Two-Weapon Style

With this popular style, the fighter has a weapon in each hand — usually a longer weapon in his good hand and a shorter one in his off-hand. Unless the character has Style Specialization in this Style, the second (off-hand) weapon must be shorter than the primary weapon.

Advantages

One great advantage to this style is that you always have another weapon in hand if you drop or lose one. A single Disarm maneuver cannot rid you of your weapons.

Disadvantages

The principal disadvantage to this style, as with some other styles, is that you don't gain the AC benefit of a shield.

Style Specialization

A tricky fighting style available only to warriors and rogues is that of fighting with two weapons simultaneously. The character chooses not to use a shield in favor of another weapon, granting him a greater number of attacks, with a penalty to his attack rolls (rangers are exempt from the attack roll penalty).

When using a second weapon in his hand, a character is limited in his weapon choice. His principal weapon can be whatever he chooses, provided it can be wielded with one hand. The second weapon must be smaller in size and weight than the character's main weapon (though a dagger can always be used as a second weapon, even if the primary weapon is also a dagger). A fighter can use a long sword and a short sword, or a long sword and a dagger, but he cannot use two long swords. Nor can the character use a shield, unless it is kept strapped onto his back.

When attacking, all characters but rangers suffer penalties to their attack rolls. Attacks made with the main weapon suffer a -2 penalty, and attacks made with the second weapon suffer a -4 penalty. The character's Reaction Adjustment (based on his Dexterity) modifies this penalty. A low Dexterity score will worsen the character's chance to hit with each attack. A high Dexterity can negate this particular penalty, although it cannot result in a positive modifier on the attack rolls for either weapon (i.e., the Reaction Adjustment can, at best, raise the attack roll penalties to 0).

The use of two weapons enables the character to make one additional attack each combat round, with the second weapon. The character gains only one additional attack each round, regardless of the number of attacks he may normally be allowed. Thus a warrior able to attack 3/2 (once in the first round and twice in the second) can attack 5/2 (twice in the first round and three times in the second).

If you devote a weapon proficiency slot to style specialization with Two-Weapon Style, you get two important benefits. First, your attack penalty drops; before, it was a -2 with your primary weapon and -4 with your secondary. but with Specialization in Two-Weapon Style it becomes 0 with your primary weapon and a -2 with your secondary weapon. (If you're already ambidextrous, that penalty is 0 with primary weapon and 0 with secondary weapon.) Second, you're allowed to use weapons of the same length in each hand, so you can, for example, wield two long swords.

When fighting with two-weapon technique, you can choose for both weapons to try the same maneuver (for example, two strikes, or two disarms), or can have each try a different maneuver (one strike and one parry, one pin and one strike). If the two maneuvers are to be different, each receives a -1 attack penalty.

Though rangers don't suffer the off-hand penalties for two-weapons use, they do not get a bonus to hit if they devote a weapon proficiency slot to Two-Weapon Style. They do get the other benefit, of being able to use weapons of equal length.

Sample Style Specialization

Here's an example of how a character can use the weapon proficiencies, weapon specialization, and style specialization rules to become very dangerous and very versatile indeed.

Berris is a 1st level fighter, but he's already very accomplished with his weapon of choice, the Bastard Sword. He has taken Weapon Specialization with the Bastard Sword (two slots), Two- Hander Style Specialization with the Bastard Sword (one slot), and Single-Weapon Style Specialization with the Bastard Sword (one slot).

From his weapon specialization, he receives a +1 to hit and +2 to damage whenever using a Bastard Sword, regardless of the technique he uses.

When using the weapon in Single-Weapon Style, one-handed, he gets a +1 to AC.

When using the weapon in Two-Hander Style, his weapon's speed factor drops from an 8 (normal two-handed speed factor for the Bastard Sword) to a 5. making it a very quick weapon in his hands.