Unarmed Strike as Weapon Group Feat?

[jaywolfenstien]

I have a player asking if he could take Improved Unarmed Strike as a Weapon Group Feat (Unearthed Arcana variant).

For this particular player and character, I'm not so worried about balance issues; however, I'm wary of setting a precedent I'll later regret.

Specifically, I'm worried about making Improved Grapple, Deflect Arrows, etc too easy to get. Then again, level dipping into Monk seems a better route to power gaming that way. Thoughts? Thanks in advance

 

[Ashtagon]

I'd be inclined to say no, because the feats that the Weapon Group feats are designed to replace (namely Weapon Proficiency (simple/martial/named martial weapon/named exotic weapon) just don't work the same way.

Under vanilla rules, all characters are considered to be proficient with unarmed strikes as a weapon. If using weapon groups, the same applies - they still have proficiency in unarmed strikes.

Weapon Groups replaces Weapon Proficiency, not the various unarmed combat feats.

 

[Dagredhel]

I vote yes; I think it's a fine idea. The "proficiency" applies to *lethal* unarmed strikes, offsetting the usual penalty. The various unarmed combat feats aren't overpowering by any means. And from the standpoint of versimilitude, most warrior-types *should* probably should have Improved Unarmed Strike, IMHO.

 

[Tilenas]

Yessir, I think it's a fine idea. This way, you also get to streamline armed/unarmed combat a bit. Monks shouldn't get it for free, though, as they do now.