Do brawlers get their feature bonuses with grabbing weapons?

[DracoSuave]

Your unarmed attack is not an item. Only items can be enchanted with the Enchant Magic Item ritual.

However, a DM could give you a boon that grants you an inherent enhancement bonus.

 

[Ferghis]

Damage is a little tougher to make up for, but it's not impossible. The Brutal Brawler feat changes your damage to d6 instead of d4. Weapon Focus and other such feats can apply to unarmed attacks. There are also feats which allow you to cause damage when a creature fails to escape your grab; I believe there's also one which causes damage even when you fail a grab.
... There are a few things you can pick up via Multiclassing which match up well too. I'm away from my books at the moment, but I believe there's a barbarian feat which allows you to throw offhand weapons 5 squares; unarmed strikes count as being offhand.

I have to admit that damage is not at the front of my mind when I'm building a brawler, even though I like punishing fighters. Still, the problem is that brawler builds tend to be more feat starved than most, to make their grabs last longer (which is more important than damage). Focusing on bonuses to hit and pumping fortitude takes a lot of feats, along with the mandatory builds that keep it generally competitive. I'll post my build later to discuss them, but I didn't have room for quite a few from my list, let alone many of the ones you mention.

Let alone throwing your unarmed attacks. Not sure that passes the sniff test.

You could, but the proficiency bonus for the Brawler Fighter's unarmed strikes increases at higher levels. After a certain point, you'd be more accurate without the gauntlets.

At level 11, proficiency bonus for unarmed strikes is +4. Proficiency bonus for gauntlets is +2, and enhancement bonus is +2 or greater.

At level 21, it's +6 vs +2+4 or greater.

Unarmed attacks don't get enhancement bonuses without a ki focus involved.

Tho, that is an idea as well.

I don't understand where you get the proficiency bonus. The non-monk unarmed attack is explicitly listed as an improvised attack in the glossary, and therefore shouldn't gain a proficiency bonus, unless it says otherwise elsewhere.

When you punch, kick, elbow, knee, or even head butt an opponent, you’re making an unarmed strike. A simple unarmed attack is treated as an improvised weapon.

The brawler features are:
+1 bonus to AC
+2 bonus to Fortitude
+2 enhancement bonus to the attack rolls of unarmed attacks (increase to +4 at 11th level and +6 at 21st level)
+2 bonus to the attack rolls of grab attacks and attacks to move a creature you’re grabbing. +4 at 11th level and +6 at 21st level.

Where are you guys seeing a proficiency bonus?

 

[Argyle King]

Page 6 of Martial Power 2: "...you gain a +2 proficiency bonus with unarmed attacks..."

It then goes on to say the bonus increases at higher levels.

 

[DracoSuave]

Page 6 of Martial Power 2: "...you gain a +2 proficiency bonus with unarmed attacks..."

It then goes on to say the bonus increases at higher levels.

That's what it says.

But... Ferghis is right, it got errata'd.

And that also means that, even if you could enchant your unarmed attack, it won't do anything, as you already have an enhancement bonus

 

[Argyle King]

That's what it says.

But... Ferghis is right, it got errata'd.

And that also means that, even if you could enchant your unarmed attack, it won't do anything, as you already have an enhancement bonus

The errata changed it to an enhancement bonus?

edit: Well, I suppose I was wrong if that's the case. Thematically I think it makes more sense as a proficiency bonus, but I'm the guy who makes the rules, so...