What happens when the flying enchantment is applied to an unarmed strike?

[Khatoblepas]

I'm reading Magic of Faerun, and I came across the flying enchantment. Now, I love this little thing, since it allows you to make cheap animated objects out of anything that can be masterwork and a weapon. But then I thought.

What happens when it's applied to an unarmed strike? Namely, the monk's unarmed strike.

The text:

A flying weapon can fly at a speed of 30ft and is treated as an animated object with hardness and hit points equal to a typical weapon of it's kind. A flying weapon folows orders to the limits of it's ability (it has no intelligence) but can be ordered to guard a location just as an animated skeleton can. Only melee weapons can have the flying ability.

Now, it's ludicrously easy for a monk to gain this ability. A couple of levels in Kensai (To enchant his body without having to make it masterwork) will get his unarmed strike flying. But what exactly happens?

Is it:
a) The monk gains a fly speed of 30ft, but has no Int score.
b) The monk's unarmed strike seperates from his body, being a seperate entity (the monk himself loses the ability to make unarmed strikes), and manifests as an unarmed construct shaped flying construct with the monk's HP. (Like some kind of Ki entity)
c) The monk can fly, or send his unarmed strikes flying to attack on their own.
d) Something else? Like every atom of a monk exploding into a construct, since a monk can make an unarmed strike with every part of his body, so every part of his body becomes a mindless construct.

Bonus question:
What happens when you cast Awaken Construct on a monk's flying unarmed strike?

[gallagher]

I'm reading Magic of Faerun, and I came across the flying enchantment. Now, I love this little thing, since it allows you to make cheap animated objects out of anything that can be masterwork and a weapon. But then I thought.

What happens when it's applied to an unarmed strike? Namely, the monk's unarmed strike.

The text:


Now, it's ludicrously easy for a monk to gain this ability. A couple of levels in Kensai will get his unarmed strike flying. But what exactly happens?

Is it:
a) The monk gains a fly speed of 30ft, but has no Int score.
b) The monk's unarmed strike seperates from his body, being a seperate entity (the monk himself loses the ability to make unarmed strikes), and manifests as an unarmed construct shaped flying construct with the monk's HP. (Like some kind of Ki entity)
c) The monk can fly, or send his unarmed strikes flying to attack on their own.
d) Something else? Like every atom of a monk exploding into a construct, since a monk can make an unarmed strike with every part of his body, so every part of his body becomes a mindless construct.

Bonus question:
What happens when you cast Awaken Construct on a monk's flying unarmed strike?

well the easiest answer is to be a warforged, and rocket fist it. and you should make sure to also enchant the UAS as returning...

not saying that it is necessary or even does anything. i just figure that if the consensus is that he separated his fist from his body, that he would like it back

[Traveler]

How are you enchanting a monk's fist and how are you making said fist a masterwork item? I don't mean to be a downer on the idea, but I don't think you can enchant a living being, unless you are a warforged and that's another topic.

Edit: Partly swordsaged.

[Khatoblepas]

How are you enchanting a monk's fist and how are you making said fist a masterwork item? I don't mean to be a downer on the idea, but I don't think you can enchant a living being, unless you are a warforged and that's another topic.

Edit: Partly swordsaged.

I said in the OP. Kensai (Complete Warrior). It specifically allows you to enchant your unarmed strike.

And it's not just the fist, since the unarmed strike can be made with any part of the body. So what is affected by flying must be his entire body.

[Volos]

As a DM I would say that since your fists are also a natural weapon you cannot enchant them with an effect that treats them soley as a manufactured weapon. You can keen a claw but you can't make the claw fly 30ft and have no int score. Crunch wise I see what you're trying to ask, but common sense has to jump in here at some point.

[Siosilvar]

I would allow throwing unarmed strikes, as long as you also give them returning.

Flying... if it requires masterwork then no go.

Otherwise, common sense says no, as above.

