Style Feats and Natural Weapons (PFS)

[Fist2Jaw]

So just for those who don't want to read the full rant: Can my Druid's Animal Companion (A Wolf) use the Dragon Style Feat to get the 1.5 strength bonus to his bite attack (Which I assume qualifies as an unarmed attack unless teeth counts as manufactured or otherwise not unarmed). Yes he also has 3 Intelligence so he can qualify for other feats beyond what's normally allowed.

An issue game up during play today regarding how my Wolf is able to utilize Dragon Style. Now I know normally combat styles are meant for humanoid people, but I've never been one to limit myself to common sense. That being said, there are some things that aren't covered with common sense. The issue seems to stem from this:

Quote:

Dragon Style
Prerequisites: Str 15, Improved Unarmed Strike, Acrobatics 3 ranks.

Benefit: While using this style, you gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against sleep effects, paralysis effects, and stunning effects. You ignore difficult terrain when you charge, run, or withdraw. You can also charge through squares that contain allies. Further, you can add 1-1/2 times your Strength bonus on the damage roll for your first unarmed strike on a given round.

Normal: You cannot charge or run through difficult terrain, and you cannot charge through a square that contains an ally. With an unarmed strike, you usually add your Strength bonus on damage rolls.

Base off what he said, my wolf's bite attack is not an unarmed strike. I understand GM fiat and all, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this. Plus I've worked with other Gm's who seem to be okay with this, but he states that unarmed strikes are not natural attacks, so apparently the inverse must also be true.

Which I guess means giants aren't doing slam attacks with their hands and feet or those would be unarmed strikes with punches and kicks. Or my half-orc with the tusked traits has to get his teeth peacebonded since they're not unarmed strikes (Just like how my spiked armor were apparently). Has there been an FAQ or someone where it's actually written in a book that Natural Weapons can't be used as unarmed strikes?

Cause if that's the case, then I'd also like to bring up the Tengu's Claws, which is a racial trait that grants them Improved Unarmed Strikes for the purpose of Prerequisites and such. I would assume that if they also chose Dragon Style they could use their claws (Which are natural weapons) for the purpose of that style, but then again I got into this mess for making assumptions.

[Deighton Thrane]

If you look at the combat section (p.182 of the core rulebook) unarmed strikes and natural weapons are two different things. A bite is a natural weapon, so dragon style does not normally work with a bite attack. Feral combat training does allow you to use feats that affect unarmed strikes with natural weapons though.

EDIT - Also, if you weren't aware, when an animal only has a single primary natural attack, they deal 1.5 time strength damage with it, so the wolf should already be dealing 1.5 times strength damage, unless it somehow picked up extra natural attacks.

[kadance]

Deighton is correct. Here's the rules.

[Lucy_Valentine]

Note also that if you want to use feats that have improved unarmed strike as a prerequisite, there's a way to do it:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/feral-combat-training-combat

[Fuzzy-Wuzzy]

I think the issue may be that "unarmed strike" is a technical term in Pathfinder. In the usual English meaning you would be perfectly correct that your wolf, being unarmed, is making an unarmed strike whenever it strikes. But that meaning is superseded by the rules.

Similarly, claws count as "natural" weapons even when they are blatantly not "natural" under normal English, such as those certain sorcerers can grow at will. Sorcery is not natural. But "natural weapon" is another technical term.

[Paladin of Baha-who?]

Your wolf already gets 1.5 str damage on his bite.