martial arts themed spear?

[Braininthejar]

I wanted to make a spear-wielding dex built fighter, but it seems a spear is not a finesse weapon.

apart from that weird multi-pronged elf spear, what are my options?

[happykj]

Advances Weapon Training "Fighter's Finesse" allow you to apply weapon finesse to a weapon group, though you need at least level 5.

[Azothath]

Best Weapon Finesse weapons by Average Weapon Damage(AWD);
AWD; Name[PFS]; Price; dmg(m); crit; multi; Type; CM; Prfc; Hnd.
6.33; Elven Curve Blade; 80 gp; 1d10; 18+; *2; S; —; 3 Exotic; 2 Two-Handed.
5.75; Estoc; 50 gp; 2d4; 18+; *2; P; —; 3 Exotic; 3 2hnd M 1hnd X.
5.25; Spiked Chain; 25 gp; 2d4; 20; *2; P; disarm, trip; 3 Exotic; 2 Two-Handed.
4.95; Elven branched spear; 20 gp; 1d8; 20; *3; P; brace, reach; 3 Exotic; 2 Two-Handed.
4.95; Aldori Dueling Sword; 20 gp; 1d8; 19+; *2; S; —; 3 Exotic; 1 One-Handed.
4.03; Elven Thornblade; 60 gp; 1d6; 18+; *2; P or S; —; 3 Exotic; 1 One-Handed.
4.03; Rapier; 20 gp; 1d6; 18+; *2; P; —; 2 Martial; 1 One-Handed.
4.03; Scimitar (via dervish feat); 20 gp; 1d6; 18+; *2; S; —; 2 Martial; 1 One-Handed.
4.03; Spiral rapier; 80 gp; 1d6; 18+; *2; P; blocking, disarm, see text; 3 Exotic; 1 One-Handed.
4.03; Wakizashi; 35 gp; 1d6; 18+; *2; P or S; deadly; 3 Exotic; 0 Light.
4.03; Waveblade[!PFS]; 5 gp; 1d6; 18+; *2; P or S; monk, see text; 3 Exotic; 0 Light.
3.85; Boarding Axe; 6 gp; 1d6; 20; *3; P or S; —; 2 Martial; 0 Light.
3.85; Dogslicer; 8 gp; 1d6; 19+; *2; S; fragile; 2 Martial; 0 Light.
3.85; Dwarven Maulaxe; 25 gp; 1d6; 20; *3; B or S; —; 3 Exotic; 0 Light.
3.85; Gladius; 15 gp; 1d6; 19+; *2; P or S; performance; 2 Martial; 0 Light.
3.85; Handaxe; 6 gp; 1d6; 20; *3; S; —; 2 Martial; 0 Light.
3.85; Knuckle Axe; 9 gp; 1d6; 20; *3; S; monk, performance; 3 Exotic; 0 Light.
3.85; Machete; 10 gp; 1d6; 19+; *2; S; —; 2 Martial; 0 Light.
3.85; Pata; 14 gp; 1d6; 20; *3; P; performance; 3 Exotic; 0 Light.
3.85; Quadrens; 8 gp; 1d6; 19+; *2; P; performance; 3 Exotic; 0 Light.
3.85; Shortsword; 10 gp; 1d6; 19+; *2; P; —; 2 Martial; 0 Light.
-others-

Wpn Fnss for CM Disarm, Sunder, Trip only. See Agile Maneuvers feat for all CM.
For Keen look for "18+".
For TWF Fighters the Bastard Sword & Estoc with Exotic Wpn Prfc works as a 3 2hnd M 1hnd X, the bastard sword lacks estoc's text for 1hnd use with Wpn Fnss.

[Braininthejar]

Happykj: Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for.

Azothath: If I finesse a two handed weapon, do I get dex to attack and 1.5 str to damage?

[Azothath]

Braininthejar wrote:

Azothath: If I finesse a two handed weapon, do I get dex to attack and 1.5 str to damage?

trick question as WpnFnss does not address weapon damage.

Weapon Finesse feat {paraphrase}light weapon, natural weapon, whip, spiked chain on Attack rolls, not damage rolls. Fighter's Finesse specifies a light weapon group.
Ofcourse there are exceptions, notably elven branched spear. So here you would get 1.5*Str bonus added to weapon damage.
The estoc (and possibly bastard sword via GM caveat) has explicit text allowing 1hnd/2hnd Wpn Fnss with exotic proficiency.
The switching about only works with 1hnd(or effectively 1hnd'd) weapons.

see Weapons - Rules {excerpts below}
light weapon: Using two hands to wield a light weapon gives no advantage on damage; the Strength bonus applies as though the weapon were held in the wielder’s primary hand only. An unarmed strike is always considered a light weapon.
one-handed weapon: Add the wielder’s Strength bonus to damage rolls for melee attacks with a one-handed weapon if it’s used in the primary hand, or 1/2 his Strength bonus if it’s used in the off hand. If a one-handed weapon is wielded with two hands during melee combat, add 1-1/2 times the character’s Strength bonus to damage rolls.

Bucklers and Shields play into this on the to hit side with penalties. Quickdraw shield is handy. Quick Draw feat is nice BUT how often do social close encounters or social mingling turn immediately violent? Knowing you can act in the surprise round seems more practical.

Slashing Grace gets ugly rule wise.

[Mysterious Stranger]

If you are using the mythic rules this would work if you take mythic weapon finesse and fighter’s finesse.

If you are not using mythic the only real way is going to be using an elven branch spear and taking 3 levels of unchained rogue. Slashing Grace does not work with spears, and fencing grace only applies to rapiers.

Unless your GM is willing to bend the rules for you, I don’t see any other options.

[Melkiador]

The warrior poet is close to this but with naginata and glaives.
https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Samurai%20Warrior%20Poet

[Azothath]

Samurai Wpn Prfc: smpl, mrtl, plus katana, naginata, and wakizashi.
then War Poet Wpn Fnss (free) adding 2 glaive & glaive-guisarme mrtl 2hnd, 1 katana extc 1hnd, 1 naginata mrtl 2hnd as light weapons... so the katana is the only find. The archetype trades away a lot for spring attack and forces MAD with CHA bonus to AC. Next! It is better as a dip for a CHA based caster, and then there's Skald

If I went for a more stand-alone Samurai fighter, the Ironbound Sword is quite nice as it stacks with Fighter levels.

[Melkiador]

Warrior poet doesn't actually force you to do the charisma to AC. You still have light armor proficiency and all other abilities work with light armor. As a dexterity-based build, it is just trading out the heavier armor proficiencies for the option to not need armor at all. So, you aren't losing much in that trade. Those proficiencies would just be taking up space on a dex-based ironbound sword build, or on most of the fighter builds to do this.

[happykj]

Braininthejar wrote:

Happykj: Thank you. This is exactly what I was looking for.

Azothath: If I finesse a two handed weapon, do I get dex to attack and 1.5 str to damage?

Yes, you get dex to attack and 1.5 str to damage. Weapon Finesse didnt alter your damage roll