Weapon Basics

Weapon Categories

Weapons are grouped into several interlocking sets of categories.

These categories pertain to what training is needed to become proficient in a weapon’s use (simple, martial, or exotic), the weapon’s usefulness either in close combat (melee) or at a distance (ranged, which includes both thrown and projectile weapons), its relative encumbrance (light, one-handed, or two-handed), and its size (which defaults to Medium).

Simple, Martial, and Exotic Weapons

Most classes are proficient with all simple weapons, though some are not (such as the druid, monk, and wizard). Barbarians, fighters, paladins, and rangers, among others, are proficient with all simple and all martial weapons. Characters of other classes are proficient with an assortment of mainly simple weapons and possibly also some martial or even exotic weapons. What weapon proficiency a class grants is in the description of each class.

A character who uses a weapon with which he or she is not proficient takes a -4 penalty on attack rolls.

Melee and Ranged Weapons

Melee weapons are used for making melee attacks, though some of them can be thrown as well. Ranged weapons are thrown weapons or projectile weapons that are not effective in melee.

Reach Weapons

Glaives, guisarmes, lances, longspears, ranseurs, spiked chains, and whips are reach weapons. A reach weapon is a melee weapon that allows its wielder to strike at targets that aren’t adjacent. Most reach weapons double the wielder’s natural reach, meaning that a typical Small or Medium wielder of such a weapon can attack a creature 10 feet away, but not a creature in an adjacent square. A typical Large character wielding a reach weapon of the appropriate size can attack a creature 15 or 20 feet away, but not adjacent creatures or creatures up to 10 feet away.

Note: Small and Medium creatures wielding reach weapons threaten all squares 10 feet (2 squares) away, even diagonally. (This is an exception to the rule that 2 squares of diagonal distance is measured as 15 feet.)

Double Weapons

Dire flails, dwarven urgroshes, gnome hooked hammers, orc double axes, quarterstaffs, and two-bladed swords are double weapons. A character can fight with both ends of a double weapon as if fighting with two weapons, but he or she incurs all the normal attack penalties associated with two-weapon combat, just as though the character were wielding a one-handed weapon and a light weapon.

The character can also choose to use a double weapon two handed, attacking with only one end of it. A creature wielding a double weapon in one hand can’t use it as a double weapon—only one end of the weapon can be used in any given round.

Thrown Weapons

Daggers, clubs, shortspears, spears, darts, javelins, throwing axes, light hammers, tridents, shuriken, and nets are thrown weapons. The wielder applies his or her Strength modifier to damage dealt by thrown weapons (except for splash weapons).

It is possible to throw a weapon that isn’t designed to be thrown (that is, a melee weapon that doesn’t have a numeric entry in the Range Increment column on the table), but a character who does so takes a -4 penalty on the attack roll.

Throwing a light or one-handed weapon is a standard action, while throwing a two-handed weapon is a full-round action. Regardless of the type of weapon, such an attack scores a threat only on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a critical hit, regardless of the weapon’s normal critical hit attributes. Such a weapon has a range increment of 10 feet.

Projectile Weapons

Light crossbows, slings, heavy crossbows, shortbows, composite shortbows, longbows, composite longbows, hand crossbows, and repeating crossbows are projectile weapons. Most projectile weapons require two hands to use (see specific weapon descriptions).

A character gains no Strength bonus on damage rolls with a projectile weapon unless it’s a specially built composite shortbow, a specially built composite longbow, or a sling. If the character has a penalty for low Strength, apply it to damage rolls when he or she uses a bow or a sling.

The type of damage a projectile weapon deals is based on the type of ammunition it uses.

Ammunition

Projectile weapons use ammunition: arrows (for bows), bolts (for crossbows), or sling bullets (for slings). When using a bow, a character can draw ammunition as a free action; crossbows and slings require an action for reloading. Generally speaking, ammunition that hits its target is destroyed or rendered useless, while normal ammunition that misses has a 50% chance of being destroyed or lost.

