Introduction

How to create a custom weapon in Pathfinder 2e? Follow this document and you should manage to create something balanced. Partially based on this document. (Versione in Italiano qui)

While creating a weapon, it gains WP (Weapon Points), that can be used to boost its power, by either increasing the damage die or adding traits.

Not all traits are equal, though; some cost more WP and some less; the general cost in WP for a trait goes from 1 to 3, but there are some traits with a higher cost.

Also, a trait’s cost in WP may change due to weapon’s characteristics, such as its damage die, how many hands it requires to be wielded, presence of another trait, etc.

Note(1): It is not necessary to spend all of the weapon’s WP to consider a weapon complete, but it is not possible to exceed the weapon’s maximum WP.

Note(2): A weapon can have a maximum of 7 traits (plus the rarity trait such as Uncommon, Rare etc.).

To use weapons created here you obviously need your GM’s permission, as you can create extremely powerful weapons with these rules (Ex. as today no official weapon at base has both the Grapple and Trip traits… there’s a good reason: it’d be pretty bonkers!)

For GM’s: if you create or approve a weapon created here, I suggest at least applying the Uncommon trait to these weapons. And don’t be embarrassed to retcon/errata or even ban these weapons in the future, should they feel unbalanced. Paizo makes mistakes, you can too.

In fact, there are official weapons that break the rules for balanced weapons, such as the Exquisite Sword Cane and Feng Huo Lun (AKA Wind and Fire Wheel). These weapons often come from Adventure Paths, and their balance (like other character options from Adventure Paths) is sometimes dubious. The Feng Huo Lun has been re-published in a later book, with changes that make it balanced. The Exquisite Sword Cane hasn’t been republished, however.

This first section is dedicated to Melee Weapons, because they’re somewhat simpler and more intuitive.

The second section is for Ranged Weapons.

The final section will be for Combination Weapons, which kind of mix the rules for both Melee and Ranged weapons… and are quite complicated.

You may notice that the guide lacks instructions on the Weapon’s weight. This is because, contrary to what you might have expected, the weapon’s weight has no influence on its Power budget. As such, choose the weapon’s weight exclusively on its flavor and the weight you’d expect it to have. You can still follow these vague guidelines as a suggestion:

Knife: L Bulk

1-Handed Sword: 1 Bulk

2-Handed Sword: 2 Bulk

Bigger Weapon: 3+ Bulk

Note: Exclusively Thrown Weapons (like a Javelin or Boomerang) are treated like Melee Weapons that cannot be used for Melee strikes. Use the rules for Melee Weapons to create those.

Creating a Melee Weapon

1) Start - Choose Damage Type

Your starting Weapon has 4 WP and has a d4 Damage Die.

Choose the Weapon’s Damage Type; your choices are Bludgeoning, Piercing or Slashing.

Alternatively, you can choose a different Damage Type, such as Fire, Electricity, Vitality or Void. However, doing so has an immediate cost of 4 WP, making you start at 0 WP.

2) Choose the Weapon’s Category

Unarmed        = -2 WP, Add the “Unarmed” trait to the weapon

Simple        = +0 WP

Martial                = +3 WP

Advanced        = +5 WP

3) Choose the Weapon’s Group

This will affect the weapon’s Critical Specialization as well. Choose between:

Axe, Brawling, Club, Dart, Flail, Knife, Hammer, Pick, Polearm, Shield, Spear or Sword

Note: Unarmed weapons are almost always Brawling

4) Choose the Weapon’s Wielding

1 Handed        = +0 WP

2 Handed        = +6 WP

Note: Unarmed weapons don’t require hands; as such, they can’t receive any WP from this step

5) Expensive?

Most weapons are Level 0 items and have a price that goes from 0gp up to 12gp.

However, some particular weapons are Level 1 items, or they have a price of 13gp or more.

Such weapons gain +1 WP.

6) Limited Access?

If the Weapon / Unarmed Attack has particularly heavy restrictions on its usage (such as requiring an Ancestry Feat or Class Feat), it gains +4 WP. If it has even greater restrictions, such as activating a Stance, it gains an additional +4 WP.

