Unarmed Combat


UNARMED COMBAT (FINESSE, POWER)

You have trained to fight with punches, kicks, elbows, and the like, so you can engage an armed opponent on equal terms.

 

Base Mastery: 1

Benefit: You are considered armed even when you do not have a weapon in hand. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity from armed opponents when you attack them while unarmed. However, you still get an attack of opportunity against any opponent who makes an unarmed attack on you unless they also have this feat.

 

You gain a +2 bonus to your unarmed damage rolls. Your unarmed strikes can deal lethal or nonlethal damage, at your option. Additionally, your unarmed strike becomes either a Power weapon (if you took this feat as a Power feat) or a Finesse weapon (if you took this feat as a Finesse feat). When you wield a weapon with the unarmed descriptor, it gains the same benefits as your unarmed strike.

 

Normal: Without this feat, you are considered unarmed when attacking with an unarmed strike, and you can deal only nonlethal damage with such an attack.

 

Special: Note that the benefits for expanded masteries 2, 5, and 8 are identical. They are listed as separate mastery abilities because you can't take the same ability more than once. However, their effects stack with each other, with the base mastery of this feat, and with damage bonuses from Weapon Focus (unarmed strike).

 

Expanded Mastery: 2. You learn more advanced unarmed combat techniques that allow you to inflict more damage with your unarmed strikes. You gain a +2 bonus on your unarmed strike damage rolls.

 

You also gain this damage bonus when fighting with weapons that have the unarmed descriptor.

 

Expanded Mastery: 3. You learn advanced unarmed holds and grapples and are an expert wrestler. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when you make a touch attack to start a grapple. You also gain a +4 bonus on all grapple checks, regardless of whether you started the grapple.

 

Expanded Mastery: 4. Your training in unarmed combat techniques gives you excellent poise and coordination, and gives you an advantage when opponents try to knock you off balance. You gain a +4 bonus to all Strength or Dexterity checks made to resist any bull rush, overrun, or trip attack against you.

 

Expanded Mastery: 5. You learn more advanced unarmed combat techniques that allow you to inflict more damage with your unarmed strikes. You gain a +2 bonus on your unarmed strike damage rolls.

 

You also gain this damage bonus when fighting with weapons that have the unarmed descriptor.

 

Expanded Mastery: 6. You can make extremely rapid unarmed strikes. When you use the full attack action with unarmed strikes, you may choose to make one extra attack at your highest attack bonus. However, if you choose to make this extra attack, then each attack you make that round (the extra one and the normal ones) suffers a –2 penalty to the attack roll. The extra attack and penalties stack with those from Two-Weapon Fighting.

 

Expanded Mastery: 7. Your training in unarmed combat gives you a significant edge when fighting an opponent who does not understand unarmed fighting techniques. If you are fighting an opponent who has no natural weapons and whose unarmed strikes provoke attacks of opportunity, you gain a +1 bonus to Defense and to all attack and damage rolls for your own unarmed strikes. You gain this bonus regardless of whether or not your opponent is fighting unarmed or with a weapon.

 

Expanded Mastery: 8. You learn more advanced unarmed combat techniques that allow you to inflict more damage with your unarmed strikes. You gain a +2 bonus on your unarmed strike damage rolls.

 

You also gain this damage bonus when fighting with weapons that have the unarmed descriptor.

 

Expanded Mastery: 9. You have learned to make a debilitating nerve strike with your unarmed attacks. Whenever you make an unarmed attack, you can choose to attempt such a strike. If you are making more than one attack in a round, you can choose whether or not to make a nerve strike with each attack. When you attempt a nerve strike, you suffer a –4 penalty to your attack roll, but if the attack inflicts damage, your target must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + half the damage dealt after DR) or become nauseated until the end of its next turn. If you make multiple nerve strikes on a single creature in a given round, it must make a separate saving throw against each nerve strike.

 

A creature immune to sneak attacks or critical hits is not vulnerable to nerve strikes. You cannot use a nerve strike while striking a creature with concealment or while hitting the limbs of a creature whose vitals are beyond reach.

 

Expanded Mastery: 10. You can make blindingly fast unarmed strikes. When you use the full attack action with unarmed strikes, you may decide to make two extra attacks at your highest attack bonus. However, if you choose to make these extra attacks, then each attack you make that round (the two extra ones and the normal ones) suffers a –6 penalty to the attack roll.

 

You cannot use this ability and Unarmed Combat's expanded mastery 6 ability to gain three extra unarmed strikes per round. You either gain one extra attack (and a –2 penalty) or two extra attacks (and a –6 penalty).


 

Two Weapon Fighting And Unarmed Combat Mastery

Q: Do the Two Weapon Fighting feats that grant extra attacks stack with the Unarmed Combat feats that grant extra attacks?

 

Yes, extra attacks stack.

 

Q: I would assume that if so, all the penalties stack?

 

Yes, penalties stack.

 

Q: Does the "off hand" have less of a strength bonus on some of these extra attacks (either the bonus attacks granted by Two Weapon Fighting, or all bonus attacks, period)?

 

The Two Weapon Fighting off-hand strikes have the lower Strength bonus. Extra attacks from Unarmed Combat get the full Strength bonus.

 


 

Unarmed Combat and the Improved Natural Attack Feat

The Improved natural attack feat cannot be used with unarmed strikes, as unarmed strikes are not natural attacks, and vice versa. Refer IH core book, page 180.


 

Mighty Build and Unarmed Attacks

Click on the Mighty Build link for details on how this trait interacts with Unarmed Attacks.


 

Unarmed Combat and Weapons with the Unarmed Descriptor

See the link above for details of how these interact.


 

Unarmed Combat and Thrown Weapons

See the Thrown Weapons link for details of how these interact.