There is a deity in the beta-book that favors unarmed strikes. And clerics of this deity are proficient in this 'weapon'. Does this mean the cleric is considered to have the class ability equivalent of improved unarmed strike, or do they have to spend their first level feat on this still?
There is a deity in the beta-book that favors unarmed strikes. And clerics of this deity are proficient in this 'weapon'. Does this mean the cleric is considered to have the class ability equivalent of improved unarmed strike, or do they have to spend their first level feat on this still?
Well, it seems that, as written, they do not gain the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. Since even the gods with simple favored weapons (which clerics are proficient with) do not grant Weapon Focus or anything like that, I see no reason a god with Unarmed Strike would.
Although, unarmed strikes are of little to no use without the feat, so it might not be unreasonable to give it.
That was where I was having difficulty understanding where to take this. If the deity's weapon of choice was a club at least their cleric could use it without provoking an attack of opportunity. But if her deity's favored weapon is an unarmed strike it seems you are ... stupid to choose it without devoting more feat slots to it.
"Only the truly devout accept extra damage from AoOs."
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'Unarmed Strikes' are not considered a weapon in a sense. For example, the monk does not list 'Unarmed Strikes' as a weapon that they are acquainted with.
Monks are proficient with the club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shortspear, short sword, shuriken, siangham, sling, and spear.
Since the 'unarmed strike' isn't a weapon, the deity cannot grant it as a 'weapon proficiency'. It would seem that granting the cleric Improved Unarmed Strike would be appropriate, and as the DM, I would certainly do that for my player.
That said, I think that this shows a situation where Pathfinder could improve over the Beta. Rather than offering 'Improved Unarmed Strike' as a feat, I think that Unarmed Strike could be considered a 'weapon'. Thus, the monk would not get 'Improved Unarmed Strike' as a bonus feat, it would simply be one of the weapons they are proficient in. Essentially, proficiency would translate into the feat. Classes that do not have that weapon proficiency must take a feat 'Unarmed Strike Proficiency'.
Further, I would argue that the Weapon Proficiency Feats could stand some 'adjustment'. A character can take a feat to be proficient with a longsword, or they could take a feat to be proficient with a bastard sword. I would suggest that 'martial weapon proficiency' and 'simple weapon proficiency' each grant access to all weapons in that class. Thus, instead of choosing 'longsword' a character (say a wizard) that takes Martial Weapon Proficiency would gain access to the longsword, battleaxe, longbow, etc.
I would suggest that Martial Weapon Proficiency have a requisite of Simple Weapon Proficiency, and Exotic Weapon Proficiency have a requisite of Martial Weapon Proficiency. Unarmed Strike Proficiency would be its own category, and probably have no other prerequisites.
Thoughts?
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I'd still like to see 'proficiency' equate with no attack of opportunity (which means Improved Unarmed Strike is redundant).
Not quite. IUS also allows you to deal lethal damage with your unarmed strikes, which I think would also be worthwhile for an unarmed strike deity to bestow on his followers and/or for his followers to learn how to do (depending on how you see the proficiency working).
Or a 'toned down' unarmed weapon proficiency granting the unarmed striker 'armed' equivalency regarding threatening squares.
Then a 'proficient' unarmed striker can defend themself from other unarmed strikers and take AoOs. Like a "basic self-defense". The Improved Unarmed Strike still grants lethality and proof against AoOs when attacking.
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All characters are automatically proficient with unarmed strikes (Pathfinder Beta, pg. 99).
That said, I would very much like to see clerics with a deity whose weapon is "unarmed strike" get Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat; it just makes way too much sense.
It's already been stated elsewhere that Golarion dieties with the War Domain and an Exotic Favored Weapon (Achaekek and the sawtooth sabre and Moloch and the whip) would gain proficiency with those weapons, even though they are Exotic and not Martial.
I'd already be inclined to allow a Cleric with the War domain and Unarmed as 'favored weapon' to gain Improved Unarmed Strike in place of Martial Weapon proficiency, and this precedent seems to support that sort of thinking.