Weapon Specialization Rules

Benefits of Specialization

Melee weapons

• A fighter gains a 10%/level chance of an extra attack each round when using a weapon with any degree of specialization. So a 3rd-level fighter specialized in bastard sword has a 30% chance of getting a second swing, and a 14th-level fighter specialized in mace is guaranteed two attacks and has a 40% chance of getting a third. (Fighters who are merely proficient with a weapon gain extra attacks five levels behind one with specialization.)
  
  
• A fighter with N weapon proficiency slots devoted to specialization (in addition to the slot required for proficiency) gains a bonus of +N to hit and +N to damage. However, a fighter of level L can have only L plusses (counting both to-hit and damage) from specialization. So, a 1st-level fighter gains only a +1 to hit at any level of specialization, a 3rd-level fighter with double specialization attacks at +2 to hit but only +1 to damage, and a triple-specialized fighter doesn't achieve +3/+3 until 6th level.
  
  
• Exceptional fighting techniques (such as "floating" parries or weapon-trapping maneuvers) may be available to specialists. Learning these techniques costs additional weapon proficiency slots.

Missile weapons

• A missile specialist currently does not gain extra attacks as a melee specialist does. (This may change in a later revision.) However, they may perform one of the following maneuvers in a round:
  
  

  Rapid fire

  A missile specialist can take up to five shots in a round. The first shot goes off normally, but additional shots suffer a cumulative -4 penalty to hit (reaching -16 on the fifth shot). Called shots into melee are not possible while rapid firing.

  Double shot

  In this maneuver, two missiles are fired on the same init, either at a single target or at two targets within 10' of each other. Each attack suffers a -2 penalty both to hit and to damage.

  
  
• As with melee weapon specialization, N slots of missile weapon specialization confer +N to hit and to damage, with the maximum number of plusses less than or equal to the fighter's level.

Limits on Specialization

• Pure fighters can single-specialize in any number of weapons and may triple-specialize in one of them.
• Rangers and paladins can single-specialize in any number of weapons.
• Kensai can quintuple-specialize in their chosen weapon.
• Multiclassed fighters can single-specialize in one weapon.