[FMArthur]

Your unarmed strike weapon never had its own Int score to begin with. I'd just say his body flies, by his own command. Hopefully nobody else can command your unarmed strike.

[Traveler]

Seriously, there is a class that can do that for monks! Cool! My bad then.
If I were DMing that, I would call that when attacking you can fly 30ft and attack a target ( like an aimed rocket), but do not gain fly at will. Or...
You fists can fly, but since you are attached your body hangs below you, making combat in the air nearly impossible.

[Khatoblepas]

Seriously, there is a class that can do that for monks! Cool! My bad then.
If I were DMing that, I would call that when attacking you can fly 30ft and attack a target ( like an aimed rocket), but do not gain fly at will. Or...
You fists can fly, but since you are attached your body hangs below you, making combat in the air nearly impossible.

That's no problem for our intrepid monk, who can use his feet as his unarmed strike, too. It's not just fists, remember? It's any part of his body.

Heck, he can unarmed strike with his hair.

[Voice of Reason]

It really depends on how you interpret unarmed strike. For starters, you are not enchanting your fist, you are enchanting your unarmed strike, which is a significant difference. The monk Unarmed Strike reads, from the SRD:



...A monk’s attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may even make unarmed strikes with her hands full...

An unarmed strike is not exclusively your fist, and likewise it is not your entire body (unless you're going to make the argument that a monk can make an unarmed strike with any part of their body; that's a tough sell). Therefore, being largely intangible, I would rule that the flying enhancement doesn't really do a whole lot for the monk, because you're not actually enchanting any one part of your body, but the unarmed strike (likewise, brilliant energy doesn't allow you to walk through walls, or phase through the earth infinitely due to gravity's pull).

[Greenish]

I said in the OP. Kensai (Complete Warrior). It specifically allows you to enchant your unarmed strike.

And it's not just the fist, since the unarmed strike can be made with any part of the body. So what is affected by flying must be his entire body.Doesn't Kensai specify that you have to enchant your fists (and pay more since you have two of them)?

[Khatoblepas]

Doesn't Kensai specify that you have to enchant your fists (and pay more since you have two of them)?

Ah, I just read the entry, but it keeps using fists as an example rather than something they have to do. It's muddily worded, and it begs the question: "What if a Monk Kensai kicked someone?" It's still the same unarmed strike, but executed by another part of the body. It contradicts the text in monk, which says an unarmed strike is not just fists, but whoever wrote the natural weapon entry really liked the word fists.

[The Winter King]

Doesn't Kensai specify that you have to enchant your fists (and pay more since you have two of them)?

Actually it just says you have to enchant a specific kind and all of that kind, so I could enchant my feet (for kicking things) but I would have to enchant both feet and the enhancement would apply only to unarmed attacks I make using my feet. As for what would happen if you did this with flying...Captain Buggy.:smallamused:

[Andraste]

I think it would fly around, pulling you with it. Unless you were really light, though, you would probably weigh it down too much.

Strength=8
Carrying capacity: L:26 lb. or less, M:27-53 lb. H: 54-80 lb.

(http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/animatedObject.htm)
(http://www.d20srd.org/srd/carryingCapacity.htm)

[gallagher]

Actually it just says you have to enchant a specific kind and all of that kind, so I could enchant my feet (for kicking things) but I would have to enchant both feet and the enhancement would apply only to unarmed attacks I make using my feet. As for what would happen if you did this with flying...Captain Buggy.:smallamused:
all of a sudden enchanting the monk's hair sounds like a bad idea...

and it would have looked cool too

[term1nally s1ck]

New enchant for Fistbeard? Yes. He can now use his beard as a helicopter blade to fly

[Combat Reflexes]

It doesn't have to stop there, Fistbeard! You can get Explosive on your beard. Or whirling (whooosh).

I could totally see him with a +1 Explosive Flying Smoking Flaming Impact beard :smallbiggrin:

[term1nally s1ck]

Sizing, Throwing, and Returning.

