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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 2703638" data-attributes="member: 3424">I don't think it is even possible to have a "final response" to some questions, since the rules are unclear, can have different valid interpretations, or just do not cover the situation. Furthermore, I'm starting to think that it is no longer sufficient to determine what is "RAW", or what is "official". Different people like to play different types of games. A rule that works well in one game might not work well in another. What I think is lacking is good, solid advice on how to apply the rules to achieve the type of game you want.So, to revisit the question on whether monks can take Improved Natural Attack, the FAQ entry might go something like this (please feel free to improve on it if you feel I've missed out on anything):Can a monk take Improved Natural Attack?The SRD states that "A monk’s unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons." The Feats section of the D&D FAQ states that "spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons" includes feats such as Improved Natural Attack.However, it can be argued that a feat's only "effects" are the items listed under its "Benefit" section. By this interpretation, a monk's unarmed strike is not considered a natural weapon for the purposes of qualifying for Improved Natural Attack, and a monk may not take the feat unless he has a natural weapon (e.g. he is of a race that has a natural weapon).DM AdviceImproved Natural Attack boosts a monk's combat ability significantly. A monk whose base unarmed strike damage is 1d8 increases it to 2d6, an average increase of 2.5 points, if he selects this feat. This is higher than the damage bonus that a fighter can obtain by selecting Weapon Specialization. The increase in average damage from the feat gets larger as the monk's base unarmed strike damage increases. A monk whose base unarmed strike damage is 2d8 increases it to 3d8, an average increase of 4.5 points. This is higher than the damage bonus that a fighter can obtain by selecting both Weapon Specialization and Greater Weapon Specialization.On the other hand, a monk's base unarmed strike damage tends to outstrip a fighter's base weapon damage anyway. At 8th level, a monk's unarmed strike deals as much base damage as the best one-handed weapons in the core rules, at 12th level, it deals as much base damage as the best two-handed weapon in the core rules, and at 16th level and up, it deals more base damage than any weapon in the core rules. Hence, this is an area in which the monk already does better than the fighter.Allow monks to take Improved Natural Attack if you want to boost the combat abilities of the monks in your campaign. Bear in mind that this will narrow the gap between monks and the other combat-oriented classes, and that monks already get several other special abilities.Agreed. I wouldn't mind contributing to the effort, though. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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