Note: This bonus is mostly used for Ancestry Feats for special Unarmed Attacks, or Stances that unlock special strikes. It does not apply to Weapons with an Ancestry's trait

7) Choose the Weapon’s Damage Die

d4        = -0 WP

d6        = -3 WP

d8        = -6 WP

d10        = -9 WP

d12        = -12 WP

Note: 1-Handed weapons almost always cap at d8 damage die. Some exception may exist due to Limited Access bonus (such as the Dragon Stance “dragon tail” unarmed strikes).

8) Add the desired Traits

Creating a Ranged Weapon

The rules for creating Ranged Weapons are similar to melee weapons, but their creation has some extra steps due to Distance Calculations, Reloading, etc.

Ranged Weapons gain less WPs from wielding and limited access, but can gain additional WPs from other sources.

1) Start - Choose Damage Type

Your starting Weapon has 4 WP and has a d4 Damage Die.

Choose the Weapon’s Damage Type; your choices are Bludgeoning, Piercing or Slashing.

Alternatively, you can choose a different Damage Type, such as Fire, Electricity, Vitality or Void. However, doing so has an immediate cost of 4 WP, making you start at 0 WP.

2) Choose the Weapon’s Category

Unarmed        = -2 WP, Add the “Unarmed” trait to the weapon

Simple        = +0 WP

Martial                = +3 WP

Advanced        = +5 WP

3) Choose the Weapon’s Group

This will affect the weapon’s Critical Specialization as well. Choose between:

Bow, Crossbow, Dart or Sling (for Firearm weapons, check below)

Note: Unarmed weapons area almost always Sling or Brawling (even for Ranged Weapons)

4) Firearm weapon?

Weapons of the Firearm group are subject to multiple restrictions in Golarion: their ammunition are not easily available, and they require daily maintenance to avoid misfires.

All Firearms gain +1 WP.

5) Choose the Weapon’s Wielding

1 Handed        = +0 WP

1+ Handed        = +1 WP

2 Handed        = +2 WP

Note(1):  Unarmed weapons don’t require hands; as such, they can’t receive any WP from this step

Note(2): 1+ Handed wielding means the weapon can be held with 1 hand, but requires the other hand to be free to make Strikes with it.

6) Choose the Weapon’s Range

All Ranged Weapons have a Range Increment, which indicates how far the weapon can attack without penalties. You can attack up to 6 Range Increments away, but for every increment beyond the first you suffer a -2 Penalty to the Attack Roll. See the rules on Range Increments to know more.

10 / 20 feet         = -0 WP

30 / 50 feet        = -1 WP

60 / 110 feet        = -2 WP

120 / 180 feet        = -3 WP

190 / 250 feet        = -4 WP

260 / 320 feet        = -5 WP

Note: having a Range of 200+ feet is generally redundant mechanically

7) Volley?

Some Ranged Weapons are less accurate in close combat. That’s represented by the Volley trait.

Attacks against targets within the Volley Trait’s listed range suffer a -2 Penalty.

However, this loss in versatility grants additional WP.

Volley 10 feet        = +1 WP

Volley 20 feet        = +2 WP

Volley 30+ ft.        = +3 WP

Note: While multiple distances for the Volley trait are listed here, the standard is 30 feet. I suggest using that if you intend to apply the Volley trait at all.

8) Reload?

Many Ranged Weapons cannot be fired quickly. Due to their design, they might need to be reloaded after every strike executed with the weapon.

All Ranged Weapons list the Reload trait followed by a number. That number indicates how many Interact Actions are necessary to reload the weapon before striking with it again (if the number is 0 then the weapon doesn’t need Reloading and can be used for strikes in quick succession).

Weapons that require Reloading are slower at shooting and might need to be used more strategically; as such, they gain extra WP.

Reload 0        = +0 WP

Reload 1        = +3 WP

Reload 2        = +6 WP

Reload 3+        = +9 WP (?)

Note: There is no Weapon with Reload 3 as of today, I’d avoid creating a weapon with such a long Reload.

9) Expensive?

