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Is there anything to prevent a freehand fighter using, unarmed strikes, a gauntlet, or a cestus in his offhand? A player is asking about it and by RAW it appears to work since the text specifies, "His fighting school benefits only apply when he is using a one-handed weapon and carrying nothing in his other hand.", and gauntlets, cestus, and unarmed strike do not exactly constitute "carrying".
Input appreciated!
Is there anything to prevent a freehand fighter using, unarmed strikes, a gauntlet, or a cestus in his offhand? A player is asking about it and by RAW it appears to work since the text specifies, "His fighting school benefits only apply when he is using a one-handed weapon and carrying nothing in his other hand.", and gauntlets, cestus, and unarmed strike do not exactly constitute "carrying".
Input appreciated!
Seems legit to me. Touch attacks may work well too. =)
That's a really interesting question.
The free hand fighter specializes in the delicate art of handling a single weapon in one hand while using his free hand to balance, block, tip, and distract his opponents. While not a brawler, his open hand is as much a weapon as a bow or blade. His fighting school benefits only apply when he is using a one-handed weapon and carrying nothing in his other hand.
Italics and bolding are mine, below as well.
Based purely on this description I would say the creators actually believe a free hand fighter will be using his off hand for iterative attacks when BAB allows, or perhaps even taking the feat Two Weapon Fighting, and using that off hand for extra attacks even at lower levels.
If that is the case it brings up a really interesting question, because the description of cestus says:
While wearing a cestus, you are considered armed and your unarmed attacks deal normal damage. If you are proficient with a cestus, your unarmed strikes may deal bludgeoning or piercing damage.By my estimation this means that the free hand fighter could make an off hand attack wearing a cestus at zero penalty to their BAB. Since a cestus is not technically a weapon. Specifically the description of the cestus says:
When using a cestus, your fingers are mostly exposed, allowing you to wield or carry items in that hand.
There should be no penalty to BAB to make a second attack. Should there? This makes me wonder. The cestus seems like a paradox in and of itself. When you wear it you are considered armed, but you are not carrying a weapon. Maybe that's a question for another thread...