Weapon Qualities

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Weapon Properties

Adaptive Reach

A weapon which offers different grips, allowing it to be made into a reach weapon as a swift action, and returned to non-reach as another swift action. While using it as a reach weapon, it does not threaten adjacent squares and may not be used to make attacks against targets in adjacent squares, until returned to its non-reach grip. While wielded as a non-reach weapon, it may only attack adjacent squares, even if the weapon is large-sized or has more than 10 feet of reach in its reach-weapon grip.

Alchemical

This weapon may use alchemical creations, flasks, splash weapons, and bombs as ammunition.

Attached

A weapon with the Attached property grants a +10 bonus to your CMD to prevent you being disarmed. However, donning or removing an Attached weapon is a full round action.

Audible

This weapon is extremely easy to hear. When used, an audible weapon is easily detectible (DC5) within 50 feet. If applied to ammunition for a ranged weapon, audible ammunition is perceptible at any point within 50 feet of their flight path

Awkward

You may wield weapons in a hand already wielding an Awkward weapon, but take a -2 penalty to hit. You may also use that hand for Dex-based skill rolls while wielding the Awkward weapon, but such rolls take a -2 penalty as well.

Blocking

When fighting defensively or taking a full-defense action while wielding a Blocking weapon, you gain a +1 shield bonus to AC.

Brace

If you use a readied action to set a brace weapon against a charge, the weapon's base damage dice are doubled, and any damage adders due to high strength, feats, and weapon enhancement bonuses are doubled. If the Braced attack critically hits, the critical damage is resolved as if the crit multiplier were one higher than normal for the Braced weapon.

Brutal

A brutal weapon gains a +1 untyped bonus to each damage die rolled of the base weapon damage. This +1 bonus to damage cannot cause the damage die to exceed its maximum value. For example, a cruciate mace (d10 base) wielded by a level 15 character deals 3d10 base weapon damage. Because it has the brutal property, each of the d10's rolled that has a value of 9 or less gets +1 added to it. If a die comes up a natural 10, it does not gain the +1 bonus from brutal, since that would cause it to exceed its maximum die value. Note that brutal has no effect on bonus dice, precision dice or other non-base weapon damage dice.

Bullets

This weapon may use bullets and other stone-like ammunition.

Charge Defense

When wielding a weapon with the Charge Defense property, any time you Brace to receive a charge, if your readied attack hits, you receive a +2 untyped bonus to your AC against that foe only until the end of your next turn. Charge Defense weapons always have the Brace property as well.

Concealable

A weapon with the Concealable property is easier to hide on your person against searches for weapons. Simple weapons with this property grant a +2 weapon bonus to the owner's Sleight of Hand skill to hide the weapon. Martial weapons grant a +4 bonus, and Exotic weapons grant a +6. If the weapon has a magical enhancement bonus to-hit and damage, that enhancement bonus is also added to Sleight of Hand skill rolls to conceal the weapon.

Cumbersome

This weapon requires space to maneuver freely. If any adjacent space is considered blocked, you receive a -4 to hit. A space is considered blocked if there is a permanent object which takes up enough of the square that movement is not allowed into it. Typically this is a wall or pillar, but statues or other map features may constitute a blocked space. Creatures or low terrain elements like tables or stairs do not cause a space to be treated as blocked.

Deadly

When you use this weapon to deliver a coup de grace, it gains a +4 bonus to damage when calculating the DC of the Fortitude saving throw to see whether the target of the coup de grace dies from the attack. The bonus is also added to the actual base damage of the coup de grace attack, and as base damage, is multiplied at 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th levels when used by a high-level wielder.

Deceptive

The first attack made against each target in an encounter is made against the target's flat-footed AC. This allows the wielder to use abilities requiring that their target be flat-footed (such as sneak attack damage) when determining the attack's outcome. Creatures which cannot be flat-footed, such as those with Uncanny Dodge, are not affected by this weapon property.

Defensive

A defensive weapon grants a +1 weapon bonus to the wielder's AC and Reflex saves at all times while being wielded by a proficient user. This bonus does not increase from any magical enhancements the weapon may have, nor may it be stacked with any other weapon bonuses to AC or Reflex.

