Greatsword-Unarmed Attack combination?

Anabstercorian

First Post
One of my backup characters is a half-orc Fighter/Monk going for One Fist Disciple. I was wondering - Is there any way I could attack with both my Greatsword and an unarmed attack in one round? If there isn't, what sort of Feat would you make to allow that?
 

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Monkey Grip feat from _Sword & Fist_ will let you do that. I think it might actually even allow you to wield two greatswords at once.
 

Feat Idea

Tornado Crash [General]
You can attack with both a two-handed Bludgeoning or Slashing weapon in addition to an unarmed attack in the same round.
Prerequisites: Str 13+, 4 ranks Tumble, Power Attack, Improved Unarmed Strike
Benefit: As a partial action, if you are currently wielding a two-handed weapon, you may may two attack rolls, each at a -4 penalty to hit; The first roll represents your attack with your weapon and the second represents a spin kick that takes advantage of your improved momentum.
Both attacks do less damage than normal. The attack with the two handed weapon does NOT add 1.5 times your strength bonus to damage, but only your normal strength bonus. Your unarmed attack does NOT add your full strength bonus, but half your strength bonus, rounded down.
Special: If you do not have an additional limb to attack with aside from your two hands, then you cannot use this feat. This feat represents a sideways slashing blow that is used to provide momentum for a hook kick. It can't be done without a leg, or a leg equivalent.

I think this feat is balanced - But is the penalty to hit too high, or too low?
 

Unarmed attacks don't have to be with fists, you can use elbows, knees, feet, or any body part. However mixing attacks from casues problems because you have a different number with your greatsword then with your unarmed attacks.

My suggestion is there is a feat in one of the Dragons that allows Monks to usea certain weapon with the better number of attacks.
 

By just looking at it, I think it is fine.

I don't see why it shouldn't follow the normal 2 weapon rules though.

I would run a mock combat with your character against himself and see what happens.

Give you1 the -4/-4 give the second you the full -4/-8. Well, now that I think about it, I bet you probably don't have to do that.


Start giving yourself some feats (ambi, 2wfighting) and see at what point your feat equals out. Right now it seems to strong. YOu should have to take the feat to do it at all. I don't think you should get an added bonus, too!
 

Crothian, already taken care of it - You'll notice that it specifically says you only get ONE attack.

Trenton, I'm a firm believer that two-weapon fighting was shafted anyway, so while I see your perspective, I'm going to have to decline to share it.

As is, I'm thinking of increasing it to -5 to-hit penalty.
 


The Netbook of Feats (a wonderful resource) contains the following:

BODY COMBAT [General, Melee]
COPYRIGHT 2001, Carl Cramér

You may add an unarmed attack to your attack routine.

Prerequisite: Improved Unarmed Strike, dexterity 15+.

Benefit: You gain the use of the Two-Weapon Fighting and Ambidexterity feats, but only when your off-hand weapon is an unarmed attack such as a kick, knee, elbow smash or head butt or an armored variant of an unarmed attack such as a gauntlet, steel boot, kneepad, elbow guard or helmet.

Special: You can learn later feats for which Ambidexterity or Two-Weapon fighting are prerequisites based on the virtual’ feats learned with Body Combat, but you can then only use those feats when you fulfill the limitations of Body Combat.

Notes: Unarmed attacks are of a size code two less that the user, and so are always light weapons. With this feat, an armored boot, kneepad, elbow guard, helmeted head or similar object works like a gauntlet, with or without spikes, and they can all be used with this feat if you are proficient with them.

Will this do for your character, do you think?

As a side note, I actually saw a program on the History Channel that dealt with the style of combat you wish to portray. A manuscript exists that contains illuminated pictures that diagram attack and defense positions for a two-handed sword style of fighting. A British expert extrapolated from the illustrations to determine how each move would connect with the others. The result was a fluid style in which each attack routine put the swordsmen in an excellent defensive position at the end of a blow, poised for the next attack. The form relied as much if not more on balance and momentum as strength for its efficacy; the swordsman would move around his weapon as much as moving it around himself.

This wasn't the stereotypical 'stand back far enough to get a really good swing while holding your greatsword in a two-fisted grip' kind of fighting. In the course of his routine, the swordsman would shift his grip from one-handed to two-, and from the hilt to length of the blade. He would step in close, and wield his sword like a stabbing spear, club with the handle while grasping the weapon by the blade, bash with the pommel, or strike with the flat of the blade as if it were a quarterstaff. Mixed in with his weapon routine would be opportunistic unarmed attacks: elbows, shoulders, kicks to the legs, knees, and lower body.

Furthermore, the style took defense into account as much as offense. By staying in close to his foeman, the attacker would keep his opponent off-balance, and give him little opportunity to ready his own strikes. The swordsman's more powerful attacks would always result in his blade interposed between himself and his opponent, either in a guard position to deflect attacks, or with a sweeping motion which would force his adversary to back off.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting to discover that, historically, the two-handed sword wasn't just a dressed-up crowbar.
 

Anabstercorian said:
One of my backup characters is a half-orc Fighter/Monk going for One Fist Disciple. I was wondering - Is there any way I could attack with both my Greatsword and an unarmed attack in one round? If there isn't, what sort of Feat would you make to allow that?

I would say YES, as long as you don't mind a style issue... When your character gets his +6 BAB, he can take his first attack (greatsword) at +6 with his full 1.5 times strength, and then take his second attack (headbutt, kick, whatever) at +1 with his normal full strength.

In other words, not two weapon fighting to get an extra off hand attack, but mixing and matching the weapons which he uses during his full attack routine.

This might not be exactly what you are looking for, but it IS one way in which you can attack with Greatsword and unarmed in one round!

Cheers
 

There is no need for extra rules or feats to accomplish this.

You simply designate the Great Sword as your primary attack and your unarmed strike as secondary.

You will have a Str bonus to damage of 1.5*Str for the Greatsword and 0.5*Str for the unarmed strike.

Unfortunately, since you are attacking with a non-monk weapon, you won't benefit from any of your special unarmed benefits, such as Flurry or Improved Iterative Attacks.

This also means that you need to have Ambi and TWF to avoid the major penalties to hit. Also, unless you invest in the Improved TWF feats, you will never recieve more than one strike per turn with your unarmed strike.

****************
On a related note, one very good strategy is to wield a reach weapon, and use your unarmed attacks whenever an opponent comes inside your reach. (You charge the Halberdier. He gets to make one free swipe at you before you get to him, then plants the haft of his weapon and kicks you in the chest.)
 

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