Paired battleaxes would take a hit in the attack bonus department. I'd also think that paired handaxes would lose a bit in damage, but perhaps the right feats would make it worth while. How about Improved Crit (handaxe)?
It averages a point less damage per hit, whether that's advantageous depends on the to-hit requirements.
Hmm, I suspect it'll be better off with a battleaxe/handaxe combo since it doesn't have fighter-only feats like Weapon Specialization.
Let's see...
1d8+2/1d8+1 with -4 attack vs 1d6+2/1d6+1 with -2 attack.
Let's compare average damages over medium to high hit probabilities, say 95% to 40% chances of hitting for the single weapon...
5.5*1.65 =
9.075 hp/round with single handaxe 95%
6.5*1.65 =
10.725 hp/round with single battleaxe 95%
6.5*1.25 + 5.5*0.75 =
12.250 hp/round with paired battleaxes 75%
5.5*1.45 + 4.5*0.85 =
11.800 hp/round with paired handaxes 85%
6.5*1.45 + 4.5*0.85 =
13.250 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 85%
5.5*1.55 =
8.525 hp/round with single handaxe 90%
6.5*1.55 =
10.075 hp/round with single battleaxe 90%
6.5*1.15 + 5.5*0.70 =
11.325 hp/round with paired battleaxes 70%
5.5*1.35 + 4.5*0.80 =
11.025 hp/round with paired handaxes 80%
6.5*1.35 + 4.5*0.80 =
12.375 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 80%
5.5*1.45 =
7.975 hp/round with single handaxe 85%
6.5*1.45 =
9.425 hp/round with single battleaxe 85%
6.5*1.05 + 5.5*0.65 =
10.400 hp/round with paired battleaxes 65%
5.5*1.25 + 4.5*0.75 =
10.250 hp/round with paired handaxes 75%
6.5*1.25 + 4.5*0.75 =
11.500 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 75%
5.5*1.35 =
7.425 hp/round with single handaxe 80%
6.5*1.35 =
8.775 hp/round with single battleaxe 80%
6.5*0.95 + 5.5*0.60 =
9.475 hp/round with paired battleaxes 60%
5.5*1.15 + 4.5*0.70 =
9.475 hp/round with paired handaxes 70%
6.5*1.15 + 4.5*0.70 =
10.625 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 70%
5.5*1.25 =
6.875 hp/round with single handaxe 75%
6.5*1.25 =
8.125 hp/round with single battleaxe 75%
6.5*0.85 + 5.5*0.55 =
8.550 hp/round with paired battleaxes 55%
5.5*1.05 + 4.5*0.65 =
8.700 hp/round with paired handaxes 65%
6.5*1.05 + 4.5*0.65 =
9.750 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 65%
5.5*1.15 =
6.325 hp/round with single handaxe 70%
6.5*1.15 =
7.475 hp/round with single battleaxe 70%
6.5*0.75 + 5.5*0.50 =
7.625 hp/round with paired battleaxes 50%
5.5*0.95 + 4.5*0.60 =
7.925 hp/round with paired handaxes 60%
6.5*0.95 + 4.5*0.60 =
8.875 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 60%
5.5*1.05 =
5.775 hp/round with single handaxe 65%
6.5*1.05 =
6.825 hp/round with single battleaxe 65%
6.5*0.65 + 5.5*0.45 =
6.700 hp/round with paired battleaxes 45%
5.5*0.85 + 4.5*0.55 =
7.150 hp/round with paired handaxes 55%
6.5*0.85 + 4.5*0.55 =
8.000 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 55%
5.5*0.95 =
5.225 hp/round with single handaxe 60%
6.5*0.95 =
6.175 hp/round with single battleaxe 60%
6.5*0.55 + 5.5*0.40 =
5.775 hp/round with paired battleaxes 40%
5.5*0.75 + 4.5*0.50 =
6.375 hp/round with paired handaxes 50%
6.5*0.75 + 4.5*0.50 =
7.125 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 50%
5.5*0.85 =
4.675 hp/round with single handaxe 55%
6.5*0.85 =
5.525 hp/round with single battleaxe 55%
6.5*0.45 + 5.5*0.35 =
4.850 hp/round with paired battleaxes 35%
5.5*0.65 + 4.5*0.45 =
5.600 hp/round with paired handaxes 45%
6.5*0.65 + 4.5*0.45 =
6.250 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 45%
5.5*0.75 =
4.125 hp/round with single handaxe 50%
6.5*0.75 =
4.875 hp/round with single battleaxe 50%
6.5*0.35 + 5.5*0.30 =
3.925 hp/round with paired battleaxes 30%
5.5*0.55 + 4.5*0.40 =
4.825 hp/round with paired handaxes 40%
6.5*0.55 + 4.5*0.40 =
5.375 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 40%
5.5*0.65 =
3.575 hp/round with single handaxe 45%
6.5*0.65 =
4.225 hp/round with single battleaxe 45%
6.5*0.30 + 5.5*0.25 =
3.325 hp/round with paired battleaxes 25%
5.5*0.45 + 4.5*0.35 =
4.025 hp/round with paired handaxes 35%
6.5*0.45 + 4.5*0.35 =
4.500 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 35%
5.5*0.55 =
3.025 hp/round with single handaxe 40%
6.5*0.55 =
3.575 hp/round with single battleaxe 40%
6.5*0.25 + 5.5*0.30 =
3.275 hp/round with paired battleaxes 20%
5.5*0.35 + 4.5*0.30 =
3.225 hp/round with paired handaxes 30%
6.5*0.35 + 4.5*0.30 =
3.625 hp/round with battleaxe/handaxe 30%
Hmm, it appears that paired handaxes are better than paired battleaxes except against very easy to hit targets, and the battleaxe/handaxe combo is
always better. If it was a fighter with lots of weapon feats the performance would probably skew in favour of one of the paired weapons, but we don't have to worry about that.
It'll probably only have Weapon Focus as an additional Weapon Feat, and a +1 attack is not enough to offset the -2 penalty difference between 1H/1H and 1H/light two weapon fighting.
So, shall we switch to battleaxe/handaxe?
I'd certainly like to have one sample as a pretty standard loup du noir, though I wouldn't necessarily object to two samples. How about a human ranger and your choice of an aquatic version?
