Which non-light weapons does Weapon Finesse apply to?

Question

Weapon Finesse says it applies to all light weapons, and then a small number of other weapons (rapier, whip, spiked chain) from the "Player's Handbook". I know there are other non-light weapons outside the "Player's Handbook" to which this feat applies (for instance, the "Elven Courtblade" from the "Races of the Wild book"); do you guys know of a full list? If not, then can you name all that you can think of? Wizards of the Coast - sources are preferred, but any d20 source would be useful. I am particularly interested in non-light two-handed reach weapons to which you can apply Weapon Finesse.

Background: I am playing a mobile melee character (a Rogue/Psion/Elocater and soon to dip to Exemplar) with few hit points and few attacks, but with the potential of getting a high attack bonus. I am exploring a melee build for (one-heavy-)hit-and-run, powered by feats like Power Attack, Leap Attack and Battle Jump. Reach would be nice as it reduces the amount of movement the character must make, and allows for creative use of the Stand Still feat. Since my character has the misfortune of being physically feeble, but very dexterous (dexterity modifier is 7 points higher than strength modifier) I am looking for a weapon which allows him to use Weapon Finesse and Power Attack, preferrably on a two-handed weapon with reach. So far, the "Spiked Chain" looks like the most attractive weapon. It gets particularly interesting with Dimension Twister, Hustle, Whirlwind Attack and Reach, to "disappear" an enemy in the middle of a crowd, jump into the hole, and whirlwind the whole bunch.

Answer 1

For two-handed, reach weapons that you can use with Weapon Finesse, your options are basically spiked chain, and the drow scorpion chain (read: a slashing version of the spiked chain) from Races of Eberron.

Races of the Wild has several weapons that can be used with Finesse without being light, but none have reach. The lynxpaw is a double weapon (i.e. can be used as a two-handed weapon), and the elven courtblade just is a two-handed weapon. The elven thinblade is a one-handed weapon à la the rapier, i.e. it imposes restrictions on two-handing it.

Other rapier-like weapons include the ribbonweave from Races of Eberron and the quickblade rapier from Complete Adventurer.

The last such weapon I can find is the dragonsplit, from Monster Manual IV. These are one-handed but count as light for TWF and Finesse, and also have 19-20/×4 criticals. I’m not sure if they can be two-handed but since you’re not going for dual wielding I wouldn’t bother with them.

The spiked chain (or scorpion chain if you want slashing for some reason, or are a drow who can get easier proficiency) is far-and-away your best bet.

Alternatively, the feycraft template from Dungeon Master’s Guide II can make any one-handed weapon compatible with Weapon Finesse. It can also make light weapons use Dexterity instead of Strength without Weapon Finesse, which is often a bigger deal. I don’t know any one-handed weapons with reach, but the kusari-gama from Dungeon Master’s Guide is a light weapon with continuous reach à la spiked chain.

Answer 2

Weapons that aren't light yet can still benefit from the feat Weapon Finesse

This list doesn't venture beyond Wizards of the Coast sources except in the case of post-Wizards-of-the-Coast material from Dragon, Dungeon, and Polyhedron when those were instead published by Paizo, which many consider close enough. The weapon's final published appearance is listed in parentheses; this should be the weapon's statistics unless the DM decides otherwise, like ruling that another source is the weapon's primary source. For example, the DM may rule that Races of Eberron is the primary source for all racially associated things in Eberron, therefore making that the version of the drow scorpion chain the campaign uses rather than the version from Secrets of Xen'drik (but they're identical anyway, so that one doesn't really matter except on a technical level).

One-handed Martial Weapon without Reach

• rapier (Player's Handbook 116, 120)

One-handed Exotic Weapons without Reach

• dragonsplit (Monster Manual IV 151)
• elven longblade (Dragon #351 35)
• elven thinblade sword (Races of the Wild 165, 166)
• quickblade rapier (RW 115-6)
• ribbonweave (Races of Eberron 172)
• stingray whip (Stormwrack 107-8)

One-handed Exotic Weapons with Reach

• kawanaga (Oriental Adventures 72-3)
• spinning sword (Secrets of Sarlona 136-7)
• whip (PH 117, 121-2)
• whip-dagger (Dragon #353 28)

Two-handed Exotic Weapons without Reach

• daishalar (Dragon #301 37, 38)
• elven courtblade sword (RW 165)
• lynxpaw (RW 165)

Two-handed Exotic Weapons with Reach

• bladed chain (Dungeon #100 in Polyhedron #159 30, 31)
• chain (OA 70, 72)
• chain lash (Savage Species 43, 45)
• drow scorpion chain (Secrets of Xen'drik 136, 137)
• meteor hammer (Dragon #319 73)
• rope dart (Dragon #319 73)
• spiked chain (PH 115, 1177)

There are no two-handed martial weapons with which a creature can employ the feat Weapon Finesse. Furthermore, the feat Weapon Finesse mandates that a weapon be "made for a creature of your size category" (PH 102), making even a Medium creature that wants to wield, for example, a Large rapier unable to realize the feat's benefit with it.

Some of these weapons predate the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 revision and therefore are subject to minor adjustment by the DM. (One possibility is that the reach weapons that can instead be used as double weapons lose their double weapon capacity like the spiked chain lost its in the revision, but ask the DM before despairing.) Also, if using a reach weapon for battlefield control rather than dealing damage, the meteor hammer and rope dart are crazy good: the wielder can strike adjacent foes and a Medium wielder's reach with either is a whopping fifteen feet. A creature dedicated to making attacks of opportunity armed with either weapon is a dangerous foe.

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About that Background

The question's Background indicates a fondness for leaping in and hitting monsters; I recommend perusing the fan-made "Little Red Raiding Hood" handbook that details a similar build that's, admittedly, more warrior than your thief but still might be of interest. Further, in case you were unaware, the Player's Handbook (2012) updated the feat Spring Attack (among other quiet changes), so that, too, might be of interest. (For instance, the update makes it very clear that a creature can't normally use Whirlwind Attack in conjunction with Spring Attack.) Also, to be fair, you should alert the DM to the fact that normally the feat Battle Jump is limited to taers, but, since your character's race goes unmentioned, maybe you already are a LA +3 semiyeti.