PF2e Banners and Whetstones Guide

Introduction

Banners and whetstones are not the biggest pieces of PF2e equipment, but they are useful because they make two important ideas visible: battlefield identity and martial preparation. Banners tell the table who is organized, who is rallying, what faction is present, and what objective matters. Whetstones give weapon users a reason to prepare before combat the way casters, Alchemists, and scroll users already do.

Use this guide with Battlecry!, Commander, Guardian, Champion, Fighter, equipment, consumables, weapons, runes, treasure by level, and war campaigns.

Hot take: banners and whetstones are great when the campaign has tactics, scouting, factions, and visible objectives. They are very easy to make boring if the GM treats every battle like a flat room full of anonymous violence.

Rating Key

Short Version

Banners are best when they do one of five jobs: mark command, show faction identity, create a rally point, define an objective, or carry story authority. Whetstones are best when they do one job: reward a martial character for preparing for the fight the party expects.

Neither category should replace basic equipment progression. Keep weapon runes, armor, shields, Bulk planning, and level-appropriate treasure on track first. Then use Battlecry equipment to add battlefield texture.

Banner Rankings

Whetstone Rankings

Banners

Banners are strongest when they communicate something the players can act on. A banner can say "this unit is organized," "that officer matters," "the fort has not fallen," "the army is losing morale," or "if you take that hill, the whole battle changes."

Good banner jobs:

• Mark the Commander or command post.
• Show who controls territory in a war campaign.
• Create an objective in skirmish warfare.
• Make morale and rout easier to describe.
• Tie treasure to faction status, military authority, or public reputation.
• Give Bards, Champions, Guardians, and faction characters a visible symbol to rally around.

Bad banner jobs:

• Existing only because a book has banners in it.
• Being mechanically relevant but invisible in the story.
• Being story-important but never changing the encounter.
• Giving a bonus that nobody remembers because the object has no table presence.

Hot take: if the players would make the same decisions whether the banner exists or not, the banner is set dressing. That is fine for scenery, bad for a guide-worthy equipment choice.

Banners As Objectives

The easiest way to make a banner matter is to make it an objective instead of a passive item.

This pairs well with movement actions, reactions, flanking and positioning, Athletics, Stealth, and Diplomacy.

Whetstones And Martial Preparation

Whetstones belong in the same mental family as oils, ammunition, talismans, scrolls, elixirs, and bombs: small resources that reward preparation. The important difference is audience. Whetstones give weapon users a pre-fight decision that feels more martial than magical.

Whetstones are best when the party knows something before the fight:

• A scout found tracks.
• A patron described the threat.
• Recall Knowledge identified a weakness or resistance.
• The enemy faction has a known armor style.
• A previous encounter showed what damage types matter.
• The GM gave a mission briefing instead of throwing everyone directly into initiative.

They are weakest when every fight is a surprise and all damage choices are blind. In that campaign, martial consumables become lottery tickets with better branding.

Whetstones Compared To Other Consumables

The real comparison is not "whetstone or rune?" A rune is long-term infrastructure. A whetstone is a tactical response. If the party is missing fundamental weapon upgrades, buy the rune first.

Best Class Fits

Party And Faction Use

Banners do not have to belong to one character. They can belong to the party, a fort, a ship, a guild, a temple, a rebel network, a mercenary company, or a nation. That makes them excellent for factions, social encounters, and Lost Omens world guide campaigns where identity matters.

Party banner uses:

• Mark the party as legitimate agents of a patron.
• Give allies a visible rally point.
• Become a target for enemies who know the party's reputation.
• Carry a history of victories, defeats, repairs, and captured symbols.
• Signal the party's values without another speech from the face character.

If the banner has a name, a history, and consequences, players will care. If it only has a line item, they probably will not.

GM Core Treasure Advice

GM Core treasure pacing still applies. Banners and whetstones should add texture without replacing expected math. A martial party still needs weapon potency and striking progression. Defensive characters still need armor potency, resilient runes, and shield support. Whetstones are not a substitute for runes; they are a preparation layer.

Good treasure placements:

• Whetstones before a mission where damage preparation matters.
• A recovered banner after a fortress victory.
• A captured standard that grants faction leverage.
• Battlefield consumables in a military supply cache.
• A banner tied to a Commander, Guardian, Champion, Bard, or faction character.
• Whetstones as consumable rewards that do not distort permanent character math.

Poor treasure placements:

• Random banners with no faction, morale, objective, or story role.
• Whetstones after the only fight where they would have mattered.
• Battlefield gear in a campaign where there are no battlefields.
• Consumables so rare that players are afraid to use them.

Hot take: "useful next session" is usually better consumable design than "technically useful someday."

Battlecry Campaign Advice

Battlecry! works best when battlefields contain objectives beyond defeat every opponent. Banners and whetstones help because they make preparation and command visible.

Use them with:

• Skirmish warfare
• War campaigns
• Battlecry archetypes
• Siege weapons and battle vehicles
• Banners, supply, morale, and battlefield objectives

The more the campaign cares about formations, terrain, units, forts, scouts, signals, and morale, the better these items become.

Cross-Book Fit

This is a good example of source books as dials. A home campaign can use banners as story objects without adopting every Battlecry option. A full war campaign can make them central.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Making Banners Passive Wallpaper

A banner should tell players something or invite action. If nobody can capture, defend, raise, conceal, recognize, or rally around it, it is probably just scenery.

Mistake 2: Giving Whetstones Without Information

Preparation items need information. Use scouting, rumors, skill checks, previous encounters, maps, and mission briefings.

Mistake 3: Replacing Runes With Consumables

Consumables are excellent, but permanent math still matters. Do not hand out whetstones while the party is badly behind on weapon upgrades.

Mistake 4: Forgetting Bulk And Hands

Banners, weapons, shields, tools, and consumables still occupy the physical world. Use Bulk and hand economy enough that logistics matter without turning every turn into inventory litigation.

Mistake 5: Using War Gear In A Campaign With No War

Not every book option belongs at every table. If the campaign is political, dungeon-focused, or wilderness-based, use banners and whetstones only where they fit.

Best Follow-Up Guides

• PF2e Equipment Guide: the main equipment hub.
• Battlecry!: the source-book hub for war play, Commander, Guardian, and battlefield options.
• Commander: the class most naturally tied to banners and battlefield identity.
• Guardian: defensive objectives and battlefield durability.
• Weapons: weapon users are the main audience for whetstones.
• Weapon Traits: traits shape whether martial preparation pays off.
• Runes: permanent weapon and armor math before temporary support.
• Consumables: the wider one-use item economy.
• Siege Weapons And Battle Vehicles: larger battlefield equipment.
• War Campaigns: GM-side structure for battles, units, and objectives.
• Skirmish Warfare: tactical encounters beyond ordinary room fights.

Final Hot Take

Banners make the battle mean something. Whetstones make the martial characters feel prepared. If neither changes a decision at the table, you did not add equipment. You added props.