Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Zyrusticae 04-21-07, 10:24 AM	I couldn't help but notice that there is a *huge* sum of feats for two-weapon fighting, but a dearth of feats for fighting single-handed or with two-handed weapons. Unless I'm missing somethin'. Anybody got any?
jaelis 04-21-07, 11:20 AM	Power attack (and thus cleave), improved sunder, improved disarm, combat brute, and leap attack are all particularly good for 2Hers. And then there's all the generic feats like Weapon Focus, that a 2Her can easily afford to take because he doesn't need a lot of feats to make his style work. 1Hers are usually sword and shield types, and there are a lot of feats for shields. If you want to fight with a weapon in one hand and the other hand empty, there's the Einhander feat in PHBII, but really here you are just handicapping yourself deliberately, so I don't think there needs to be a lot of feats to support it.
Zyrusticae 04-21-07, 12:38 PM	Personally, I can't help but wonder why there are no defensive feats for 2-handed weapons. All that surface area has to be good for somethin', right? I mean, it doesn't even make sense that two-weapon fighting, which is an inherently offensive combat style, should get more defensive feats than two-handed weapons (which have a total of... zero.). Very odd.
Krusk 04-21-07, 12:50 PM	our group has said two weapon defense and improved can be taken by two handed as well. We also got rid of the prereq of two weapon fighting. Basically it lets anyone who wants take the feat, but you only benifit if using 2 weapons, or a 2 handed weapon.
Frugal 04-21-07, 05:03 PM	I don't know, THF already gives the best damage output there is with no feats, allowing you to then take feats that expand that damage output or add versatility instead of just making a fighting style remotely viable. There should be some sacrifice to that, and right now that's the (minimal) loss to AC in not being able to wield a shield. Personally, I don't see any need to make the best fighting tactic in the game better by taking away it's only weak point.
Longarms 04-21-07, 09:53 PM	Well, I believe two weapon defense and improved two weapon defense can be taken by 2handed users under the rules as written, as long as the 2handed user has armor spikes available.
Branto 04-21-07, 10:09 PM	I don't know of any personally, though the first guy to reply to this thread did give you a good list. Those feats might not be ONLY for 2-hand users, but they are much more effective when used by them... especially Power Attack. Now, as for defense... If you're multiclass, and have any ranks of wizard or sorcerer, you can always make use of the Shield spell. It's really an awesome spell, and too often over-looked because of the duration being shorter than mage armor. I mean, think about it... you're getting a BIG shield AC boost while still getting to use your 2-handed weapon, and that AC works against incorporeal creatures, which a normal shield can't do. On top of that, you gain immunity from Magic Missile.. which is probably the single most commonly used spell in all of D&D history. ;)
Vharuck 04-21-07, 10:32 PM	There's a Two Weapon Defense feat because traditionally, when fighting with two weapons, a duelist used a long sword and either a short sword or a dagger. Though the long sword could deliver a more serious blow, it required a wide swing. The short sword or dagger needed only a quick straight jab. So most all strikes meant to hurt were done with the smaller blade, while the larger was mostly used for parrying or blocking. That's IIRC, of course. I'm no swordsman myself.
Archangel62 04-21-07, 10:34 PM	Power attack Leap Attack Improved Buckler defense Shock Trooper Combat Brute Improved Sunder
j3st3r 04-22-07, 08:13 PM	Brutal Strike and Flay from PH2 are good feats for anyone, but since they are used with powerstrike, they are especially useful for two-handed weapons.
Zyrusticae 04-22-07, 11:33 PM	Well, personally, I'm a firm believer that all fighting styles should have an advantage of some kind. If we look at them one at a time, there are definitely advantages and disadvantages to each and every kind of fighting style out there. For my examples: Two-handed weapons: Two-handed weapons' advantages are two-fold; One, they can often have reach greater than that of one-handed weapons. Two, they deal more damage per hit than said weapons. There's also the other advantage - which is very dependent on the kind of weapon we speak of - but a two-handed weapon can also be easier to defend with due to its size, with weapons such as very large axes or swords being able to double as shields. Its main disadvantage is its difficulty of use in tight, close-quarters combat or in areas with little swinging room. One-handed weapons, no shield: Flexibility. With a single hand free, one can use it to surprise the opponent with sudden unarmed attacks, thrown weapons, or even suddenly cast spells. There is also no weight holding down the other hand, making it less tiring than the other fighting styles, which use up both the hands. Of course, it also does less damage than most of the other styles, depending on how it's used. One-handed weapons, shield: Defense, obviously. With a tower shield, one can use the gargantuan thing as total cover against ranged attacks. It can also be *exceedingly* painful when used as an offensive weapon (see 300, the movie). However, shields that large are often quite heavy and can be extremely tiring to lug around for large periods of time, particularly in heated combat. Two weapons, one in each hand: Pure offense. Unless you're using a parrying dagger or an equivalent in one hand, two-weapon fighting is all about letting loose with attack after attack, from one angle to another. It is difficult to defend against attacks without a specialized defense instrument (like the aforementioned dagger). That's just my take on the matter, of course. Chances are, if there are no feats to accommodate such (I know the duelist class allows for one-handed fighting, but frankly, it's a crappy class), I'll just end up making up my own. The general combat feats are nice, but not really what I'm looking for. But really, it seems my take on it is quite a bit different from what D&D does, at the moment, at least.