Forums: Rules Questions: Can a Scimitar be used with Weapon finesse? (2024)

Hi I ask this because the online Game Reference Document: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ doesn't have any information of the Scimitar (or the falchion).
It does however for the Elven Curved blade, which is described as a longer thinner scimitar, and that allows Weapon finesse.

I had the old Beta-version of the rules set lying around and there is no text for the Scimitar or Falchion in that either.

So first off... can I use Weapon finesse with it?

Secondly, why is the descriptive text for these two weapons missing?

Thirdly. If I wanted TWF with two Scimitars (the iconic Qadira symbol), are there any way to get that without -4/-4?

MazVN wrote:

Hi I ask this because the online Game Reference Document: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ doesn't have any information of the Scimitar (or the falchion).

It does however for the Elven Curved blade, which is described as a longer thinner scimitar, and that allows Weapon finesse.

I had the old Beta-version of the rules set lying around and there is no text for the Scimitar or Falchion in that either.

So first off... can I use Weapon finesse with it?

Secondly, why is the descriptive text for these two weapons missing?

Thirdly. If I wanted TWF with two Scimitars (the iconic Qadira symbol), are there any way to get that without -4/-4?

Nope. It's not listed under one of the non-light weapons you can use under weapon finesse.

I have no idea, I'm going to guess a typo/oversight.

Yes, there is a feat called "Oversized Two Weapon Fighting" in the Complete Adventurer. Prerequisites are a Str of 13 and Two Weapon Fighting. You take penaties as if your offhand was a light weapon.

Blackwing wrote:

MazVN wrote:

Yes, there is a feat called "Oversized Two Weapon Fighting" in the Complete Adventurer. Prerequisites are a Str of 13 and Two Weapon Fighting. You take penaties as if your offhand was a light weapon.

Ah thanks. I knew it was in D&D 3.5 but was not sure about Pathfinder :)

I wasn't actually THAT interested in weapon finesse, it was just confusing me when it wasn't mentioned at all.

source

'fraid it's not listed. Also you always get more then you asked for in these parts.

No, Scimitar is not a Finesse Weapon by the Core Rules.
Honestly, I have no idea why there isn't a "Finesse" Quality that could be listed in the weapon TABLE like trip weapons, etc,
so you don't have to drudge thru every description's text to figure it out.

HOWEVER,
In the Qadira Campaign Sourcebook (I almost wrote al-Qadim!) there is a Feat allowing the Scimitar to be treated as a Finesse weapon, and also letting it count as Piercing Damage Type for special abilities (e.g. Duelist) as well as letting you apply DEX bonus to damage when you are wielding it in one hand and have nothing in the other hand.

Quandary wrote:

In the Qadira Campaign Sourcebook (I almost wrote al-Qadim!) there is a Feat allowing the Scimitar to be treated as a Finesse weapon, and also letting it count as Piercing Damage Type for special abilities (e.g. Duelist) as well as letting you apply DEX bonus to damage when you are wielding it in one hand and have nothing in the other hand.

The Feat is Dervish Dance and it does have Weapon Finesse as a prerequisite.

A funny thing is that you can still attack with your other hand as long as you are not carrying anything with it. Thus unarmed attacks, claws and touch attacks are all usable while still getting the feat's benefits.

As for TWF with 2 scimitars, just have one be one size category smaller. You will end up with a -2/-4 penalty though.

The black raven wrote:

As for TWF with 2 scimitars, just have one be one size category smaller. You will end up with a -2/-4 penalty though.

Standard two weapon fighting is -10 offhand, -6 main hand.

If you use a light weapon in your offhand, it's -8 offhand, -4 main hand (delta +2/+2)
If you have the Two Weapon Fighting feat, it's -4 offhand, -4 main hand (Delta +6/+2)
If you use a light weapon in your offhand and have the Two Weapon Fighting feat, it's -2 offhand, -2 main hand (delta +8/+4)

I'm mulling through the rules right now, which is why I found this thread.

Immolate wrote:

The black raven wrote:

As for TWF with 2 scimitars, just have one be one size category smaller. You will end up with a -2/-4 penalty though.

Standard two weapon fighting is -10 offhand, -6 main hand.

If you use a light weapon in your offhand, it's -8 offhand, -4 main hand (delta +2/+2)
If you have the Two Weapon Fighting feat, it's -4 offhand, -4 main hand (Delta +6/+2)
If you use a light weapon in your offhand and have the Two Weapon Fighting feat, it's -2 offhand, -2 main hand (delta +8/+4)

I'm mulling through the rules right now, which is why I found this thread.

Usually, using a light weapon in your off-hand and having all the relevant feats, you are at -2/-2 after everything.

However, in this case you'd use a weapon that is not made for a creature of your size - the small scimitar is made for small creatures, like halflings or gnomes. So if you use a medium scimitar in one hand and a small one in the other, you would have -2/-2, but using a weapon that is not made for your size imposes a -2 penalty, so you're at -2/-4. The better choice would probably to use kukris in both hands. (Or scimitar/kukri in case you're not interested in weapon focus and similar feats).

Slightly off-topic:
In my house-rules, you can use a scimitar with weapon finesse. It's one of several changes I made to the weapon table (others include basing weapon categories on lethality of the weapon - a hand crossbow is a simple weapon, for example). There's really no good reason not to do it.