Most weapons are Level 0 items and have a price that goes from 0gp up to 12gp.

However, some particular weapons are Level 1 items, or they have a price of 13gp or more. (ex. see Composite Longbow/Shortbow)

Such weapons gain +1 WP.

10) Limited Access?

If the Weapon / Unarmed Attack has particularly heavy restrictions on its usage (such as requiring an Ancestry Feat or Class Feat), it gains +2 WP. If it has even greater restrictions, such as activating a Stance, it gains an additional +2 WP.

Note: This bonus is mostly used for Ancestry Feats for special Unarmed Attacks, or Stances that unlock special strikes. It does not apply to Weapons with an Ancestry's trait

11) Choose the Weapon’s Damage Die

d4        = -0 WP

d6        = -3 WP

d8        = -6 WP

d10        = -9 WP

d12        = -12 WP (?)

Note(1): 1-Handed weapons basically always cap at d8 damage die

Note(2): Ranged Weapons so far never reached a d12 damage die, with two exceptions in highly unconventional weapons (Backpack Ballista and Backpack Catapult, both sharing a 1-minute Reload time making them more like Siege Weapons than Ranged Weapons)

12) Add the desired Traits

Creating a Combination Weapon

Combination Weapons are special weapons that can have both a Melee form and Ranged form, switching between the two versions with 1 Interact action.

Creating a Combination Weapon is notably longer and more complex, because you have to create two weapons at the same time: a ranged weapon and a melee weapon. The main difference is, they are actually the same weapon, and share their Weapon Points.

I discourage you from trying to make Combination Weapons without becoming used to creating both Melee and Ranged Weapons alone, and gotten used to the weapon-making rules.

1) Start

Your weapon in both its Melee and Ranged forms is a 1d4 damage weapon, it has the Combination trait. It has 3 WP available. Remember that any WP this weapon gains applies to the total WP pool.

2) Choose the Damage Type(s)

Choose between Bludgeoning / Piercing / Slashing, for each version of the weapon. The two versions of the weapon can have differing damage types: for example, the Axe Musket inflicts Slashing damage in its Melee form and Piercing damage in its Ranged form .

Alternatively, you can choose a different Damage Type, such as Fire, Electricity, Vitality or Void. However, doing so has an immediate cost of 4 WP, and it is applied individually to each version of the weapon.

For example, should the weapon inflict Fire damage only in its Ranged form, that would cost 4 WP, while should you choose that the weapon inflicts Fire damage in both Melee and Ranged forms, that would cost 8 WP instead.

Note: Creating Combination weapons with special damage types is hypothetical, there are no practical examples in PF2.

3) Choose the Weapon(s)’ Category

The weapon category is identical between each form of the weapon: you cannot have a Combination Weapon be Simple when Melee and Advanced when Ranged.

Simple        = +0 WP (?)

Martial                = +6 WP

Advanced        = +10 WP

Note: As of today there are no Simple Combination weapons in PF2. Probably because they are fairly complex in nature.

4) Choose the Weapon(s)’ Group(s)

The weapon group is an independent choice for each version of the weapon. The Melee version can be a Knife and the ranged one could be a Bow.

For the Melee form, choose between Axe, Brawling, Club, Dart, Flail, Knife, Hammer, Pick, Polearm, Shield, Spear or Sword

For the Ranged form, choose between Bow, Crossbow, Dart or Sling (for Firearm, see below)

4) Firearm weapon?

Just like normal Ranged weapons, if the Ranged form of your Combination weapon is in the Firearm group, your weapon gains +1 WP. This bonus is granted to the total WP pool, and is applicable only once.

5) Choose the Weapon’s Wielding(s)

The Weapon’s wielding is shared between both versions.

If the Ranged form is a 2-handed weapon or 1+ handed weapon, the Melee version will be 2-handed.

Likewise, if the Ranged form is a 1-handed weapon, the Melee version will also be 1-handed.

1   /  1 Hand        = +0 WP

1+ /  2 Hands        = +7 WP

2   /  2 Hands        = +8 WP

5) Critical Fusion?

