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I'm pretty sure that they can, as it doesn't say that they are required to choose a martial/exotic weapon as their chosen weapon, just that they gain a weapon proficiency and choose a weapon. But RAI, I don't think so. It seems like clear RAI that you are supposed to use the martial/exotic weapon you choose, unfortunately. But RAW you can.
Whats RAI and RAW?
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RAW is "Rules As Written" and is exactly what's printed in a book.
RAI is "Rules as Intended" and is what the creators mean for something to do.
The proficiency says "simple weapons and a single Martial or Exotic Melee Weapon of his choice." No where did I see a mention of an Unarmed Strike counting as a melee weapon of either Simple, Martial, or Exotic.
The next thing was a Monk's Unarmed Strike (or the Improved Unarmed Strike feat). It says that a Monk's Unarmed Strike "counts as both a manufactured weapon and natural weapon for the purposes of spells that enhance or improve either."
Going between the Kensai Weapon Proficiency description (UC55) and the details of Unarmed Strikes (both for Monks Core58 and non-Monks Core182), I would say that a Kensai can NOT choose "Unarmed" for their focus weapon.
I'd say that they can but they do not get Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat since an unarmed strike is a weapon.
Your fist is not a martial or exotic weapon.
My fist comes from a far away culture. It is trained as a tool to eat foods you cannot pronounce. He has punched beast you have never even conceived. He has had handshakes with creatures with limbs that you don't have names for. I am the most interesting man in the world, and my fist is an exotic weapon.
How exotic does a fist have to be before it becomes reclassified as an exotic weapon? I think a Tengu's fist is pretty exotic personally.
In other news, the kensai is written weirdly. In no place does it actually state how to choose its 'chosen weapon', though it does mention having proficiency in one martial or exotic weapon of his choice. Its definitely not overpowered or an awful idea to allow someone to use a simple weapon of choice or unarmed strikes as their favored weapon, unarmed even being a weak choice for a magus. You might consider looking for a fist like weapon in place, or an alternative that still fits into the lightly armed/lightly armored idea.
based purely on MrSin's most interesting man in the world speech ima give it to him. It's not overpowered really and as long as he can punch or kick ill give it to him.
Although I just looked it up unarmed attacks are listed as a simple weapon that deals nonlethal damage improveved unarmed just increases the damage and allows you to be considered armed and deal lethal damage
As far as I can tell, the "chosen weapon" can be anything at all. The bonus proficiency is there so that you have all weapons available as possible choices. If a kensai wants to use daggers or unarmed strike as his "chosen weapon" there is nothing preventing it.
I disagree.
A kensai is proficient in simple weapons and in a single martial or exotic melee weapon of his choice.
Their "chosen weapon" (later referenced in all their abilities), has to be the one chosen with the martial or exotic clause above. Unarmed Strikes is a simple light weapon, not martial or exotic as defined by the rules. Same for daggers, or clubs.
In a homegame I would not have a problem allowing a magus to choose a simple weapon, but in PFS I think RAW this one is a no.
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I'd say the wording is just vague enough to work. The Weapon Proficiency with a Martial or Exotic weapon of your choice does not specify this must be the weapon that counts as your "Chosen" weapon for the rest of the abilities. There are plenty of abilities that DO spell out things like that. In fact, the description of their first ability, Canny Defense, says it functions like the Duelist Prestige Class ability of the same name "save that his chosen weapon may be of any type."
At the very least I'd say it can be done RAI, but I'd also say it's RAW.
A kensai is proficient in simple weapons and in a single martial or exotic melee weapon of his choice.
Their "chosen weapon" (later referenced in all their abilities), has to be the one chosen with the martial or exotic clause above. Unarmed Strikes is a simple light weapon, not martial or exotic as defined by the rules. Same for daggers, or clubs.
Nowhere does it say that the single martial or exotic melee weapon is locked in as the Kensai's chosen weapon.
Yes, it's implied, and I'd venture it's RAI, but it's not RAW.In PFS, we are stuck with RAW until clarification comes.
