The Sage has said that anyone may use an unarmed strike as an off-hand attack in a two-weapon fighting routine, even if the primary weapon was also an unarmed strike. Unfortunately, the Sage has a reputation for having sometimes contradictory answers (this was not one of them, but it suffers the stigma all the same).
The phrase “There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed. A monk may thus apply his full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all his unarmed strikes.” is a key offender here. I believe (and the Sage’s recent clarification supports this) that this means nothing more than “A monk’s unarmed attacks apply full Strength bonus to damage, whether they’re primary attacks or off-hand attacks.”
So, unless you intend for the Pathfinder Monk (and to a lesser extent, everyone) to not be able to TWF using just unarmed strikes (and I don’t advocate this in the slightest), please clarify the offending phrase. Maybe something along the lines of “A monk's unarmed strikes deal full Strength damage, even if you're using an unarmed strike as an off-hand attack. Thus, you are still perfectly able to Two-Weapon Fight with just your unarmed strikes.”
And since this raises issues with monsters being able to Multi-Weapon Fight with just their unarmed strikes, may I suggest clarification on how many extra unarmed attacks a being is allowed (specifically, that it may not exceed the number of attacks they could make with actual weapons; i.e., if a Marilith has six sword attacks and two iterative attacks with each sword due to Improved and Greater Multi-Weapon Fighting (for a total of 18 sword attacks), then she may make up to 18 unarmed attacks instead).
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The Sage has said that anyone may use an unarmed strike as an off-hand attack in a two-weapon fighting routine, even if the primary weapon was also an unarmed strike. Unfortunately, the Sage has a reputation for having sometimes contradictory answers (this was not one of them, but it suffers the stigma all the same).
The phrase “There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed. A monk may thus apply his full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all his unarmed strikes.” is a key offender here. I believe (and the Sage’s recent clarification supports this) that this means nothing more than “A monk’s unarmed attacks apply full Strength bonus to damage, whether they’re primary attacks or off-hand attacks.”
So, unless you intend for the Pathfinder Monk (and to a lesser extent, everyone) to not be able to TWF using just unarmed strikes (and I don’t advocate this in the slightest), please clarify the offending phrase. Maybe something along the lines of “A monk's unarmed strikes deal full Strength damage, even if you're using an unarmed strike as an off-hand attack. Thus, you are still perfectly able to Two-Weapon Fight with just your unarmed strikes.”
And since this raises issues with monsters being able to Multi-Weapon Fight with just their unarmed strikes, may I suggest clarification on how many extra unarmed attacks a being is allowed (specifically, that it may not exceed the number of attacks they could make with actual weapons; i.e., if a Marilith has six sword attacks and two iterative attacks with each sword due to Improved and Greater Multi-Weapon Fighting (for a total of 18 sword attacks), then she may make up to 18 unarmed attacks instead).
The bonus only works when a monk makes a flurry of blows attack and only when unarmed or using a monk item. Also, watch any martial arts film and you will see that it's not only punches but knees, elbows, feet, and sometimes head that are used when fighting. You could have a one armed monkwho still gets his full flurry of blows attacks.
The bonus only works when a monk makes a flurry of blows attack and only when unarmed or using a monk item. Also, watch any martial arts film and you will see that it's not only punches but knees, elbows, feet, and sometimes head that are used when fighting. You could have a one armed monk who still gets...
You wouldn't happen to be a One-Armed Swordsman afficionado, would you? Good stuff out there from Yu Wang, if anybody needs inspiration of what people envision a monk as being able to do.
I am in favor of clarification of this, and how unarmed attacks interface with the separate rules for Natural Weapons. Since Natural Weapons are now base class features (sorceror bloodlines), this becomes very important. I'm also keen on any light weapon the monk has proficiency with, and the quarterstaff, becoming capable of flurry, but that is another thread.