Off-hand weapons. Meaningless?

[Zaruthustran]

PHB p 215 "Some one-handed weapons are light enough for you to use in your off hand while holding another one-handed weapon in your other hand."

Since sword and javelin are one-handed weapons, you can't fight effectively if you're holding both of them. The rules are unclear on what that means, exactly. Likely, it means you can't attack with the javelin if you've got a sword in your main hand.

If he wanted to toss the javelin he could sheath the sword (minor), toss the javelin (standard), and draw the sword (move --> minor).

In my experience, running fighters, it's worthwhile to leave the sword sheathed and carry a javelin in-hand when traveling outdoors or any other area where encounters are likely to begin beyond move+charge range. You can throw a javelin *far*, and you're even likely to hit since it's Heavy Thrown and uses your Str mod on the attack. Then just draw your sword as a minor.

 

[am181d]

What's stopping the fighter from tossing the javelin? I hope this isn't a stupid questions, but I feel like it is...

He's not left handed?

 

[jaw6]

I'm glad someone asked this; it was bugging me, too!

 

[mendahu]

I think this falls into another category of 4e really bottlenecking ideas. If you want to fight with two weapons, play a ranger. Otherwise keep your mouth shut. Don't use your imagination to bridge ideas between classes. Put that javelin down, Mr. Fighter. You use a shield.

 

[Tale]

I think this falls into another category of 4e really bottlenecking ideas. If you want to fight with two weapons, play a ranger. Otherwise keep your mouth shut. Don't use your imagination to bridge ideas between classes. Put that javelin down, Mr. Fighter. You use a shield.

Nobody's bottlenecking ideas. They're just focusing the core ones and minimizing dice rolls. There's certain to be books out that include two-weapon powers for fighters, they're just not included with the core PHB because that's not at the core of the fighter.

 

[DLichen]

Actually, two weapon fighting is plenty viable for a fighter, especially if he goes with throwing weapons on the offhand.

They're as good as a light shield on defense and you get +1 damage and you can chuck them around while keeping a bigger damage die on your melee attacks.

 

[The Sword 88]

^^^Exactly and for a rogue you always go with the bastard sword in the right hand, dagger in the left so you can bastard sword stuff when you don't have combat advantage but as a rogue you should almost always have combat advantage.

 

[Cirex]

^^^Exactly and for a rogue you always go with the bastard sword in the right hand, dagger in the left so you can bastard sword stuff when you don't have combat advantage but as a rogue you should almost always have combat advantage.

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding your post, but holding a dagger at one hand and using the bastard sword in the other doesn't let you use rogue powers. When it says "wield a light blade" it's use a light blade. Considering the opposite is just an exploit and the DM, using common sense, should not allow it.

 

[DLichen]

You can use the offhand lightblade for actual powers while making basic melee attacks with the broadsword.

Inefficient, but legal.

 

[chaotix42]

Right. For instance, the bugbear rogue uses sneak attack + exploit with a dagger in his off-hand, then takes OAs with the bastard sword in his main hand.