He can take UAS as a chosen weapon (because it doesn't say how to pick a chosen weapon, nor does it place a limit on what kind of weapon)
In fact, the chosen weapon could be a ranged weapon, as there are no limits expressed, nor is the method of determining explicit.
In a home game, I'm more likely to disallow this, but in PFS, I must allow it, as it is RAW.
The fact it is a weaker choice is somewhat comforting. :)
In either case, having a chosen weapon does not give you proficiency with it.
As far as I can tell, the "chosen weapon" can be anything at all. The bonus proficiency is there so that you have all weapons available as possible choices. If a kensai wants to use daggers or unarmed strike as his "chosen weapon" there is nothing preventing it.I disagree.
A kensai is proficient in simple weapons and in a single martial or exotic melee weapon of his choice.Their "chosen weapon" (later referenced in all their abilities), has to be the one chosen with the martial or exotic clause above. Unarmed Strikes is a simple light weapon, not martial or exotic as defined by the rules. Same for daggers, or clubs.
In a homegame I would not have a problem allowing a magus to choose a simple weapon, but in PFS I think RAW this one is a no.
Grammatically, the term "chosen weapon" is not defined. The fluff text comes closest with "focusing his training and meditation into a rapturous perfection of the use of a single weapon, which is usually but not always a sword." I hear people say that we're supposed to "ignore" the fluff text, but if we do, there is no conceptual introduction to the term "chosen weapon" at all.
The weapon proficiencies section uses a form of the verb "to choose", and it is a reasonable inference* that "a single martial or exotic melee weapon of his choice" was intended to be the "chosen weapon". However, those items are discussed under two different topic headings at equal outline levels, and it's technically incorrect to assume they are the same item. (Honestly, this would be a classic trick question on a critical reading skills test.)
From a game mechanics perspective, that particular reading means that the Kensai cannot use a simple weapon (say, a dagger) as his chosen weapon. If this is the intent, why would a Kensai even be proficient simple weapons?
Full disclosure: I'm not a game designer, just a technical writer and editor with years of experience, including some legal and contract editing. It's possible that "Game Designer English" follows a different set of rules than the dialects of English I'm familiar with.
*An equally reasonable inference is that "a single weapon" means exactly one sword, and if that particular sword is ever destroyed, all the Kensai's abilities go away. However, since the BladeBound magus has that feature, I am guessing this is not the case.
Can I have that phrased in the form of a FAQs question?
By RAW, I read it that the 'chosen weapon' is the martial or exotic weapon, which wouldn't include an unarmed strike.
That said, from house rule perspective, I'd probably allow a kensai to choose a weapon regardless of category. Traditionally, kensai (or kensei) was a 'sword saint', so since they've already expanded it to cover non-kensei weaponry I don't see why we couldn't just go whole hog and allow even a dagger kensai.
A fist is the natural one of the two [b]simple[b] weapons in the unarmed category of the official weapon description list besides the manufactured gauntlet.
As it is a simple weapon (and he is already proficient with those) it can't be exotic or martial and thus does not qualify for the kensai's choice for his martial or exotic weapon, no matter if any other feat makes it counted as manufactured atop of being a natural weapon.
This is getting nowhere fast. These issues can often be argued in circles forever so... FAQ it.
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Can a Kensai choose "unarmed strike" as their weapon of choice?
And furthermore, what defines the Kensai's chosen weapon?
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It appears that no one has tagged it for a FAQ that I have seen (could be a forum error)...
No post had a question to FAQ in it, until you posted.
Still, I think that Kensai Magi should be allowed to choose any weapon they feel like choosing, but shouldn't get proficiency with a martial/exotic weapon if they choose a simple weapon. Just me. Still, RAW you get one martial/exotic weapon proficiency, and you get one chosen weapon. The two are not necessarily linked in the description. Meh, FAQ'd.
