Dual wielding Lucerne Hammers

[Borthos]

OK, so I'm in a game as a Dragon Shaman 20 wielding a Lucerne hammer, and the fighter in the group is a BSF who dual wields greatswords. he said he can do it with the feats Ambidextrous and Monkey Grip (along with the usual 2W I2W and G2W) and wield them both at the same time with no penalties. Now it was my impression that the greatsword, being a 2 handed weapon, was considered a Large weapon. Is this possible the way he says and would I be able to mimic it with 2 Lucerne Hammers and the same feats?

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Are you playing 3.0 or 3.5?

 

[Borthos]

3.5

 

[Dandu]

Firstly, there is no ambidexterity feat in 3.5E, and secondly, Monkey Grip does not work that way. He needs oversized TWF, not Monkey Grip.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

It sounds like your group is using 3.0 weapons rules, if not other things from 3.0.

Ok, for starters, Ambidextry was a 3.0 feat only, as far as I know. Does not exist.

Also, barring the Tempest (?) prestige class, any form of two weapon fighting carries at least a -2 penalty.

Monkey Grip only benefits the primary hand, you can't use it to hold a bigger weapon in the offhand. There is an Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting feat to use a one handed weapon in the offhand instead of a light weapon. He could have that and be using a longsword in the other hand, but not a greatsword.

There's also Strongarm Bracers, a magic item to use large sized weapons if you're a medium creature at no penalty. But I don't think that stacks with Monkey Grip.

The whole situation sounds like an ugly rules mishmash, to be honest, and I'm still not entirely sure what the heck that player's doing or if it's legal.

 

[irdeggman]

Now it was my impression that the greatsword, being a 2 handed weapon, was considered a Large weapon.

Not in 3.5.

In 3.5 they retooled weapon sizes and made it generally smoother to follow.

Weapon size only refers to the size of creature the weapon is built for.

A longsword can be small, medium, large and so on.

Each size modifies the base damage the weapon does and causes the wielder to handle it differently.

A longsword is a one handed weapon. A medium creature can use a large longsword in 2 hands but suffers a -2 penalty on attacks due to the weapon being the wrong size.

The 3,5 version of monkey grip allows you to use a weapon of 1 size larger than normal as if it was the appropriate size albeit with a -2 on the attack and it can't be applied to the off hand.

So a medium creature with monly grip could wield a large longsword in one hand with a -2 attack penalty.

A large longsword does 2d6 damage instead of the normal 1d8 that the medium sized version does.

The rules are on pages 113-114 of the PHB.

 

[Dandu]

I wouldn't complain to much; it's not exactly going to be a problem either way.

 

[Borthos]

so under the 3.0 weapons rules, could i wield a lucerne hammer in one hand and a shield in the other if i take monkey grip? I ask b/c i've don't play 3.0 rules much. this is kind of my first 3.x game

 

[irdeggman]

so under the 3.0 weapons rules, could i wield a lucerne hammer in one hand and a shield in the other if i take monkey grip? I ask b/c i've don't play 3.0 rules much. this is kind of my first 3.x game

Yes, but it takes a lot of feats to get there.

In 3.0 (monkey grip was in Sword and Fist (pg 7) prerequisites: +3 BAB, Weapon Focus in the specific weapon, 13 or higher Str.)

So you would need to have:

Prificiency in martial weapons (Lucern Hammer was a Martial weapon in the Arms and Equipment Guide (pg 6+ - a 3.0 book)

Weapon Focus - Lucern Hammer

Monkey Grip - Lucern Hammer (in 3.0 Monkey Grip was weapon specific, in 3.5 it is applicable to all weapons and only requires a +1 BAB)

And then a medium size creature could wield a Lucern Hammer with 1 hand suffering a -2 on attacks.

Since it only takes 1 hand to use, your other hand is free and so you could equip a shield.

But why are you asking about 3.0 rules if you are playing a 3.5 game?


I don't think the lucern hammer made it into 3.5 stats.

 

[Dross]

I don't think the lucern hammer made it into 3.5 stats.

The Dragon Compendium Vol I (2005) had a range of pole-arms including the Lucern Hammer, from Dragon somewhere in the 330-335 range. Some associated feats are also included.

For the OP I would not bet against some house rules either.