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The Dual-Wielding Penalties in 'Dungeons & Dragons'

The mechanics for dual-wielding have changed over the different editions of "Dungeons and Dragons." In the fourth edition of D&D (D&D 4e), there is no game mechanic for dual wielding outside of a very specific instance. Rangers that specialize in melee fighting can take feats that allow them to make attacks with two melee weapons. This is as close to dual wielding as you can get in the fourth edition. Previous editions have different rules.

AD&D
- Using two weapons gives the user a negative-two penalty to the main hand and a negative-four penalty to the off-hand. Add the dexterity bonus to missile attacks to the modifiers. This will either increase or decrease the dual-weapon fighting penalties, depending on the character's dexterity score. A score of five adds a negative-one penalty, a score of four adds a negative-two penalty and a score of three adds a negative-three penalty. A 16 gives a plus one, a 17 a plus two and an 18 or 19 a plus three. A character with a dexterity of 16 would have a negative-one penalty in the main hand and a negative-three penalty in the off-hand, while a character with a dexterity of three would have a negative-five penalty in the main hand and negative seven in the off-hand. The character's off-hand weapon can be only a dagger or hand axe. Penalties can be off-set by dexterity bonuses but can never be raised above a zero penalty for either hand.
Second Edition
- Two Weapon Style is the weapon proficiency needed to dual-wield in the second edition. Without this proficiency, the penalties for dual-wielding are negative four in the main hand and negative eight in the off-hand. With one rank in Two Weapon Style, the penalties are reduced to negative two and negative six. With two ranks, there is no penalty for the main hand and a negative-four penalty to the off-hand. With three ranks, the penalty in the off-hand is reduced to negative two.
Third Edition
- In the third edition, dual wielding is affected by three separate feats: Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting and Ambidexterity. The base penalties for dual-wielding are negative six in the main hand and negative 10 in the off-hand. With Two-Weapon Fighting, the penalties are reduced to negative four for the main hand and negative eight for the off-hand. With Ambidexterity, the main hand and off-hand have the same penalties. With no Two-Weapon Fighting feat, the penalties would be a negative six in both hands. With the feat, the penalties are reduced to four for both hands. Using a light weapon in the off-hand reduces the penalty for using two weapons by two. The best results, gained from having the Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting feats, and using a light weapon in the off-hand, are a negative two to both hands. Improved Two-Weapon Fighting increases the number of attacks for the off-hand but does not reduce the penalties any further.
D&D 3.5
- In 3.5, the feat Ambidexterity no longer exists. The only feat needed to reduce dual-wielding penalties is Two-Weapon Fighting. Without the feat, the base penalties are negative six and negative 10. With the feat, the penalty to the main hand is reduced by two and the penalty in the off-hand is reduced by six, making the penalties negative four for both hands. Using a light weapon in the off-hand reduces the penalty for both hands by two. Having the feat and using a light weapon yields the best results: negative two for both hands.

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