Disarm

When you use a disarm weapon, you get a +2 bonus on Combat Maneuver Checks to disarm an enemy. If the weapon has a magical enhancement bonus to-hit and damage, that enhancement bonus is also added to Combat Maneuver Checks to disarm your target.

Disarm Blades

A 'disarm blades' weapon gets a +4 bonus to Combat Maneuver checks to disarm an enemy wielding a weapon from the 'light blades' or 'heavy blades' weapon categories. Against all other weapons, it gains no bonus at all.

Dismounting

Whenever a Dismounting weapon is used to strike a mounted enemy, that enemy takes a -1 penalty to Ride checks to stay mounted. If the weapon has a magical enhancement bonus to-hit and damage, that enhancement bonus is also subtracted from the enemy's Ride checks to stay mounted.

Distracting

You gain a +2 bonus on Bluff skill checks to feint in combat while wielding this weapon. In addition, you may add the weapon's enhancement bonus for to-hit and damage to your skill check for resolving the Bluff attempt to Feint.

Double

You can use a double weapon to fight as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. You can choose to wield one end of a double weapon two-handed, but it cannot be used as a double weapon when wielded in this way-only one end of the weapon can be used in any given round.

Double Charge Damage

While on a mount and wielding a weapon with the Double Charge Damage property, the weapon's base damage dice are doubled, and any damage adders due to high strength, feats, and weapon enhancement bonuses are doubled. If the charge attack critically hits, the critical hit is treated as if the crit multiplier were one higher than normal for the weapon.

Entangling

An Entangling weapon has the ability to inflict the Entangled status condition when the requirements listed in the weapon's description are met. This can be anything from requiring a critical hit to simply inflicting damage past a creature's DR. See the weapon's description for details.

Expendable

Applied to thrown and ranged weapons, this property means that thrown weapons are treated as ammunition for the purposes of drawing them, crafting masterwork or otherwise special versions of them and what happens to them after they are thrown or fired.

Finesse

A weapon with the finesse property qualifies as a light weapon for anyone who wields it while using Weapon Finesse (Feat).

Forced Bleed

A weapon with the Forced Bleed property inflicts a bleed condition when the requirements listed in the weapon's description are met. The severity of the bleed is also listed in the weapon's description. What makes Forced Bleed unique is that the Bleed cannot be stopped until the weapon is removed from the victim's body. The process for removing the weapon is also in the weapon's description.

Fragile

Weapons and armor with the fragile quality cannot take the beating that sturdier weapons can. A fragile weapon gains the broken condition if the wielder rolls a natural 1 on an attack roll with the weapon. If a fragile weapon is already broken, the roll of a natural 1 does no further damage to the weapon. Masterwork and magical fragile weapons and armor lose the fragile property unless otherwise noted in the item description or the special material description.

If a weapon gains the broken condition by rolling a natural 1, that weapon is considered to have taken damage equal to half its hit points +1. This damage is repaired either by something that addresses the effect that granted the weapon the broken condition (like the Field Repair feat or the Mending cantrip/orison) or by the repair methods described in the broken condition.

• Link to d20pfsrd rules on Broken objects.

Grapple

When wielding a weapon with the Grapple property, if you successfully fulfill the requirements listed in the weapon description, you can initiate a grapple against your target. The wielder makes a combat maneuver check (CMB) to grapple his opponent as part of the attack action. This grapple attempt does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the creature you are attempting to grapple if that creature is not threatening you. While you grapple the target with a grappling weapon, you can only move or damage the creature on your turn. You are still considered grappled, though you do not have to be adjacent to the creature to continue the grapple. If you move far enough away to be out of the weapon's reach, you end the grapple with that action.

Handy

A Handy weapon is carried in the hand, rather than carried attached to the body. As such, it may be drawn as a swift action, or a free action if the wielder has the Quick Draw feat.

Hard-hitting

This weapon hits unusually hard for its size. Applied to a light weapon, it may be used with both hands to gain STR x1.5 bonus to damage instead of the standard STR x1.

