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Does wielding a reach weapon effect one's threatened squares? i.e. If I'm wielding a whip as my primary weapon, can I only make reaction attacks against adjacent enemies, and then at a -8 for being inside optimal range?

That is correct, unless stated otherwise you only threaten squares adjacent to you, even if you have a reach weapon.

However, there is stance in the Pole Weapon style called Standing Crane that can make your full reach threatening instead, as long as you are using a staff or spear weapon (such as the longspear, glaive, or bardiche).

That said, I might consider other methods of modifying your threatening area, but threatening area not adjacent to you is quite powerful, so I have been very careful with it.

Thanks for the clarification. I thought that perhaps the -4 per square was to compensate for the power of threatening reach, but I suppose it would still be pretty powerful.

Just as illustration:

A reach of 2 would then threaten a 5x5 area and a reach of 3 a 7x7 area. That's really huge. Even just threatening the outer rim of your reach is very powerful against other melee combatants, with a reach of 3 not only doubling your total coverage, but putting those who are affected at a serious range disadvantage.