Monks and Gauntlets

[Kurashu]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but do gauntlets count as being unarmed for monks?

 

[Klaus]

According to the latest errata, yes. Monks can use gauntlets, dealing their normal unarmed damage, and even flurry with them.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

According to the latest errata, yes. Monks can use gauntlets, dealing their normal unarmed damage, and even flurry with them.

I think you mean, "According to the latest FAQ ..." I can't find anything about gauntlets in the latest Errata file ...

Of course, if we head into the FAQ, we find ...

Can a monk wear a gauntlet and still use her flurry of blows? Does she gain any other special abilities of the gauntlets with her unarmed strikes?

Technically, a gauntlet isn’t an unarmed strike (it has a separate line on Table 7–5: Weapons in the Player’s Handbook), and thus can’t be used as part of a flurry of blows. A monk could wear gauntlets and still use flurry of blows, she just couldn’t attack with the gauntlets as part of the flurry (she’d be using her feet, elbows, knees, and so forth instead).

If that’s too much hairsplitting for you, treat a gauntlet attack as effectively identical to an unarmed strike, except that it always deals lethal damage (even when worn by a monk). Many magic items called gauntlets aren’t necessarily using the same terminology. Gauntlets of ogre power, for example, aren’t always metal gloves. It’s conceivable that a monk might
be wearing magic gauntlets that grant a special benefit on her unarmed strikes without those gauntlets also serving as weapons in their own right. In this case, the monk is making unarmed strike attacks, not gauntlet attacks.

Followed immediately by ...

Can a monk treat an attack with a gauntlet as an unarmed strike?

A monk could wear such an item and treat it as an unarmed strike (since the Player’s Handbook says that “a strike with a gauntlet is . . . considered an unarmed attack”), although the damage dealt by the gauntlet would always be considered lethal damage (as noted in the gauntlet entry) and the monk would suffer a nonproficiency penalty (since the gauntlet is a simple weapon). The monk could even use gauntlet attacks as part of a flurry of blows.

Guess which answer is correct?

(Hint: It's the first one. A gauntlet is not a special monk weapon, and therefore cannot be used as part of a flurry of blows.)

 

[Klaus]

Yeah, FAQ.

But I don't buy the Simple Weapon angle. Gauntlets are listed under Unarmed Attacks, and any character can make an unarmed attack, even if he doesn't have Improved Unarmed Strike. In the description of the gauntlet, it says “a strike with a gauntlet is . . . considered an unarmed attack”. And the text always takes precedence over the tables.

By the "Simple Weapon" angle, wizards, rogues and other classes that don't get Simple Weapon Proficiency would suffer the -4 nonproficiency penalty to unarmed strikes, since unarmed strikes are listed under Simple Weapons...

 

[mvincent]

Guess which answer is correct?

(Hint: It's the first one.

The fact that even the FAQ contains two different interpretations (to say nothing of the countless debates I've seen on this) seems to imply that the matter is subject to some interpretation, and so in need of an actual (single) ruling.

I've already written to WotC for them to correct this. Personally, I couldn't care less which answer is removed (but I completely understand that some will have strong biases on the issue).

 

[jcfiala]

By the "Simple Weapon" angle, wizards, rogues and other classes that don't get Simple Weapon Proficiency would suffer the -4 nonproficiency penalty to unarmed strikes, since unarmed strikes are listed under Simple Weapons...

Actually, Rogues do get simple weapon proficiency. You know - it doesn't exactly break my suspension of disbelief to think that Wizards are hopeless at unarmed fighting. But since Monks aren't specifically given proficiency with unarmed strikes, I've got to agree that it's not something you're proficient with or not.

My general feeling is that gauntlets can't be used by monks as an enchantable weapon for fighting with flurry of blows, or else 'Amulet of Mighty Fists' wouldn't exist. Of course, if you want monks to be improved without changing the class, making a house rule that you can get +3 gauntlets that work with flurry and other monk attacks would do it.

 

[Klaus]

The Amulet of Mighty Fists enhances all of your natural/unarmed attacks. Enchanted gauntlets only work if you can attack with your fists. So there's still a niche for them.