Two-Weapon Fighting (Feat)

You can fight with a weapon wielded in each of your hands. You can make one extra attack each round with the secondary weapon.

Prerequisites: Level 1

Related: Dorn-Dergar Master (Feat), Double Slice (Feat) , Near and Far (Feat), Net and Trident (Feat),

Riddle of Steel (Feat), Two-Weapon Defense (Feat), Two-Weapon Fighting, Greater (Feat), Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved (Feat),

Two-Weapon Fighting, Perfect (Feat)

Benefit: Any character can wield two weapons (even without this feat), and doing so allows the wielder to perform an extra attack with their first attack (and only their first attack) of a full attack action. When dual-wielding, a character suffers penalties to all of their to-hit values for all attacks they perform with their main hand, as well as the extra attack they make with their off-hand, due to the difficulty of swinging around two weapons at once. Characters who take this feat can reduce these penalties to a more manageable level (but not eliminate them entirely). Penalties for dual-wielding apply to all attacks the character makes until the start of their next turn (including any attacks of opportunity they perform). A character can avoid these penalties by choosing not to perform the extra attack with their off-hand weapon in a given round.

While your full attack likely grants you more than one attack with your main hand, you can never perform more than one attack with your off-hand weapon (unless you also take one or more of the advanced two-weapon fighting feats, such as Improved Two-Weapon Fighting).

The extra attack with your off-hand weapon uses your highest to-hit roll (since it is made as part of the first attack of your full attack action), but is adjusted for the particular to-hit bonuses of your off-hand weapon, as well as the penalty for dual-wielding. As a result, it can be different from the to-hit value with your primary weapon. Similarly, damage calculations for your off-hand weapon are rolled separately, and are based on that weapon, not your primary weapon.

The extra attack with the off-hand weapon can be made against the same target you attack with your main hand, or a different target within reach.

Because the extra attack with your off-hand weapon is considered part of the first attack of your full attack action, anything that causes you to lose or use up your first attack of your full attack action (such as a Charge maneuver) would also prevent you from gaining this extra attack with your off-hand.

It is highly recommended (but not required) that off-hand weapons be light weapons, since using a one-handed weapon in your off-hand increases the penalties for dual-wielding even further.

See the table below to determine the exact penalties for dual-wielding. This table lays out the effects of this feat, as well as all higher-level two-weapon fighting feats.

Circumstances	Primary Hand	Off-Hand
Off-hand weapon is NOT light.	-6	-10
Off-hand weapon is light	-4	-8
Off-hand weapon is NOT light, and Two-Weapon Fighting feat	-4	-4
Off-hand weapon is NOT light, and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feat	-2	-2
Off-hand weapon is NOT light, and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting feat	-1	-1
Off-hand weapon is NOT light, and Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting feat	-0	-0
Off-hand weapon is light and Two-Weapon Fighting feat	-2	-2
Off-hand weapon is light and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feat	-1	-1
Off-hand weapon is light and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting feat	-0	-0
Off-hand weapon is light and Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting feat	-0	-0