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@Claxon
I'd say it's a pretty well-known set of houserules. It may not be discussed as much on the Paizo forums as there's a considerable population of people that play by PFS Society, but for homebrews it's common to use Elephant in the room or something similar.
Maybe, but I would suggest that rather than assume people know what it stands for (outside of threads specifically discussing it) it would be better to assume people don't know it.
Of the 4 pbp or pnp games I am currently in, 3 use it fully or in part.
Experiences or exposure of course differ.
Yes, personal exposure does very. I've never done play by post, I've played with the same gaming group for the last 15-ish years and our group has never once talked about such a rule set.
I guess the point I'm making is, if it's not part of the official published rules it's probably worth explaining in minimal detail what something like that is rather than assume.
Or at the very least don't use an acronym and say something to the effect of "Under the Elephant in the Room ruleset..."
Lol, Ryze, well, if your group plays with critical fumbles, yes, I suppose thats a concern. Though the locked gauntlet and weapons cords are also a thing.
I mean, if carrying a ranged weapon works out for people, that's great, it just hasn't been my experience. I see these "just carry a bow" discussions all the time, and what I usually see happen in game is:
"Ok so the monster is just going to fly around and hit you with it's 50 ft. range electricity ray for 2d8 damage, and that's +12 to hit vs. touch AC".
"Ok great, so I drop my weapon and use move action to get out my bow and take a shot at it."
"Alright, it's AC is 21 and it has a 20% miss chance due to Wind Stance."
"Uh..right, ok, so, let's see, I'm level 5, so that's +2 Dex, +5 BAB, and +1 for my masterwork bow, so...rats, rolled an 11. I miss."
And sure, a ~40% chance to hit ain't nothing, but it's less than a coin flip, and there has to be something more efficient you could be doing in this case.
The only game that I haven't had some sort of critical fumble rules was a PbP PFS game. Every other table I've ever played at either used a critical fumble deck, or the GM had carte blanche freedom to decide what happens when you rolled a 1. So, if you're at a table where the GM considers a Nat 1 to be "you miss" and nothing else happens, then you probably don't need a backup weapon. But if you're carrying an Earthbreaker and have no other weapons, you're going to have a rough time cutting a rope bridge while a horde of orcs are chasing you. Some monsters have significant DR to B, P, &/or S, so carrying extra weapons for this alone is worth it too. And if you're a martial, carrying a ranged weapon so you're able to shoot at flying monsters with a 40% miss chance is better than not carrying a ranged weapon at all and having a 100% miss chance.
Like I said, I guess, but I still think some kind of consumable item for those instances might be better. Unless of course, it happens all the time, at which point you should just ask if you can reroll archer.
And yeah, a backup weapon for utility purposes like cutting stuff is fine. A case was made for being grappled or worse, swallowed whole; personally I like spiked armor for those instances.
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I have fought constructs that were capable of disarming my swashbuckler, and part of their action includes locking the weapon inside their body afterwards, so it cannot be reacquired. There is the "your weapon sticks to X" effect some mimics have and a few other creatures, My cavalier kept charging a mimic door and leaving the lances in it, while pulling another out for the next charge. Several spells that can whisk your weapon away or destroy it outright.
Attacks that target weapons are annoying. Buy yes, it's another solid reason to have a backup weapon or three.
Or be a mindblade magus, like me, and just manifest a new melee weapon when your first one gets damaged or dropped. :) I had to solo a caryatid column once because the rest of the party took more damage to their weapons than they could inflict in return.
The backup weapon is often a light weapon used when your primary weapon gets broken, when you're swallowed or when you need another damage type.
It can be a dagger, a handaxe, a short sword, a light mace, name it.
the liquid blade is a rather interesting and easy to conceal backup weapon. Though downside, it is not permanent.