Type of Feat: General
Prerequisite: None.
Required For: Improved Two-Weapon Fighting.
Specifics: A character with this feat reduces the penalties suffered when fighting with two weapons. The normal penalty of -6 to the primary hand and -10 to the off-hand becomes -4 for the primary hand and -8 for the off-hand.
The Ambidexterity feat further reduces the attack penalty for the second weapon by 4 (to -4/-4). Best results are achieved if the off-hand weapon is light, further reducing the penalty for both the primary and off-hand by 2 (to -2/-2) as indicated in the table below.
Use: This feat is used automatically during combat. Rangers have the option of selecting a form of this feat (Combat Style: Dual Wielding) for free at level 2.
Notes[]
| Considerations | Main Hand | Off-Hand |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Penalties | -6 | -10 |
| Ambidexterity | -6 | -6 |
| Light Off-Hand Weapon | -4 | -8 |
| Two-Weapon Fighting | ||
| Ambidexterity and Light Off-Hand Weapon | -4 | -4 |
| Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting | ||
| Two-Weapon Fighting and Light Off-Hand Weapon | -2 | -6 |
| Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Light Off-Hand Weapon | -2 | -2 |
When dual-wielding, the main weapon gets the full strength modifier as a damage bonus, while the off-hand weapon gets half that (rounded down). A negative strength modifier will apply its full penalty to both the main-hand and off-hand weapon.
The only weapons which are one category smaller than the standard weapon for characters of small stature and therefore have a reduced attack penalty when wield by them in the off-hand are those of the 'tiny' size category; this includes the dagger and the kukri. Likewise, characters of small stature can only dual wield weapons of the 'small' size category or lower.
Characters of small stature will also not gain sneak attack bonuses when using the rapier (which would otherwise qualify for the sneak attack bonus for characters of larger size categories) as it does not effectively count as a 'light' weapon for them since it can only be wield by them as a 2-handed weapon.