Heya faceless rules amalgam!
Previous forays into the forums have taught me to trust your opinions on these sorts of questions so here we go!
Say you have an Operative who takes the Pistol Whip Exploit - because smacking someone over the back of the head w/ a handcannon is sexy - and said handcannon has a fusion on it that affects attacks the pistol makes (gives em a crit effect or smthn).
Would said fusion also affect the weapon attacks made with a Pistol Whip, if the pistol is used. Say I crit with it, and it had a fusion that granted a crit effect, would this then trigger?
Cheers for any replies!
I believe the rules answer is that the attack is considered to be an unarmed strike. You're not actually using the pistol as a weapon, you just need to be holding the pistol to make the Pistol Whip attack. Compare to the Armor Storm soldier's Hammer Fist: it's not an unarmed strike, it's a Battle Glove attack that you make in place of an unarmed strike. You can't use stuff like the IUS feat, the Unarmed Mauler gear boost, or the fusions on a tactical shield with Hammer Fist, because you're, effectively, not making an unarmed strike.
A generous GM might allow you to use critical effect fusions, or other fusions that are not unique to ranged attacks or small arms, but, personally, I think that Pistol Whip is incredibly powerful all by itself and doesn't need a buff like that.
I believe the rules answer is that the attack is considered to be an unarmed strike. You're not actually using the pistol as a weapon, you just need to be holding the pistol to make the Pistol Whip attack. Compare to the Armor Storm soldier's Hammer Fist: it's not an unarmed strike, it's a Battle Glove attack that you make in place of an unarmed strike. You can't use stuff like the IUS feat, the Unarmed Mauler gear boost, or the fusions on a tactical shield with Hammer Fist, because you're, effectively, not making an unarmed strike.
A generous GM might allow you to use critical effect fusions, or other fusions that are not unique to ranged attacks or small arms, but, personally, I think that Pistol Whip is incredibly powerful all by itself and doesn't need a buff like that.
Yeah that makes total sense. I just didn't know if it would work as it says in the feat that you make the attack with a small arm. Worst case I can add a bayonett I guess, haha.
Thanks Draco!
No problem. Note that, if you don't play in Society, you can badger your GM to let you draw from the Critical Hit deck when you roll a crit, so that you aren't completely without a crit effect.