Improvised Ammo

This ranged projectile weapon can use improvised objects as ammunition. Such ammunition is usually in the form of small stones, although other objects such as knots of dense wood, hard nuts, large teeth, knuckle bones, metal nuts and bolts, etc, can be used as well. In most natural settings Improvised Ammo can be found in ten minutes of searching. In more difficult areas a Survival skill roll versus an Average Skill DC, if successful, will locate 6d6 rounds of improvised ammo at no cost.

Inclusive Reach

An inclusive reach weapon has the reach property but can also attack and threaten adjacent squares.

Intimidating

The wielder of an Intimidating weapon gain a +2 weapon bonus to Intimidate rolls made during combat. In addition, you may add the weapon's enhancement bonus for to-hit and damage to your skill check for resolving the Intimidation attempt.

Massive

A weapon with the massive property requires a minimum Strength score of 18 to wield with proficiency. It may not be concealed through mundane means, and cannot be sheathed without a full-round action to stow in a suitably-sized pack or roll. If it is stowed in such a way, it requires another full-round action to fish it back out.

Massive weapons cannot be drawn from storage as part of a move action, nor do they benefit from the quick draw feat. Magic packs, such as the Handy Haversack still require a full-round action for retrieval, not because the pack fails to offer up the weapon but because a great deal of care must be taken to prevent the weapon from gratuitously removing the wielder's limbs when retrieving it.

For these reasons, massive weapons are nearly always carried in hand, balanced on a shoulder, which is when they normally gain the Handy property. This makes it much easier to get a Massive weapon into action in a fight, at the considerable cost of leaving the wielder with only one free hand outside of combat.

Massive weapons may never be wielded one-handed in combat, even if the weapon is one size smaller, or the wielder possesses a feat which would normally allow such a thing.

Melee Capable

Applied to a ranged weapon, allows the weapon to serve as a melee weapon when wielded by someone with proficiency with the weapon. Consult the weapons description for its melee characteristics. If not expressly defined, it works as Brass Knuckles. As a melee weapon, the weapon threatens, may grant flanks, and serves for attacks of opportunity.

Mighty

Applied to a ranged weapon, allows Str bonuses to be applied to damage rolls if an extra cost is paid per Str damage plus added, as detailed in the weapon's description.

Monk

These weapons are the only weapons usable by monks that may be used with the Echoing Strike and Flurry of Blows abilities. While a monk may spend a feat to gain proficiency in other weapons, only weapons with the "Monk" property can be used with Echoing Strike and Flurry of Blows.

Nonlethal

These weapons deal nonlethal damage (see Combat). They do not incur the -4 to-hit penalty for reducing lethal damage to non-lethal.

Non-Melee

Weapons with this property cannot be used as melee weapons, do not threaten squares, and thus cannot be used to make attacks of opportunity. Additionally, wielders of such weapons cannot assist with flanks.

Non-Threatening

Weapons with this property do not threaten squares, and thus cannot be used to make attacks of opportunity. Additionally, wielders of such weapons cannot assist with flanks.

One-Handed Only

Weapons with the One-Handed Only property may not be used with both hands to gain a Strength modifier bonus.

Pinning

When used as described in the weapons description, this weapon inflicts the Pinned condition upon the target.

Ponderous

Applied to ranged or thrown weapons, ponderous weapons are treated as giant-hurled boulders as regards to spell effects, feats, class abilities, etc. For example, ponderous thrown weapons are unaffected by a 'wind wall' spell and ignore the 'Deflect Arrows' feat.

Poor Melee

These weapons are intended to be thrown, not used in melee. While they are capable of threatening squares and providing flanks, they are not great melee weapons. As a result, using such weapons in melee combat suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls.

Powerful

Applied to ranged or thrown weapons, this property allows the 'Power Attack' feat and similar innate abilities to be used for attacks with this weapon. Note: Power Attack and Deadly Aim never stack.

Primitive Availability

These weapons may be constructed from scavenged materials at no cost, but doing so causes them to gain the Fragile property. Note that it requires a few minutes of work to 'make' a weapon with Primitive Availability. Simply snatching up a chair leg during a fight still counts as an improvised weapon.