Yeah, I did just smack you with my colossal beard from across the room.

[ericgrau]

An independent entity made of pure ki seems to fit the fluff the best, as you are enchanting his fist as a weapon and the enchant makes the weapon into something you can command to zoom around. Since the monk can fight with other body parts there isn't any real drawback. But if he must fight with that particular fist I'd say reducing it to the normal 1d2 damage and making it unable to use any ki related ability would be fair.

[kts2008]

Acualy, the answer is quite simple: KAMEHAMEHA!!

[Worira]

Your hand tears itself violently from your wrist, your foot from your leg, etc. You rapidly die of blood loss unless magic is used to stop the bleeding, and your limbs cannot be reattached without Regeneration or a similar spell.

[MeeposFire]

Your fist is able to fly unfortunately it is still attached to you and you cannot. So it can fly as far as your reach will allow.

[ericgrau]

It really depends on how you interpret unarmed strike. For starters, you are not enchanting your fist, you are enchanting your unarmed strike, which is a significant difference. The monk Unarmed Strike reads, from the SRD:



An unarmed strike is not exclusively your fist, and likewise it is not your entire body (unless you're going to make the argument that a monk can make an unarmed strike with any part of their body; that's a tough sell). Therefore, being largely intangible, I would rule that the flying enhancement doesn't really do a whole lot for the monk, because you're not actually enchanting any one part of your body, but the unarmed strike (likewise, brilliant energy doesn't allow you to walk through walls, or phase through the earth infinitely due to gravity's pull).


Acualy, the answer is quite simple: KAMEHAMEHA!!

So... you're enchanting your whole body, in dragonball they focused on moving around the ki inside of them to fly, ergo the dbz characters must have found this cheesy trick where they gave themself the flying weapon enchantment to fly. It all makes sense now. Well up until dragonball GT anyway. Nothing about GT makes sense.

[Ossian]

Oh my God, are you trying to do this:

http://www.mazingerztoys.com/images/mazinger-rocket-punch.jpg

???

[ClockShock]

Wouldn't 30ft reach just be more fun? It's a monk after all, how much damage could he do?
Flying bolts of ki energy or something...

[MeeposFire]

Wouldn't 30ft reach just be more fun? It's a monk after all, how much damage could he do?
Flying bolts of ki energy or something...

How much are you willing to optimize?:smallwink:

[No brains]

I actually really liked Blaford's response. It's an independent creature, but it is stuck to you and can't lift you so nothing really changes. Or, you could be considered grappling your own attacks and just ruin everything for the duration of the spell.

If you could hack of an unarmed strike, it would gruesomely work as a flying weapon, but that raises many other concerns that make this idea not worthy of thought, not the least of which is that you can't do a called shot to cut off a body part. And if you want to deliver ranged a head butt via a vorpal self-coup de grace, you never really had more intelligence than your severed-head consruct now wizzing above your very dead corpse.

Use this idea as a bluff check and neutralize the guard via him wetting his pants with laughter.

[umbrapolaris]

Oh my God, are you trying to do this:

http://www.mazingerztoys.com/images/mazinger-rocket-punch.jpg

???


AWESOME !!!!! ^^

[Toptomcat]

(unless you're going to make the argument that a monk can make an unarmed strike with any part of their body; that's a tough sell).

Speaking as a lifetime martial artist, it doesn't seem terribly implausible. You can butt with the forehead, gouge at eyes with the chin, ram with the shoulders, strike with the elbows, forearms, and fists, make flying tackles or slams with your chest, off-balance or injure with a hip check, smash with the knee, kick with the shin, instep, or heel, make a Hulk Hogan-style leg drop with the back of the leg...strangle people with sufficiently long hair...I'm having a harder time coming up with body parts you can't maul people with than with those you can't. The face from the nose upwards...the neck...and that's about it.