Breakthrough Construct Modifications (Advanced Weaponry - Complex Simplicity) question


Inventor Class


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Advanced Weaponry - You’ve upgraded your construct’s weaponry. Choose one of your construct’s unarmed attacks to gain your choice of one initial weapon modification, chosen from the list on page 17 or from other initial weapon modifications to which you have access. The unarmed attack must meet any requirements for the chosen traits (such as being a melee attack for entangling form)

One of the Initial Weapon Modifications is Complex Simplicity (simple weapon only) Increase your innovation’s weapon damage die by one step (d4 to d6, d6 to d8, d8 to d10, d10 to d12). In addition, it gains one of the following traits of your choice: versatile B, versatile P, or versatile S.

I believe RAW since Advanced Weaponry mentions the construct's unarmed attack must meet any requirements for the chosen traits, no unarmed attacks qualify for Complex Simplicity which can only apply to simple weapons and RAW, unarm attacks do not count as weapons.

"However, unarmed attacks aren’t weapons, and effects and abilities that work with weapons never work with unarmed attacks unless they specifically say so."
https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=223

I am unsure if this is intentional and if it is intentional, I am wondering if this Breakthrough option should clarify it with reminder text since increasing damage die is going to be among the more appealing options each time. I'd rather it is clarified that Complex Simplicity can be taken as an option specifically as an Advanced Weaponry modification. It doesn't seem overly powerful and in example builds I simply wanted to upgrade the projectile launcher d4 damage die to a d6 instead to make it line up with a shortbow's damage output.


I think if it's allowed it becomes the obvious winner of the existing choices, but also that's more a condemnation of the existing choices than anything else.

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