You get one chosen weapon which may be martial and or exotic. You may fault them for not writing their class description like an infernal contract but the context is pretty clear on this
Well, its clear to you, but maybe not to everyone. If you do a quick search, its been asked before. Its a frequently asked question, right?
What you'll probably find Ms. Smith, is that most game designers probably don't have the precise grammatical command of the language that you do.
You'll also find that most writers don't have the precise command of mechanics that game designers do. There's a reason those are different professions. :-)
And often, you have to trim down completely clear explanations just to make the text fit into the darn columns. Then there's the fact that even the best writers lose sight of what the reader may not know in any given context.
That's also why there's a difference between "as written" and "as intended".
And why there are FAQs.
Actually, for professional game designers, language is super important. Like, one of the most important things on the presentation side of things.
And presentation is half the battle.
Everyone in business needs at least a point in linguistics to learn the language imo.
Sorry--I'm confused.
You get one chosen weapon which may be martial and or exotic.
Ok, so the Kensai magus cannot select a simple weapon as the "chosen weapon"...
The designers never imagine that someone would want to devote their mastery to a craptastic simple weapon or an even more craptastic unarmed option, but yes it's there. Going that route means you forego that free martial/exotic proficiency.
...but here you seem to be saying that a magus can select a simple weapon as the "chosen weapon".
Is there a cut/paste error or other editing artifact in there (like when you start writing a sentence one way, then go back and change it but some parts of the original phrasing sneaks through)? Because those two statements seem to contradict each other.
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You get one chosen weapon which may be martial and or exotic. You may fault them for not writing their class description like an infernal contract but the context is pretty clear on this, the whole zeitgeist of the class is the devotion and mastery to one chosen weapon type. The designers never imagine that someone would want to devote their mastery to a craptastic simple weapon or an even more craptastic unarmed option, but yes it's there. Going that route means you forego that free martial/exotic proficiency. It's like casting the shocking grasp spell and opting not to take the free touch attack that round. You don't get the free touch next round.
YMMV. I think that the weapon proficiency is supposed to allow kensai magi to focus on any weapon as opposed to the normal magus who can only focus on simple/martial weapons. So that is how I would rule it. I wouldn't go so far as to still give them the extra proficiency (as that violates a lot of things), but just a simple weapon that they are great with seems to not violate RAW or RAI that much.
Sort of an aside: I would guess - and this is just based on character plans that I had tossed around recently myself - that the question comes up from a Magus\Monk cross-class build. It's far from an optimal build but it has its benefits:
Monk greatly increases unarmed strike damage (especially if you get a monk's robe) and Magus potentially can bypass the need for the expensive AoMF by using his arcane pool to enhance his unarmed strike; the kensai comes into play by allowing you to maximize the higher unarmed strike damage or by increasing the crit modifier. Plus, Kensai and Monk both function as unarmored meleers and get three ability mods (DEX, WIS, and INT) added into their AC.
The downside, of course, is that such a build would be disturbingly MAD. The game I'm looking at it for is using a crazy 30 point buy though.
Perhaps there needs to be a new archetype that allows a magus to not only use unarmed attacks, but have the damage scale as a monk of the same level (giving up a feature or two).
Perhaps there needs to be a new archetype that allows a magus to not only use unarmed attacks, but have the damage scale as a monk of the same level (giving up a feature or two).
I'm hoping the Advanced Class Guide (the playtest releases today for download! :) ) includes a class builder similar to the race builder from the ARG. If so, a gestalt Monk\Magus will be top on my list.
I always wanted to make an arcane brawler kind of character.
But yeah, I hate it when they make archetypes and don't specify these things. It still annoys the heck out of me that Monk of Empty Hands doesn't explicitly say the monk doesn't take improvised weapon penalties despite the designers intending that. There's some abilities where they rule that the flavor text doesn't apply to the mechanics and then they wonder why there's dispute when they use the flavor text to tell a "common sense" rule but don't actually explicitly say it in the rule text.
Any conclusion or FAQ for this topic?