Protective

Protective weapons provide a shield bonus to AC if you do not attack with the hand wielding them. When you attack with the protective weapon, the shield bonus is lost until the start of your next turn. The shield bonus is equal to the shield bonus of the Protective weapon, or 1, whichever is greater.

Provocative

A provocative weapon provokes attacks of opportunity from foes which threaten the wielder when the weapon is used to make an attack.

Range

This weapon can make attacks at range without penalty to a distance shown in the Range Increment of the weapon's description. Extra distance beyond the initial range increment suffers a -2 penalty per additional range increment after the first. The maximum distance of thrown weapons is 5 times the listed range increment. The maximum distance of projectile weapons is 10 times the listed range increment. The minimum possible range increment is 10 feet. If any property or effect would lower the Range Increment to less than ten feet, the weapon loses the Range property and must be thrown as an improvised weapon, namely, with a ten foot range increment and a -4 penalty on attack rolls.

Ranged Attack of Opportunity

When readied in the hand, this thrown or ranged weapon is extremely fast to react. Once per round, any foe who moves with thirty feet of the wielder is subject to an Attack of Opportunity as if the moving creature had just left a threatened square of the wielder. Five foot steps and forced movement do not trigger this ranged attack of opportunity unless other abilities grant that trigger. Note that a weapon with the Ranged Attack of Opportunity property does not grant flanks or actually threaten any differently than any other weapon, the only benefit is the ability to make an Attack of Opportunity.

Reach

Reach weapons are used to strike opponents 10, 15 or even 20 feet away, depending on the weapon (see the weapon's description), but cannot be used against an adjacent foe, nor does it threaten adjacent squares.

Restrictive

All attacks made with a Restrictive weapon are made at -1 to hit, because the weapon hinders the flexibility or movement of the wielder.

Retrieving

A weapon with the Retrieving property has the ability to draw a struck victim closer to the wielder. This is generally done by an attached rope. Retrieving is a type of Reposition maneuver, requiring an opposed CMB check against the victim's CMD. If successful, you may move a struck foe only into squares closer to you than the square the foe started in.

Ricochet

If you successfully strike your target, select a different foe within 10 feet of your first target and make another attack. Only roll damage once, but each target that was struck takes the full damage. On ranged and thrown weapons, this property is usually conferred by the ammunition chosen. On melee weapons, this property usually requires the fragile and expendable properties.

Silent

This weapon is unusually quiet when used. If you use a silent weapon while stealthed, the sniping penalty (-20) is reduced when you make a follow-up stealth check. The reduction for a simple weapon is 2, for a martial it is 4, and for an exotic it is 6. If the weapon has an enhancement bonus for to-hit and damage, that bonus is also subtracted from the sniping penalty.

Size Limited

A wielder must be Medium-size or larger to use the weapon effectively (or take an additional -3 penalty on attack rolls in addition to the standard -4 non-proficiency penalty).

Size-Specific

A Size-Specific weapon is only usable against a creature of the same size as the weapon. Thus, a size medium weapon may only be used against a size-medium creature. Attempting to use the weapon against an opponent who is incorrectly sized inflicts a -4 penalty to all rolls pertaining to the weapon's attacks and abilities. Creatures two or more size categories different than the weapon cannot be affected by the weapon at all.

Slow Crank

Applied to ranged weapons, if the user's STR score is too low, reloading takes additional time.

Slow-draw

This weapon always takes at least a move action to ready for use. This action time may not be reduced by feats, abilities, weapon properties, or any other effect which allows a weapon to be prepared with greater than normal speed.

Special

A weapon with the Special property has unique properties that it shares with no other weapon. Read the description carefully.

Stealthy

Weapons with the Stealthy property are designed to appear as something other than a weapon (e.g. the sword cane). Anyone examining the Stealthy weapon must make a Perception check to realize that it is, in fact, a weapon. The DC for this check is the wielder's Sleight of Hand check result with a bonus of +2 if the weapon is a simple weapon, +4 if the weapon is a martial weapon, and +6 if the weapon is an exotic weapon. If the weapon has an enhancement bonus for to-hit and damage, that bonus is also added to wielders Sleight of Hand check. The observer gets a bonus to their perception of +10 if they are able to pick up and handle the Stealthy weapon.

