Two-Weapon Style

With this popular style, the fighter has a weapon in each hand—usually a longer weapon in his good hand and a shorter one in his off-hand. Unless the character has Style Specialization in this style, the second (off-hand) weapon must be shorter than the primary weapon.

Advantages

One great advantage to this style is that you always have another weapon in hand if you drop or lose one. A single Disarm maneuver cannot rid you of your weapons.

Disadvantages

The principal disadvantage to this style, as with some other styles, is that you don't gain the AC benefit of a shield.

Style Specialization

Please read the "Attacking with Two Weapons" section from the Player’s Handbook, page 96, before continuing.

If you devote a weapon proficiency slot to style specialization with Two-Weapon Style, you get two important benefits. First, your attack penalty drops; before, it was a –2 with your primary weapon and –4 with your secondary, but with Specialization in Two-Weapon Style it becomes 0 with your primary weapon and a –2 with your secondary weapon. (If you're already ambidextrous, as per "Off-Hand Weapons Use," above, that penalty is 0 with primary weapon and 0 with secondary weapon.) Second, you're allowed to use weapons of the same length in each hand, so you can, for example, wield two long swords.

When fighting with two-weapon technique, you can choose for both weapons to try the same maneuver (for example, two strikes, or two disarms), or can have each try a different maneuver (one strike and one parry, one pin and one strike). If the two maneuvers are to be different, each receives a –1 attack penalty.

Though rangers don't suffer the off-hand penalties for two-weapons use, they do not get a bonus to attack rolls if they devote a weapon proficiency slot to Two-Weapon Style. They do get the other benefit, of being able to use weapons of equal length.

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