Although they are thrown weapons, shuriken are treated as ammunition for the purposes of drawing them, crafting masterwork or otherwise special versions of them, and what happens to them after they are thrown.

Light, One-Handed, and Two-Handed Melee Weapons

This designation is a measure of how much effort it takes to wield a weapon in combat. It indicates whether a melee weapon, when wielded by a character of the weapon’s size category, is considered a light weapon, a one-handed weapon, or a two-handed weapon.

Light

A light weapon is easier to use in one’s off hand than a one-handed weapon is, and it can be used while grappling. A light weapon is used in one hand.

Add the wielder’s Strength bonus (if any) to damage rolls for melee attacks with a light weapon if it’s used in the primary hand, or one-half the wielder’s Strength bonus if it’s used in the off hand. Using two hands to wield a light weapon gives no advantage on damage; the Strength bonus applies as though the weapon were held in the wielder’s primary hand only.

Unarmed strike and natural weapons (claws, bite attacks, etc.) are considered to be light weapons.

One-Handed

A one-handed weapon can be used in either the primary hand or the off hand.

Add the wielder’s Strength bonus to damage rolls for melee attacks with a one-handed weapon if it’s used in the primary hand, or one-half Strength bonus if it’s used in the off hand. If a one-handed weapon is wielded with two hands during melee combat, add 1½ times the character’s Strength bonus to damage rolls.

Two-Handed

Two hands are required to use a two-handed melee weapon effectively. Apply 1½ times the character’s Strength bonus to damage rolls for melee attacks with such a weapon.

Weapon Size

Every weapon has a size category. This designation indicates the size of the creature for which the weapon was designed. The damage listed on Table: Weapons is for Medium-sized weapons. You will need to make adjustments for weapons of other sizes.

A weapon’s size category isn’t the same as its size as an object. Instead, a weapon’s size category is keyed to the size of the intended wielder. In general, a light weapon is an object two size categories smaller than the wielder, a one-handed weapon is an object one size category smaller than the wielder, and a two-handed weapon is an object of the same size category as the wielder.

Changing Weapon Size

When adjusting a weapon or natural attack’s damage based on size, use the following process:

• Find the current damage dice on Table: Damage Progression. If the damage is listed as more than one Step, use the higher Step. For example, if the weapon deals 1d6 damage, start on Step 10.
• For each change in size category, increase or decrease damage by two Steps. So, if a character changes from Small to Large—an increase of two size categories—the damage would increase by four Steps. If this would move the damage beyond Step 0 or Step 27, then the damage is set to Step 0 or 27 respectively.

If the exact damage number cannot be found, use the following conversion rules to determine your starting Step.

• If the damage is expressed as a number of d6 or d8, find the next lowest set of the same die type and then increase by one Step. So, 5d6 would be read as Step 18 (4d6) and 7d8 would be Step 21 (6d8).
• If the damage is expressed in d12s, convert to twice as many d6s (1d12 = 2d6, 2d12 = 4d6, and so forth).
• If the damage is expressed as some other number of dice, calculate the highest possible damage roll and then find the step with the closest maximum damage. Some Steps have different dice but the same max damage, in which case you should always use the higher Step.
  Some examples:
  • 3d4 has a max of 12 damage, making it equivalent to 2d6 (Step 14).
  • 3d10 maxes out at 30, which is between Step 18 and 19; however, 30 is closer to 32 (Step 19) than it is to 24 (Step 18), so use Step 19.

Inappropriately Sized Weapons

A creature can’t make optimum use of a weapon that isn’t properly sized for it. A cumulative -2 penalty applies on attack rolls for each size category of difference between the size of its intended wielder and the size of its actual wielder. If the creature isn’t proficient with the weapon a -4 nonproficiency penalty also applies.

The measure of how much effort it takes to use a weapon (whether the weapon is designated as a light, one-handed, or two-handed weapon for a particular wielder) is altered by one step for each size category of difference between the wielder’s size and the size of the creature for which the weapon was designed. Thus a Medium longsword would be considered a light weapon for a Large creature but a two-handed weapon for a Small creature.

