Witch nails


Witch Playtest


Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

The feat witch nails is a little confusing to me. It says runes applied to the nails work only on hands, not other unarmed attacks. But if you were to multiclass monk (I know technically there are no rules for that yet), would the runes applied to the nails work with their stances? Most of the stances use their hands, it would be a little silly to me if it didn't work.

Grand Lodge Designer

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The intent here is that you can put runes on your nails, and your hands gain those benefits, but they wouldn't apply to e.g. a lizardfolk tail unarmed attack or a goblin's unarmed bite attack, or any special unarmed attacks from a barbarian. It's letting you use runes without having to invest in handwraps of mighty blows, but with the downside that you dont' get the full benefits the handwraps would convey.


Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Ah so it would work with monk stances, minus maybe the ones that specifically say they work with kicks and the like. Thank you!


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Lyz Liddell wrote:
The intent here is that you can put runes on your nails, and your hands gain those benefits, but they wouldn't apply to e.g. a lizardfolk tail unarmed attack or a goblin's unarmed bite attack, or any special unarmed attacks from a barbarian. It's letting you use runes without having to invest in handwraps of mighty blows, but with the downside that you dont' get the full benefits the handwraps would convey.

I am confused. Why would you ever choose putting runes on your nails rather than using hand wraps that would also enhance your kicks or whatever?

Is it just for people who have 10+ other items to invest?

Silver Crusade

Excaliburproxy wrote:
Lyz Liddell wrote:
The intent here is that you can put runes on your nails, and your hands gain those benefits, but they wouldn't apply to e.g. a lizardfolk tail unarmed attack or a goblin's unarmed bite attack, or any special unarmed attacks from a barbarian. It's letting you use runes without having to invest in handwraps of mighty blows, but with the downside that you dont' get the full benefits the handwraps would convey.

I am confused. Why would you ever choose putting runes on your nails rather than using hand wraps that would also enhance your kicks or whatever?

Is it just for people who have 10+ other items to invest?

And other items to spend gold on.


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Rysky wrote:
Excaliburproxy wrote:
Lyz Liddell wrote:
The intent here is that you can put runes on your nails, and your hands gain those benefits, but they wouldn't apply to e.g. a lizardfolk tail unarmed attack or a goblin's unarmed bite attack, or any special unarmed attacks from a barbarian. It's letting you use runes without having to invest in handwraps of mighty blows, but with the downside that you dont' get the full benefits the handwraps would convey.

I am confused. Why would you ever choose putting runes on your nails rather than using hand wraps that would also enhance your kicks or whatever?

Is it just for people who have 10+ other items to invest?

And other items to spend gold on.

Wouldn't etching runes on your nails be no less expensive than buying handwraps?


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Brew Bird is right to my knowledge.

Silver Crusade

Brew Bird wrote:
Rysky wrote:
Excaliburproxy wrote:
Lyz Liddell wrote:
The intent here is that you can put runes on your nails, and your hands gain those benefits, but they wouldn't apply to e.g. a lizardfolk tail unarmed attack or a goblin's unarmed bite attack, or any special unarmed attacks from a barbarian. It's letting you use runes without having to invest in handwraps of mighty blows, but with the downside that you dont' get the full benefits the handwraps would convey.

I am confused. Why would you ever choose putting runes on your nails rather than using hand wraps that would also enhance your kicks or whatever?

Is it just for people who have 10+ other items to invest?

And other items to spend gold on.
Wouldn't etching runes on your nails be no less expensive than buying handwraps?

Unless I'm reading the Runes vs Handwraps pricings wrong (which is an easy possibility) you start to save a bit going Nails over Handwraps


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Rysky wrote:
Brew Bird wrote:
Rysky wrote:
Excaliburproxy wrote:
Lyz Liddell wrote:
The intent here is that you can put runes on your nails, and your hands gain those benefits, but they wouldn't apply to e.g. a lizardfolk tail unarmed attack or a goblin's unarmed bite attack, or any special unarmed attacks from a barbarian. It's letting you use runes without having to invest in handwraps of mighty blows, but with the downside that you dont' get the full benefits the handwraps would convey.

I am confused. Why would you ever choose putting runes on your nails rather than using hand wraps that would also enhance your kicks or whatever?

Is it just for people who have 10+ other items to invest?

And other items to spend gold on.
Wouldn't etching runes on your nails be no less expensive than buying handwraps?
Unless I'm reading the Runes vs Handwraps pricings wrong (which is an easy possibility) you start to save a bit going Nails over Handwraps

By Nethys, the Max level hand wraps cost 40k; meanwhile, a +3 potency rune costs 8,935 and a major striking rune costs 31,065.

31,065 + 8,935 = 40,000

The Stiking rune does not include the potency rune (if that is what is tripping you up). At least, I am pretty sure?

Silver Crusade

Yep, did my math wrong, wasn't counting the previous iterations.


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Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

There's also the whole transferring runes from loot onto your nails. It might make a difference in the course of play.


WatersLethe wrote:
There's also the whole transferring runes from loot onto your nails. It might make a difference in the course of play.

Actually, I think maybe you can do the same thing with handwraps when I read the description on them.

From Nethys: "You can upgrade, add, and transfer runes to and from the handwraps just as you would for a weapon"

An added aside: are handwraps of mighty fists secretly just bandages that you can draw on?


Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Well there's the added benefit of using the nails to kind of spellstrike. But I personally don't like using weapons or being reliant of having to use magical equipment, so I really like the idea of the runes being basically part of my characters body.


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Gaulin wrote:
Well there's the added benefit of using the nails to kind of spellstrike. But I personally don't like using weapons or being reliant of having to use magical equipment, so I really like the idea of the runes being basically part of my characters body.

I like the concept of combining the nails with the Runescarred archetype and maybe the Arcane Tattoo chain of ancestry feats. Runes all over your body providing you with spells, armor properties, and weapon properties.


It's going to be interesting to see what happens when a witch gets defeated and the other side collects treasure... do they pull out the witches nails to avoid transferring the runes on the spot? Chop off her hands? Most times, people don't want to spend the time to transfer in place or drag a body around [alive or not].


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You gotta chop the witch’s hands off if only because it sounds like the foundation for some pretty cool heavy metal lyrics.


As an aside, going for just the internal framework of the Witch without multiclassing at all, enchanting your Nails does jack all for your Hair, so if you pick up both feats, you NEED handwraps unless you want an item bonus lag on your fun hair tricks like chain-tripping (which I did with my witch, I got 3d6 worth of crit-success damage on a paladin with making him fall flat on his butt over and over) and less dice if you need to bash rather than cut (like fighting a skeleton). There's also no clear upside to just enchanting your Nails directly outside of Dispel Magic targeting your handwraps and/or ye old item thief in the night (which is the biggest of jerk moves a GM could possibly pull, but that's not the point at hand)


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Excaliburproxy wrote:
You gotta chop the witch’s hands off if only because it sounds like the foundation for some pretty cool heavy metal lyrics.

Also, they dry up and shrivel, and after 666 days, you can get three wishes out of them.

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