Allying knuckles would work too... they're easy to conceal, until needed. But the cestus and knuckles make the monk armed...
Allying, like defending, needs you to make an attack in order for its effect to work. So you have to sacrifice at least one attack to a purposefully ruined attack.
But the cestus and knuckles make the monk armed...Kind-of, but you're still better off unarmed than a monk based around a sword. In addition - the cestus counts as an unarmed strike, so it works with Pummeling Style. (if your GM does require an iterative to be used on it)
Since when? Because, from what I've seen in the various rules threads about it, they still count as just monk weapons (except for the ascetic stuff).
Since when? Because, from what I've seen in the various rules threads about it, they still count as just monk weapons (except for the ascetic stuff).
Since the mess that is it's original description. Paizo has always been firm that the cestus is a weapon unto itself that doesn't interact in any unusual way with unarmed strikes but the weapon description is still terribly misleading.
Since when? Because, from what I've seen in the various rules threads about it, they still count as just monk weapons (except for the ascetic stuff).Since the mess that is it's original description. Paizo has always been firm that the cestus is a weapon unto itself that doesn't interact in any unusual way with unarmed strikes but the weapon description is still terribly misleading.
Ah, so no recent changes then? Ok. Just making sure I am keeping up with the rule threads. Always hard to get into the ones that get retreaded again and again.
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But the cestus and knuckles make the monk armed...Kind-of, but you're still better off unarmed than a monk based around a sword. In addition - the cestus counts as an unarmed strike, so it works with Pummeling Style. (if your GM does require an iterative to be used on it)
Cestus is a weapon and doesn't do anything or work with anything that is unarmed strikes.
Well... Now i got confused... does the cestus work or not as an unarmed strike?
.......
Beside that, you gave me a lot of ideas.
If we go for pure damage, a build for pure combat, the unarmed monk is not very easy to do and always sub-optimal, (but maybe not by much). Its doable, anyway. Her advantages would come into play in scenarios where characters cannot use weapons (cities with "you cannot carry your weapons here" policies, "the king is waiting for you, please leave your weapons and equipment with this lady", rusting monsters, Prison Break xD).
In the other hand, if i go for utility/support being able to survive/escape, she is a pretty nice character. Mobility, SR, caster-killer... nice nice.
(And in the specific case of the character i have on mind, she is just an aristocrat, a very wealthy one, so i guess AoMF is not beyond her reach, and other nice trick$. If in the long run she must require weapons she can still get some of those bags that hide things in another dimension/plane and conceal her few weapons there. But the key is she is trained to not to be defenseless. Maybe she can use a monk utility weapon instead. A fan that does not reveal itself as a weapon, or an umbrella with a hidden monk weapon inside would work too...)
Well... Now i got confused... does the cestus work or not as an unarmed strike?
Yes...
"While wearing a cestus, you are considered armed and your unarmed attacks deal lethal damage. If you are proficient with a cestus, you can have your unarmed strikes deal bludgeoning or piercing damage."
Heck going by the description, just knowing how to use one makes "your unarmed strikes deal bludgeoning or piercing damage" though is fails to say you have to be wearing it to do so [wearing it just deals lethal].
Discription says yes, Sean K Reynolds firmly says no.
Well... Now i got confused... does the cestus work or not as an unarmed strike?
It does not work as an unarmed strike. A cestus is a cestus and does cestus damage. If you enhance a cestus it doesn't enhance your unarmed strikes.
So if you're going Ascetic style your unarmed strikes are still going to be quite awesome. At lv5, your ascetic style works for all the weapon, unarmed strikes included. Picking up brawling to help your weapon will help your unarmed strikes. Like a weaponized monk still will have decent unarmed strikes and be a threat without their weapon. Just a weapon is easier to enhance.
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Well... Now i got confused... does the cestus work or not as an unarmed strike?It does not work as an unarmed strike. A cestus is a cestus and does cestus damage. If you enhance a cestus it doesn't enhance your unarmed strikes.
Right - I know that they'd need to be enhanced separately and don't get improved unarmed damage - but I thought that they were technically still unarmed attacks. (for Pummeling Style etc.)
I suppose that it's POSSIBLE that I misread something. :P
Owner - D20 Hobbies
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Well... Now i got confused... does the cestus work or not as an unarmed strike?Yes...
Heck going by the description, just knowing how to use one makes "your unarmed strikes deal bludgeoning or piercing damage" though is fails to say you have to be wearing it to do so [wearing it just deals lethal].
Yes, cestus, brass knuckles, gauntlets, etc just modify attributes of your unarmed strikes. None of them allow you to make attacks with them and use the damage dice of unarmed strike. You would always use the damage dice of the weapon (cestus, brass knuckles, gauntlets etc).
Yes, cestus, brass knuckles, gauntlets, etc just modify attributes of your unarmed strikes. None of them allow you to make attacks with them and use the damage dice of unarmed strike. You would always use the damage dice of the weapon (cestus, brass knuckles, gauntlets etc).This seems to disagree with you.
The APG errata doesn't appear to mention any changes to brass knuckles either.
Sadly, the UE description of them doesn't mention monks keeping their unarmed damage dice, and I think the general rule is 'later trumps earlier'.
Just be a monk and punch stuff. You know you want to. No need to pile on thirty archetypes and forty feats ... Monk 1 or Unchained Monk 1 or Brawler 1, and you're slugging away.
Cablop that sounds like a really cool character! I would focus on what you want to build for story reasons, which sounds awesome. Did you want help with the specific mechanics of building an effective character? A war fan is a PF item! Though they called it a fighting fan, from ultimate combat, and it's even a monk weapon.
Yes, i'd like some help, or suggestions. In fact it is a more complex character than just the unarmed monk and i'm willing to use an interested Aristocrat enhanced for PC class i found in some place. We can talk via PM. Thanks for your offer!
You're not a real Pathfinder player until you've been confounded by the rules text surrounding the brass knuckles and cestus. Paizo really needs to fix that up.