The Critical Fusion is a mechanic exclusive to Combination Weapons, that allows the Melee version of a Combination weapon to gain a boost upon a critical hit. Details here.

The Critical Fusion trait can only be applied to the Melee form of a Combination weapon, and it costs 3 WP.

6) Expensive?

Like for normal Melee and Ranged weapons, Combination weapons can also gain an additional +1 WP if the Weapon’s level is 1 or higher, or if it costs more than 12gp.

However, this bonus is applied only once, to the total WP pool of the weapon, and not once per weapon version.

7) Limited Access?

The Limited Access is usually used for creating Unarmed Attacks for Ancestry Feats or Monk Stances. Creating a Combination weapon with Limited Access bonus is a bizarre concept.

Nevertheless, these weapon should be able to gain these bonuses too, at least in theory. +6 WP if the weapon has heavy access restrictions (like an ancestry feat), and an extra +6 WP if it has even more restrictions, like activating a Stance..

Note: All of this is theoretical, there are no real applications of this in PF2. I wouldn’t apply Limited Access bonuses to Combination Weapons.

8) Choose the Weapon’s Range

See the Range part in the Ranged Weapons section of this guide.

Range is a property exclusive to Ranged Weapons and has no effect on the Melee form of the weapon (except the cost in WP).

9) Volley?

See the Volley part in the Ranged Weapons section of this guide.

The Volley trait is a property exclusive to Ranged Weapons and has no effect on the Melee form of the weapon.

If the Ranged form of the weapon gains the Volley trait, the gained WP is added to the total WP pool of the weapon.

10) Reload?

See the Reload part in the Ranged Weapons section of this guide.

The Reloading is a property exclusive to Ranged Weapons and has no effect on the Melee form of the weapon.

If the Ranged form of the weapon has a Reload higher than 0, the gained WP is added to the total WP pool of the weapon.

11) Choose the Weapon(s)’ Damage Dices

Choose each weapon’s damage die. The choice is independent for each version of the weapon, the two forms can have different damage.

However, the two versions must stay within 2 steps of Damage Die from each other (Ex. if the Melee form of the weapon has a d4 damage die, the Ranged form cannot exceed d8 damage die)

Remember that improving the weapon’s damage die is done independently for each form of the weapon, and both processes cost WP.

d4        = -0 WP

d6        = -3 WP

d8        = -6 WP

d10        = -9 WP

d12        = -12 WP

12) Add the desired Traits

The process is separate and independent between each form of the weapon.

See the Weapon Traits part for each version of the weapon.

While adding traits, remember that both weapons refer to the same WP total.

13) Respect the Minimum WP Quota

There is one last rule for creating Combination Weapons, and that is the Minimum WP Quota.

Since both forms of the weapon refer to the same WP total, it is possible to create differing power-levels or utility levels between the two forms: the Ranged Version might be fairly versatile and powerful, and the Melee Version could be less powerful and useful.

However, it is not possible to just “ditch” one version of the weapon to invest all the WP in the other version. Each form of the weapon requires a minumum of WP invested in it (between Damage Die, Traits, Range etc.). These values depend on the Combination Weapon’s wielding and category, and each form has different minimums.

1-Handed Wielding:

The Melee Form must have received at least 1 WP if Simple, 4 WP if Martial, 6 WP if Advanced

The Ranged Form must have received at least 3 WP if Simple, 6 WP if Martial, 8 WP if Advanced

2-Handed Wielding (or 1+ Handed):

The Melee Form must have received at least 4 WP if Simple, 7 WP if Martial, 9 WP if Advanced

The Ranged Form must have received at least 3 WP if Simple, 6 WP if Martial, 8 WP if Advanced

If either form of your weapon doesn’t meet the Minimum WP Quota, the weapon is not legal/balanced; you must reach the Minimum WP Quota with both forms of the weapon. To fix this, either weaken the other version of the weapon by reducing its damage die or removing some traits (or by increasing the WP total, like by increasing the Reload of the Ranged version, or by upgrading the Weapon’s Category), and boost the form that didn’t reach the quota, until it does so.