Glaive or Dueling Sword? Pure dex slayer/unchained rogue build.

[ViConstantine]

Im playing a pure dex slayer/unchained rogue and my two favorite choices for my characters weapon are the dueling sword or the glaive. I wanted to know, which I should chose and why? I picked them both because either way I need a feat to make them usable with weapon finesse,one in the form of a feat to use the weapon period and the other simply to make it finessable. One is a d10 and the other a d8 but one can be wielded in one hand and two handed for dex and a half damage and the other just gets dex and a half damage. One still allows me to use a shield when not two handing and the other can only have a buckler with -1 to attacks since it must be two handed. My slayer will be a gas mask wearing mute with a murderous mind and a love for intimidation and dirty fighting. Thoughts?

[Kurald Galain]

I'd suggest to save you the feat and take a rapier (1d6 / 18-20 is arguably better than the dueling sword's 1d8 / 19-20 anyway).

I'm not aware of any feats that let you finesse the glaive? Perhaps you meant the elven branched spear. Either way, the big deal there is that it has reach. Since you have a high dex, this combines well with combat reflexes and improved trip.

[ViConstantine]

I'd suggest to save you the feat and take a rapier (1d6 / 18-20 is arguably better than the dueling sword's 1d8 / 19-20 anyway).

I'm not aware of any feats that let you finesse the glaive? Perhaps you meant the elven branched spear. Either way, the big deal there is that it has reach. Since you have a high dex, this combines well with combat reflexes and improved trip.

Im not sure I follow how 1 more to a crit range for a weaker weapon makes it better. I appreciate the suggestion but it wasnt my question really. Also, the bladed brush feat allows you to weapon finesse the Glaive.

[Sir Chuckles]

Im not sure I follow how 1 more to a crit range for a weaker weapon makes it better. I appreciate the suggestion but it wasnt my question really. Also, the bladed brush feat allows you to weapon finesse the Glaive.

Saving the feat generally makes it better. I'm not 100% certain on the math, but I believe someone somewhere has proven that 1 higher crit range ends up with more damage across many trials than one more average point of damage, especially considering that in most situations your basic damage dice aren't going to make or break the weapon in the long run. The only reason I see to take the dueling sword is if you have something in mind that specifically require you to use one. Otherwise, if you're willing to burn a feat, go with an estoc. 2d4/18-20 is just better than both of them and is still finessable one- or two-handed.

As for the glaive, I again agree that, if you're willing to burn a feat, the elven branched spear is likely a better choice. Spending a move action to "switch off" Reach is nice and all, but unless you specifically need Bladed Brush's "treat as one-handed piercing/slashing for class features" part, a natively finessable weapon would do you better.

This also means it partially depends on your race. Tengu grants you several of those weapons for free, and Elf nets you the elven branched spear. Or you could just use a rapier and save yourself a feat.
But, if you're insistent on glaive or dueling sword, I'd say glaive. Dirty fighting and intimidation love reach. Getting Sneak Attack via flank also likes reach.

[Florian]

PF martials tend to build up quite some static damage boni. After a certain watershed point, the die type becomes nearly irrelevant compared in regards to damage total, i.e. the difference between 1d4+20 and 1d8+20 is marginal, but crit range and after that, crit multiplier will do the most for burst damage, so it´s nearly nonsense to start with a, say, exotic weapon proficiency, but some weapons start to shine and be worth the investment for levels 10+.

I this case, the ability to one-hand a glaive is... not so very impressive, as a Slayer can´t really benefit from it. (Think Combat Reflexes, Shield Brace and Herald Caller on a Cleric of Shelyn)

[stanprollyright]

As others have said, dueling sword offers no real benefit over the rapier. Glaive at least has reach and a higher base damage. Glaive + Combat Reflexes on a pure dex character seems like it could be pretty cool. You'll need other uses for your AoOs though, since you'll have so many. More reach is always good, via scroll/wand of Longarm or Major Magic. There's the Bodyguard feat. You could also take a Swashbuckler dip for the Opportune Parry deed. Then there's Outflank/Paired Opportunists/Sieze the Moment with Solo Tactics.

Tripping isn't ideal because it would require Agile Maneuvers on top of the already expensive 3-feat chain, but it is an option if you're human and/or have some bonus combat feats to spend. It's murky whether you can take Combat Trick as both a Rogue and Slayer, and there are no Ranger Combat Styles with Tripping or Agile Maneuvers, though the Dirty Trick one has Combat Expertise on the list, so that would be a totally legal way to get an extra bonus feat towards tripping.

[dude123nice]

Im not sure I follow how 1 more to a crit range for a weaker weapon makes it better. I appreciate the suggestion but it wasnt my question really. Also, the bladed brush feat allows you to weapon finesse the Glaive.

With a feat or enchantment, you can double the crit chance. In that case the rapier has a crit range of 15-20 versus the dueling sword's 17-20. That means that you will have half again as many crits with a rapier compared to a dueling sword. 1d8 over 1d6 is a pathetically small advantage at anything other than the first few levels. Having to also burn a feat for it is even worse. The dueling sword is only useful if you want to go the Swordlord prestige class. Oder vise it looses out to martial weapons like rapier or scimitar.

[stack]

As others have said, dueling sword offers no real benefit over the rapier. Glaive at least has reach and a higher base damage. Glaive + Combat Reflexes on a pure dex character seems like it could be pretty cool. You'll need other uses for your AoOs though, since you'll have so many. More reach is always good, via scroll/wand of Longarm or Major Magic. There's the Bodyguard feat. You could also take a Swashbuckler dip for the Opportune Parry deed. Then there's Outflank/Paired Opportunists/Sieze the Moment with Solo Tactics.

Tripping isn't ideal because it would require Agile Maneuvers on top of the already expensive 3-feat chain, but it is an option if you're human and/or have some bonus combat feats to spend. It's murky whether you can take Combat Trick as both a Rogue and Slayer, and there are no Ranger Combat Styles with Tripping or Agile Maneuvers, though the Dirty Trick one has Combat Expertise on the list, so that would be a totally legal way to get an extra bonus feat towards tripping.

If you perform a maneuver with a weapon that you are finessing you don't need agile maneuvers. Trip can be performed with a weapon. Dirty trick not so much, if I recall.

[stanprollyright]

If you perform a maneuver with a weapon that you are finessing you don't need agile maneuvers. Trip can be performed with a weapon. Dirty trick not so much, if I recall.

Nice! I forgot about that. That helps quite a bit with the feat-heavy aspect, making room for Weapon Focus or something else that improves CMB.

[Florian]

Dirty trick not so much, if I recall.

That is pretty much feat and build dependent. Kitsune Style and Cloak And Dagger Style both allow the integration of Dirty Trick to various weapon-based things, like AoO or charge, often allowing it as a free action or adding it as a rider.

It can be done with a Glaive and Bladed Brush, but that would need 5 levels in Swashbuckler to use any one-handed weapon for it, but it´ll be very effective at close-range crowd control.

Edit: Swashbuckler 5/Fighter (Varisian Freestyle) 3/Slayer 12 looks fine for this.