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I was going to suggest a human character coming from a region where scimitars are uncommon might allow the Unconventional Weaponry feat to work, but I seem to recall this doesn't work for class feature beyond your proficiency bonus (it counts as a simple weapon for proficiency purposes, but it's still a martial weapon for all other purposes, including the Ruffian's sneak attack).
I think you are probably out of luck.
EDIT: I believe they have errata-ed nearly every 'treat this martial weapon as simple' feat to include the 'for proficiency purposes' limitation (although there may still be a few from volumes that have received errata yet).
Yeah, I don't think there's any way to change a martial weapon into a simple weapon, only ways "for proficiency purposes', and this is mainly due to Ruffian Rogue (as well as Deadly Simplicity).
Thematically, one might take another weapon, like a short sword or sickle, and say your PC's looks similar to a scimitar (but not enough to fool people for any advantages).
Or I suppose one might reskin the PC, call themselves a Rogue, but really be a Fighter/MCD Rogue or Precision Ranger.
Short Sword is a Martial weapon but Sickle could be used.
Short Sword is a Martial weapon but Sickle could be used.
All Rogues can use Sneak Attack w/ short swords despite it being martial.
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Short Sword is a Martial weapon but Sickle could be used.All Rogues can use Sneak Attack w/ short swords despite it being martial.
Yes, the Shortsword is a martial weapon that all rogues are proficient with, and they qualify for sneak attack because they meet the baseline 'an agile or finesse melee weapon' qualification.
The Scimitar isn't a particularly good weapon for rogues even if they could somehow sneak attack with it: Compared to the Shortsword, it's base damage is the same, it's limited to slashing damage only, it's significantly heavier (though not a major issue for ruffian strength builds), and it's MAP is worse. The Forceful trait sounds good, but given your sneak attack dice the Agile trait's accuracy bonus on subsequent attacks is far preferable (a single miss will easily offset the additional 'forceful' damage).
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I'm not looking at the scimitar for its stats, I'm looking at it for aesthetic! Ostensibly it's the weapon I'd want to use if I wanted to emulate this Age of Empires IV unit as a character, but what you're saying makes it sound like a rogue won't be able to make that work.
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Man, is there any build where the scimitar is a good pick?
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I'm not looking at the scimitar for its stats, I'm looking at it for aesthetic! Ostensibly it's the weapon I'd want to use if I wanted to emulate this Age of Empires IV unit as a character, but what you're saying makes it sound like a rogue won't be able to make that work.That's an easy fix then. You've just got some particularly curvy and robust shortswords.
At which point you probably want to go Thief rather than Ruffian...
Actually, if you just want the Scimitar image, you could go for the Elven Curve Blade as it is described as 'Essentially a longer version of the scimitar.' A human or elf could get access/proficiency with a single feat, and it qualifies for baseline sneak attack because it has the Finesse trait.
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Man, is there any build where the scimitar is a good pick?
Not really, forceful is kind a little bit of a trap because it takes so long to catch up to simply having a better die in the first place (even when paired with sweep).
And then most options that allow you to make a bunch of attacks don't work well with scimitars anyways.
There's also a little natural asynergy because usually if you have a one-handed weapon it's because you're doing something with your other hand (like dual wielding, using a shield, or enabling some special class feature), which often includes an action cost, which works against forceful's benefits.
The build it's good for is when it's actually the orc necksplitter. Or you've got one of those 18th level feats to attack everyone within 30 feet of you without map.Man, is there any build where the scimitar is a good pick?Not really, forceful is kind a little bit of a trap because it takes so long to catch up to simply having a better die in the first place (even when paired with sweep).
And then most options that allow you to make a bunch of attacks don't work well with scimitars anyways.
There's also a little natural asynergy because usually if you have a one-handed weapon it's because you're doing something with your other hand (like dual wielding, using a shield, or enabling some special class feature), which often includes an action cost, which works against forceful's benefits.
Forceful's a bad trait, too costly for its benefits. Compare a battle axe to a scimitar, and you're losing a die size to hopefully regain it on the second attack and get a payoff on the 3rd+? Yuk. So in any of the few builds that would use a scimitar well, one would do better with either a battle axe* or a short sword (Agile >>> Forceful).
It's unfortunate because we've had some thematic and effective builds based on scimitars. I can't imagine them returning in PF2. :-(
* Unless I suppose one really preferred the Critical Specialization of swords???
Yeah the necksplitter is the one exception, mostly because it's advanced (so it gets the die size the scimitar loses) and advanced weapons are a little cheap.
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Call it a "cutlass".