Stout

Weapons with the Stout property grant a +2 bonus to the wielder's CMD when resisting Sunder attempts. In addition, you may add the weapon's enhancement bonus for to-hit and damage to your CMD while resolving the sunder attempt.

Strength-based

Applied to ranged or thrown weapons, this property means that STR modifiers are used instead of DEX modifiers, both for to-hit and damage purposes.

Sunder

When you use a sunder weapon, you get a +2 Weapon bonus on Combat Maneuver Checks to make sunder attempts. In addition, you may add the weapon's enhancement bonus for to-hit and damage to your CMB for resolving the sunder attempt. Furthermore, sunder weapons can be used to make sunder attempts against unattended objects, structures and fortifications, including those made from metal or stone. See the Sunder and Breaking Objects pages for more information.

Note: Weapons made from special materials often have bonuses or penalties to Sunder checks. Such Material bonuses and penalties stack with the CMB bonus of a sunder weapon. Thus, a Great Pick made of Mithral gains +2 Sunder but also suffers a -2 penalty due to the lightweight Mithral construction. On the other hand, a Great pick made of Paramount Alloy gains a +5 to sunder attempts from the extremely hard and heavy metal, which adds to the +2 of the Sunder property for a bonus of a whopping +7 on Sunder attempts.

Sunder Blades

A 'sunder blades' weapon gets a +4 bonus to Combat Maneuver checks to sunder an enemy's weapon from the 'light blades' or 'heavy blades' weapon categories. In addition, you may add the weapon's enhancement bonus for to-hit and damage to your CMB for resolving the sunder attempt. Against all other weapons, it gains no bonus at all, nor can it be used to sunder metal or stone objects, structures or fortifications. See the Sunder page for more information.

Note: Weapons made from special materials often have bonuses or penalties to Sunder checks. Such Material bonuses and penalties stack with the CMB bonus of a sunder weapon.

Sunder Haft

A 'sunder haft' weapon gets a +4 bonus to Combat Maneuver checks to sunder an enemy's weapon that has a wooden haft, such as most polarms, axes, flails, etc. In addition, you may add the weapon's enhancement bonus for to-hit and damage to your CMB for resolving the sunder attempt. Against any weapon which does not have a wooden haft or handle, this property provides no benefit, nor can it be used to sunder metal or stone objects, structures or fortifications. See the Sunder page for more information.

Note: Weapons made from special materials often have bonuses or penalties to Sunder checks. Such Material bonuses and penalties stack with the CMB bonus of a sunder weapon.

Touch

When used as described in the weapons description, attacks with this weapon are resolved against the target's touch AC.

Trip

You can use a trip weapon to make trip, drag, and reposition attempts. In addition, you may add the weapon's enhancement bonus for to-hit and damage to your CMB for resolving the trip, drag, or reposition attempt. If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop the weapon to avoid being tripped.

Two-Handed

These weapons require two hands to use, and are treated as two-handed melee weapons as regards STR bonuses to damage (if any are allowed) and the effects of any feats which may be used with the weapons.

Unaware

A weapon with the 'unaware' property may only be used against an opponent who is either helpless or who has no knowledge of your location before you attack. Only a stealth check greater than the opponent's perception check can grant the unaware status. Note that even invisibility doesn't make you silent, and foes get a perception check to notice you (albeit at -20 to the roll, per the standard invisibility rules). See Stealth for more information.

Uncomfortable

These weapons have a quality similar to armor, in that they are uncomfortable to sleep in while wearing them. Anyone sleeping with an Uncomfortable weapon attached gains the Fatigued condition upon waking. This condition cannot be removed without resting with the weapon removed. Characters with the Endurance feat may ignore this property.

Unwieldy

An unwieldy weapon requires a great deal of space to properly use. If any adjacent square is considered blocked you cannot use the weapon, and if any square within ten feet of the wielder is considered blocked you have -4 to hit. A space is considered blocked if there is a permanent object which takes up enough of the square that movement is not allowed into it. Typically this is a wall or pillar, but statues or other map features may constitute a blocked space. Creatures or low terrain elements like tables or stairs do not cause a space to be treated as blocked.