (close).
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Wakisashi/wakisashi in an (urban-or-savtech)barbarian/weapon master fighter3/uRogue4/samurai build = crit-fish monster.
Unconventional? ...I had a similar character who, prior to having cash to upgrade both weapons, used a kama to trip with one hand. (The horse really enjoyed the +4 to its three attacks versus a prone target.) A little later on, I dipped fighter[unarmed] and took Dragon Style as the class bonus feat, which I used with a pre-errata cestus (they've since been clarified to not be an augmentation to unarmed strikes) while wearing an Agile AoMF.
Along the lines of the kukri or wakizashi, there is the Elven Leafblade. The bonus for confirming crits is nice, and counts as martial for an Elf with Weapon Familiarity or Half-Elf with the Weapon Familiarity Alternate Racial Trait. It works with the Elven Battle Style feat chain if you want to use Int to damage instead of Str or Dex. (Great for Magi, Occultists, Investigators, etc.)
If you want to have two "different" weapons for flavor but still want the efficiency of using the same weapon-specific feats on both, there are a couple of oddball options to consider.
Two Scorpion Whips:
The latest FAQ on this weapon lets you use this in two ways: "light mode" where it uses the table description for Scorpion Whips, and "one-handed mode" where it largely acts like a standard Whip. So you could dual-wield two of these with both in "light mode," or you could use a different mode for each hand. In the latter case the two weapons would behave very differently, but feats like Weapon Focus (scorpion whip), and Weapon Specialization (scorpion whip) would work for both weapons.
Trident and a Fighter's Fork:
The Fighter's Fork is one of my favorite magic weapons. It's not really powerful, but it is incredibly versatile. You can brace it, throw it as a trident, throw it as a javelin, shorten it until it is a light weapon, wield it as a one-handed weapon, wield it as a two-handed weapon without reach, or lengthen it into a two-handed reach weapon. And any feats that apply to standard tridents will work in any of its forms. With a regular trident in your main hand and Fighter's Fork (in light weapon mode) in the other, you would have two weapons that look different, but share feats.
Cestus+Shield used to be a strong combo for the Brawler Fighter. It's fallen out of favor since the release of Advance Weapon Training though since you can't use that mechanic with the archetype.Hmmm... can you tell me more abous this?
The Brawler Fighter was, at one point, considered one of the strongest ways to play a Fighter, though this admittedly was not a very impressive feat at the time. The Brawler works specifically with close weapons, trading out Weapon Training for a similar ability that offers a MUCH higher bonus than normal. The cestus happens to be the best close weapon available, and pairs well with a shield for a character with great offense and defense and a few interesting tricks like No Escape.
The Brawler is less valued these days because Close Combatant, while similar to Weapon Training, is still not Weapon Training as defined by an FAQ; therefore if you take this archetype you lose access to the best thing to ever happen to the Fighter.
The Brawler Fighter was, at one point, considered one of the strongest ways to play a Fighter, though this admittedly was not a very impressive feat at the time. The Brawler works specifically with close weapons, trading out Weapon Training for a similar ability that offers a MUCH higher bonus than normal. The cestus happens to be the best close weapon available, and pairs well with a shield for a character with great offense and defense and a few interesting tricks like No Escape.
The Brawler is less valued these days because Close Combatant, while similar to Weapon Training, is still not Weapon Training as defined by an FAQ; therefore if you take this archetype you lose access to the best thing to ever happen to the Fighter.
It also came pretty much packaged with its entire build. At level 13, it comes in and said "oh, have you remembered to grab stand still so that this good ability we gave you can perpetually lock down mages? No? Then have the feat. Oh, you did remember? Then here, have another bonus feat for being a good boy."