Can a monk flurry in a grapple?

[mvincent]

I feel that if flurry of blows could conceivably be used to make multiple trip attempts with a kama, it could be used to make multiple trip attempts unarmed.

Well said.

the RotG seems to think that you could use multiple natural weapons in a grapple

That was evidently corrected (here) on 03/20/2007.

Still, it was good to know how some of the original authors thought grapple worked. I'm guessing it was merely a quirk of fate that the current (less intuitive) method was adopted.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Why would a unarmed touch attack not be performed with an unarmed strike?

Consider delivering a touch spell with a touch attack - an example of an 'armed' unarmed attack. It's an unarmed touch attack.

The touch spell can also be delivered with an unarmed strike. No longer a touch attack, no longer 'armed'.

The first is an unarmed touch attack, not using an unarmed strike, to which Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) does not apply. The second is an unarmed attack - specifically, an unarmed strike - to which Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) applies. Since we have an eample of an unarmed attack which is not an unarmed strike, the two are not interchangeable.

(This is in addition to the unarmed touch attack used to start a grapple which is not an unarmed strike, again showing that the two are not interchangeable.)

Even the rules-text of the feat "Improved Unarmed Strike" taken completely by itself fails to distinguish clearly between "attacking unarmed" and an "unarmed strike". Apart from the fact that the feat's very name refers to unarmed strikes yet grants benefits to all unarmed attacks, the text also fails to distinguish the two.

The Deflect Arrows feat allows you to deflect arrows... and also other ranged weapons. The Improved Unarmed Strike feat improves your unarmed strike... and also other unarmed attacks. The name is the feat is not mechanics.

That doesn't make any sense, indeed. How do (would) you adjudicate that?

That an invisible attacker denies his opponents Dex bonus, while a hiding attacker treats his opponents as flat-footed. It might not seem to make sense, but it's what the rules say...

-Hyp.