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Dual Wielding [Dungeons & Dragons]
(lemmy.blahaj.zone)
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this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2026
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weird... am I the only one who grew up w/ 'dual wielding is two weapons of the same kind' table rule? hence, the dual label....
Most real life dual wielded weapons were not matched, sword and dagger, katana (one handedb long sword) and wakizashi (short sword)
DW in real life means that you have two weapons, of any kind. It literally means that you are wielding two. Not a pair.
is there something in 5e for paired weapons then?
guess that makes sense.
Not the only one, but probably a minority. Dual-wielding identical weapons is mostly a meme popularized by fantasy literature and games, and the movies and pc games based on those.
In actual reality people are quite bad at coordinating similar weapons and don't get much benefit out of it. So the classical dual-wield is a bigger main weapon and a smaller supporting offhand, beginning with shields being used offensively (and getting smaller and more maneuverable with the main one becoming lighter and faster - see buckler) and ending with classic combinations like rapier & parrying dagger or Daishō (a katana & wakizashi pair).
so this is what led me to really think on this one: if people are inherently bad going at it with two of the same, a specialization / class benefit / perk whatev that made each weapon equally effective would incentivize that pursuit.
know it's very much fantasy. rapier and buckler / parrying dagger / daisho - these let you use your dominant arm for the larger weapon and play defensively (esp buckler) - same with a knight wielding a shield and sword - to my goofy logic this wouldn't require a special skill or perk, hence wouldn't be dual wielded.
but, as stated in other replies, I'm also probably mixing up rpg systems like palladium's rules too, because most of my playtime was a few decades ago lol, and tho I played AD&D and 2.5, I payed a lot more tmnt.
Rapier and main gauche was my first idea of dual wielding, shrug
To be fair, the official D&D rules call it "Two-Weapon Fighting". Not sure if it's to avoid this confusion.
Identical weapons are what I typically picture in that scenario, but it makes sense mechanically to allow different types (especially with a rapier/dagger combo being a thing in a lot of fantasy, and probably historically? I dunno).
that is helpful.
I probably am also getting mixed memories from playing TMNT/palladium, which had some kind of specialization for two of the same weapons..... unless my brain is absolute tapioca, which, considering the hellscape out there, isn't much of a stretch....
Not completely right
(5.5e) Two-weapon fighting is a Fighting Style that only some classes can get.
Dual Wielder is a general Feat that any character of level 4 with str or dex 13 or higher can take.
Anyone can dual wield when their main weapon has the Light property.
There are three things in the rules that I'm aware of that talk about fighting with two weapons:
That is true, for the 2014 (5e) version
The 2024 / 5.5e version rules no longer have the "two-weapon fighting" subsection - the rule is now merged into the description of the 'light' weapon property
Probably, considering the meaning of dual