What would be adequate conditions to give access to uncommon weapons w / o a feat investment?

[Schreckstoff]

Was tinkering with a thief mauler when I realized all the 2 handed finesse weapons are uncommon. Well all 2 of them I could find

Now mauler gives scaling 2 handed proficiency already which would make unconventional weaponry or ancestral weaponry feats only for accessibility and neither could give you access to the spiked chain.

Would it be enough to be an artisan of the forge to be allowed to craft a spiked chain? Would an elf be allowed access to an Elven curveblade w/o Ancestral weapon familiarity?

It's not a big deal probably but I hate "wasting" feats

[WatersLethe]

Ask your GM if you can buy them.

[Schreckstoff]

WatersLethe wrote:

Ask your GM if you can buy them.

I was thinking also as a GM. Like a 10x multiplier on the price or a super elvish background and story.

I couldn't find anything why the spiked chain is uncommon or what its background is hence why I would have thought of a master Smith or some kind of weapon master background.

[thenobledrake]

The way to get uncommon stuff without a feat that specifically says you can get it is to talk with your GM about how to do it, but generally speaking given the way the book describes what each rarity means all it should take to have access to an uncommon thing is for your character to have been in the right place for it.

With an elven curve blade, that means being where the elven smiths that make them actually are. Being an elf isn't enough on it's own, but being in an actual elven city should be.

For the spiked chain, that's more of a tricky thing because the uncommon trait isn't assigned because of who makes it or where it is made, but because most folks don't have a reason to make them because most folks don't have much reason to wield that weapon instead of a more readily available one. Setting-wise a spiked chain is mostly associated with the Hellknight Order of the Chain, shadow giants, and horned devils - so if your character has some kind of interaction/relationship with one or more of those, that's a reasonable way to get access to a spiked chain.

[Lightning Raven]

The point of tagging items uncommon is to limit their access in character creation and increase the difficulty of finding them in game. So if a player wants to find something, they can spend downtime looking for it in an appropriate settlement. Otherwise, the player can commission the item and pay the appropriated fees and wait for the item's completion(in game knowledge of the item's existence may be an issue).

Of course, the above in no way apply to stuff with the Rare tag. These should be woven into the story and should have a significant investment. I think having adventures, challenges and special NPC's with the relevant item/feat/etc is the least one can expect to go through to gain access to those. Of course, these obviously precludes rare options granted by character creation.

[Garbage-Tier Waifu]

If your backstory adequately explains how or why you can access it, and your gm is okay with it, then that's fine.

Rarity is less about inaccessibility but literally rarity from the perspective of the Europe/American-esque fantasy, or hyperspeciality of the weapon in question. If you are in an area the piece of equipment is abundant or regularly used, or from that location, you have a very good justification for having it.

For instance, khopeshes are uncommon but typical in Osirion and the surrounding regions, so you could get one easily from there.

Similarly, some uncommon weapons are more than from divides of ethnicity or locality. Some are just downright bizarre for weapons. Flame poi are very, very weird, bladed scarves are only used by very dedicated practitioners

Some are limited to profession. Nightsticks aren't used by warriors, it's for a specific kind of profession and you would need to go find a guardsman to feasibly acquire one, not a weapons trader. And it is debatable you'd even be able to buy one in the first place.

Breaking this down:
If you're from Osirion, you can get a Khopesh with zero issue. To say no is quite weird given it is a cultural weapon. (Also anywhere that Osirion controlled or it's people migrated too are likely to use the weapon, like Katapesh)

If you are some kind of performer turned mercernary, then a bladed scarf or flame poi could be a way of transitioning your skills over to a new profession.

If you were a former guardsman, retaining your nightstick makes SOME sense. But more so if you remain a guardsman.

[Schreckstoff]

This all makes a lot of sense. Thank you you've all been very helpful.

[Mathmuse]

The most honorable way to gain uncommon weaponry is to loot them off the body of a powerful enemy who was using those weapons against your character. Then your character has earned those weapons as trophies. Levels later, once the character demonstrated to the world that he or she had mastered the weapons, an elderly elven weaponsmith from an exotic faraway land who mastered lost smithing techniques can approach the hero and say, "I have been seeking a suitable recipient of the greatest weapons I ever forged," to give the hero a new level-appropriate set.

As a GM, I am willing to provide any resources that way. "Hey, the dead boss still has two potions of the kind I wanted! I was scared when he drank two mid-combat." "You were scared because he almost killed you?" "No, I was scared that he would drink all he had."

[breithauptclan]

To summarize

Uncommon: it isn't going to be found as normal treasure/loot and it isn't available for purchase in every corner market you come across. You can instead find it from uncommon loot or as the result of a side quest, or have it be commonly available because of setting, backstory, character development, or plot point.