TWF Questions.

[Corwin of Amber]

I was just wondering a few things about TWF.

- Suppose, for the following questions that I have 18 strength, a BAB of +2, and the TWF feat. Wielding a two-handed weapon would give me an attack bonus of (+4)*1.5 + 2 = +8 AB. A light/one-handed weapon would give me 4 + 2 = +6 AB.

-If I have 4 arms (Thri-kreen, for example) can I choose to TWF with two Greatswords, rather than MWF with 4 Longswords, for the attack routine: Greatsword +6/Greatsword +6? Also, whatmultiplier would be added to the extra damage due to strength?

- Suppose I TWF with Armor Spikes and a Greatsword. Would my attack routine be: Greatsword +6/Armor Spikes +4 dealing +1.5*Str with the Greatsword and +0.5*Str with the Spikes?

- Can you TWF with Unarmed Strikes and one Spiked Gauntlet or are the gauntlets a pair?

 

[Herzog]

Wielding a two-handed weapon would give me an attack bonus of (+4)*1.5 + 2 = +8 AB.

No. It would give you a +4+2=+6 attack bonus. It would, however, give you a (+4)*1.5=+6 strength bonus to damage.

 

[Corwin of Amber]

No. It would give you a +4+2=+6 attack bonus. It would, however, give you a (+4)*1.5=+6 strength bonus to damage.

Oh, wow. My group has been playing that the 1.5 multiplier applied to attack as well. I didn't even realize that it was a houserule.

 

[frankthedm]

Uhg. I'm usually all for houserules, but that's "Like giving a kanabō to an oni".

 

[Sekhmet]

-If I have 4 arms (Thri-kreen, for example) can I choose to TWF with two Greatswords, rather than MWF with 4 Longswords, for the attack routine: Greatsword +6/Greatsword +6? Also, whatmultiplier would be added to the extra damage due to strength?

- Suppose I TWF with Armor Spikes and a Greatsword. Would my attack routine be: Greatsword +6/Armor Spikes +4 dealing +1.5*Str with the Greatsword and +0.5*Str with the Spikes?

- Can you TWF with Unarmed Strikes and one Spiked Gauntlet or are the gauntlets a pair?

As a DM, dual wielding Greatswords would be a nightmare, especially when trying to consider the actual logistics of using them in such a manner.
Greatswords are used for long, wide sweeps and to be used effectively, attacks must carry through with it's use.
Using two, attacks would get caught up in each other because the Thri-kreen could not carry them through properly, so they would resort to short, choppy movements which are hardly effective and extremely draining physically, especially for the sword in the off hands.

I'm actually not sure how I would rule Armor Spikes as an "Off hand weapon", considering they are not wielded. How exactly are you planning to attack with them?

Yes, you can TWF with Unarmed & a Spiked Gauntlet. Magical gauntlets must be used as a pair, but Spiked Gauntlets are mundane (even if you enchant one, it does not need to be a pair).

 

[Sekhmet]

Also, http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-legacy-discussion/248016-two-weapon-fighting-iterative-attacks.html We had this discussion a while ago (not with a Thri-kreen, of course), and we verified that Greatswords (and Large Longswords) cannot be offhanded with any combination of feats.

Although a Thri-kreen has four arms, it still has three "off hands" and one "primary hand", which I would say should rightfully carry this argument well. Even the Marilith multi-weapon fights (because at that point, it does more damage anyway).

 

[Dandu]

- Can you TWF with Unarmed Strikes and one Spiked Gauntlet or are the gauntlets a pair?

Punch, kick, elbow to the face.

 

[Sekhmet]

Also, http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-legacy-discussion/248016-two-weapon-fighting-iterative-attacks.html We had this discussion a while ago (not with a Thri-kreen, of course), and we verified that Greatswords (and Large Longswords) cannot be offhanded with any combination of feats.

Although a Thri-kreen has four arms, it still has three "off hands" and one "primary hand", which I would say should rightfully carry this argument well. Even the Marilith multi-weapon fights (because at that point, it does more damage anyway).

 

[Corwin of Amber]

Uhg. I'm usually all for houserules, but that's "Like giving a kanabō to an oni".

I like this. In retrospect, this did seem powerful compared to the attacks of a TWF and Sword-and-Board fighter. I will bring it up and ask for reasons why. Although, I should also point out that I recently learned that my group allowing an equal amount of off-hand attacks whenever a normal attack is made was also wrong. (ex - move and attack + one off-hand).

I'm actually not sure how I would rule Armor Spikes as an "Off hand weapon", considering they are not wielded. How exactly are you planning to attack with them?

I've studied various forms of martial arts and we commonly add in knees, ebows, shoulder checks, or kicks while wielding a bo (quarterstaff) or nunchaku (which needs to be used two-handed to be more than a fancy blackjack). Although I've never studied Kendo or any other swordfighting style, so I don't really know if there is a difference there.

I have to say that I agree with the Greatsword argument. Considering large swords like that were used as much for simply bludgeoning people in armor as much as cutting them, it makes sense. I was just asking for the coolness factor (with Thri-Kreen as the most likely PC circumstance to elicit such a question).

 

[Dandu]

I'm actually not sure how I would rule Armor Spikes as an "Off hand weapon", considering they are not wielded. How exactly are you planning to attack with them?

Armor Spikes

You can have spikes added to your armor, which allow you to deal extra piercing damage (see Table: Weapons) on a successful grapple attack. The spikes count as a martial weapon. If you are not proficient with them, you take a -4 penalty on grapple checks when you try to use them. You can also make a regular melee attack (or off-hand attack) with the spikes, and they count as a light weapon in this case. (You can’t also make an attack with armor spikes if you have already made an attack with another off-hand weapon, and vice versa.)
An enhancement bonus to a suit of armor does not improve the spikes’ effectiveness, but the spikes can be made into magic weapons in their own right.

You're welcome.