Pathfinder – Stay Sharp When Wielding Weapons In Second Edition
Character customization is king in Pathfinder 2E, and weapons are no different. Each weapon is more than just a polyhedral die, they come with all the abilities and choices you’d expect.
That’s right folks! We’ve got another preview of Pathfinder 2nd Edition. Today it’s all about weapons, which as we all know, are an important part of any adventurer’s balanced diet. And having taken a look, I have to say, while some of the weapons seem to be layering on extra complexity, it all seems to play out incredibly cool.
Now insteaf of just being a varying damage die, weapons are a little more like an extra toolset for your character to draw on in combat. They can offer you extra combat options in a pinch, your choice to fight with a bo staff vs. a glaive actually has a mechanical distinction. And that’s potentially very fun–let’s dive in and take a look.
via Paizo
So for starters, the simple/martial/exotic distinction still stands, though it’s no longer generic medieval eruope as a default and exotic is “things not that” because weapons aren’t necessarily exotic based on where they’re from, but rather what they do. That means loads more people can wield katanas now.
Admittedly, it doesn’t make sense for an adventurer to “wield” a dropship, generally, but hey who am I to judge?
In Pathfinder Second Edition, we have a different way of talking about whether a weapon is likely to be found in a particular region, and so a weapon’s type instead describes a weapon’s mix of power and flexibility. Simple weapons usually have a smaller damage die than similar martial weapons (d6 rather than d8, for instance), and exotic weapons usually use the same damage die as a martial weapon but include additional abilities that make the weapon more complex.
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To illustrate just what weapons can do in 2nd Edition, Paizo shows off the Bo Staff, Glaive, and Greatsword.
A greatsword deals a lot of damage, perfect for a bruiser character like a worshiper of Gorum: its damage die is d12 and you can seamlessly switch between piercing and slashing damage to avoid enemy resistances and exploit their weaknesses.
A bo staff is all about controlling the fight. Its damage die is only d8, but it has reach (allowing you to Strike enemies up to 10 feet away), parry (allowing you to spend an action to increase your AC much like a light shield), and trip (giving you several benefits to your attempts to trip enemies). Plus, it has the monk trait, which weapon-wielding monks particularly enjoy.
The glaive has a d8 damage die like the bo staff and shares its reach, but that’s where the similarities end. The glaive has deadly d8 (dealing additional d8s of damage on a critical hit), and it is forceful (which means once you get it going and build up momentum, your attacks become more and more powerful: 1 extra damage per die on the second attack of your turn, 2 extra damage for any attacks after that). The glaive-user isn’t interested in giving up an action for defense like a character with a bo staff; instead, she does best if she artfully sweeps the blade like a brush, focusing on accuracy and multiple attacks to really dish out the damage—particularly fitting for a follower of Shelyn.
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That’s all real cool. I keep thinking it might be a little much for my taste, but, no–I really want to see how these weapon options differ. I like the different tactical options they give. The granularity in 2nd Edition might still be a little high, and I am curious to see if multiple weapons are viable, or if there will be a few king builds, but from what we’re seeing, this does all seem like a great little subsystem.
What do you think of new weapon options in Pathfinder 2E? Crunchy or too crunchy?