If a weapon’s designation would be changed to something other than light, one-handed, or two-handed by this alteration, the creature can’t wield the weapon at all.

Improvised Weapons

Sometimes objects not crafted to be weapons nonetheless see use in combat. Because such objects are not designed for this use, any creature that uses one in combat is considered to be non-proficient with it and takes a -4 penalty on attack rolls made with that object.

To determine the size category and appropriate damage for an improvised weapon, compare its relative size and damage potential to the weapon list to find a reasonable match. An improvised weapon scores a threat on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a critical hit. An improvised weapon that suffers a critical failure with a natural roll of 1 is damaged and becomes useless as a weapon.

An improvised thrown weapon has a range increment of 10 feet.

Weapon Qualities

Here is the format for weapon entries (given as column headings on Table: Weapons).

Price

This value is the weapon’s market price in gold pieces (gp) or silver pieces (sp). The price includes miscellaneous gear that goes with the weapon.

This price is the same for a Small or Medium version of the weapon. A Large version costs twice the listed price.

Damage

The Damage columns give the damage dealt by the weapon on a successful hit. The column lists the damage for Medium weapons (for sizes other than Medium, see Changing Weapon Size above). If two damage ranges are given then the weapon is a double weapon. Use the second damage figure given for the double weapon’s secondary attack.

Damage Type

Weapons are classified according to the type of damage they deal: bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing. Some monsters may be resistant or immune to attacks from certain types of weapons.

Some weapons deal damage of multiple types. If a weapon is of two types, the damage it deals is not half one type and half another; all of it is both types. Therefore, a creature would have to be immune to both types of damage to ignore any of the damage from such a weapon.

In other cases, a weapon can deal either of two types of damage. In a situation when the damage type is significant, the wielder can choose which type of damage to deal with such a weapon.

Critical

The entry in this column notes how the weapon is used with the rules for critical hits. When your character scores a critical hit, roll the damage two, three, or four times, as indicated by its critical multiplier (using all applicable modifiers on each roll), and add all the results together.

You include your character’s Strength modifier when rolling for critical damage as well as any other static damage bonuses (such as the +1 from Weapon Focus); however, extra damage dice over and above a weapon’s normal damage is not multiplied when you score a critical hit. Extra damage dice are added by such things as sneak attack, weapon enchantments, some spells, and other effects.

Threat Range

All weapons threaten a critical hit on a natural roll of 20; however, some have an increased threat range. Any natural roll of a number in this range threatens a critical hit.

For example, if a weapon has a threat range of 18-20, it scores a threat on a natural roll of 18, 19, or 20.

A double weapon might have different threat ranges for each side of the weapon. The first range is associated with the first damage figure while the second range is associated with the second damage figure. If only one range is listed, then it applies to both sides.

Critical Multiplier

This number shows how many times you should roll damage after confirming a critical hit. For most weapons, the critical multiplier is ×2.

If a weapon is a double weapon, it might have different critical multipliers for each side of the weapon. As with the threat range, the first multiplier is associated with the first damage figure while the second multiplier is associated with the second damage figure. If only one multiplier is listed, then it applies to both sides. A weapon that lists a multiplier of ×3/×4 has one head that deals triple damage on a critical hit while the other head deals quadruple damage on a critical hit.

Weight

This column gives the weight of a Medium version of the weapon. Halve this number for Small weapons and double it for Large weapons.

Special Properties

Some weapons have special features, which are detailed below.

Range Increment

Each ranged weapon has its range described as part of the special properties of that weapon. The range of the weapon is presented as a pair of numbers in parentheses. The first is the Range Increment of the weapon expressed in feet. Any attack at less than this distance is not penalized for range. However, each full range increment imposes a cumulative -2 penalty on the attack roll.

The second number is the maximum range of the weapon, beyond which the weapon is not capable of making attacks.

A thrown weapon has a maximum range of five range increments. A projectile weapon can shoot out to ten range increments.

Weapon Group

Weapons Groups are collections of similar types of weapons that make use of similar combat techniques. Training in specific feats, abilities, or class features may refer to one of these weapon groups.

A group of weapons may contain simple, martial, and exotic weapons. Gaining proficiency in a weapon group typically grants proficiency only with the simple and martial weapons in that group but not with exotic weapons.

The available weapon groups are as follows: Basic, Axe, Bow, Close Combat, Crossbow, Flail, Heavy Blade, Light Blade, Mace, Monastic, Natural, Polearm, Spear, and Thrown.

Masterwork Weapons

A masterwork weapon is a finely crafted version of a normal weapon. Wielding it provides a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls.

You can’t add the masterwork quality to a weapon after it is created; it must be crafted as a masterwork weapon (see the Profession skill). The masterwork quality adds 300 gp to the cost of a normal weapon (or 6 gp to the cost of a single unit of ammunition). Adding the masterwork quality to a double weapon costs twice the normal increase (+600 gp).

Masterwork ammunition is damaged (effectively destroyed) when used. The enhancement bonus of masterwork ammunition does not stack with any enhancement bonus of the projectile weapon firing it.

All magic weapons are automatically considered to be of masterwork quality. The enhancement bonus granted by the masterwork quality doesn’t stack with the enhancement bonus provided by the weapon’s magic.

Even though some types of armor and shields can be used as weapons, you can’t create a masterwork version of such an item that confers an enhancement bonus on attack rolls. Instead, masterwork armor and shields have lessened armor check penalties.

Weapon Special Properties

Many weapons have special properties related to their use, as shown in the Weapons table. The most common properties are described here. Some weapons have unique or rare properties, in which case the table will say “See Text,” referring you to the entry for that specific weapon to get the full details.

Brace

If you use a ready action to set this weapon against a charge, you deal double damage on a successful hit against a charging character.

Concealed

You get a +2 bonus on Deception checks made to conceal this weapon.

Disarm

When using this weapon, you get a +2 bonus on combat maneuver checks to disarm an opponent (including the roll to avoid being disarmed if such an attempt fails).

Double

This is a Double Weapon. You can fight with it as if fighting with two weapons, but if you do, you incur all the normal attack penalties associated with fighting with two weapons, just as if you were using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon.

Unless otherwise noted, a double weapon has the same characteristics with both ends. For example, a quarterstaff deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage with each end deals double damage with a confirmed critical hit on a natural 20.

Distracting

You get a +2 bonus on Deception skill checks to feint in combat while wielding this weapon.

Finesse

You may apply the benefits of the Weapon Finesse feat to a finesse weapon, allowing you to use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls. All Light weapons (see above) are considered to have the Finesse property.

Monk

This is a special monk weapon. This designation gives a monk wielding this weapon special options; however, a monk is not automatically considered proficient with this weapon unless indicated.

Nonlethal

This weapon deals nonlethal damage. This weapon can be used to deal lethal damage, but doing so imposes a -4 penalty on the attack roll.

A melee weapon that lacks this property can be used to deal nonlethal damage, but doing so imposes a -4 penalty on the attack roll.

Projectile

This is a Projectile Weapon. The range of the weapon is presented as a pair of numbers in parentheses. The first is the Range Increment of the weapon expressed in feet. The second is the maximum range of the weapon.

Reach

This is a Reach Weapon.

Sunder

When using this weapon, you get a +2 bonus on combat maneuver checks to sunder an opponent’s weapon.

Thrown

A Thrown Weapon may be used ranged attacks by throwing it. The range of the weapon is presented as a pair of numbers in parentheses. The first is the Range Increment of the weapon expressed in feet. The second is the maximum range of the weapon.

Trip

You can use this weapon to make trip attacks. If you are tripped during your own trip attempt, you can drop the weapon to avoid being tripped.