I want to enchant my fists [3.5]

[questionmark693]

I'm a sword sage looking at Child of Shadows I believe it's called, and I'm going the unarmed route. Is there a RAW way I can add some enchantments to my fists? I'm playing a VoP style character, but haven't actually taken the feat.

[Waker]

I'm a sword sage looking at Child of Shadows I believe it's called, and I'm going the unarmed route. Is there a RAW way I can add some enchantments to my fists? I'm playing a VoP style character, but haven't actually taken the feat.

Well, I have no idea what Child of Shadows is, but if you want to enchant your Unarmed Strike, take some levels in Kensai (CWar). Indirectly you could use Amulet of Natural Attacks. The latter option will require money though, so VoP won't work.
You could consider dipping in Totemist to grab some natural attack melds like Sphinx Claws. I seem to recall a feat that combines natural attacks with unarmed strike, but it evades me at the moment.

[tyckspoon]

Since you're not a Monk, you can just use some magical gauntlets. Monks are non-proficient with Gauntlets and they aren't a Special Monk Weapon, so they can't flurry. However, you are not a Monk, so you don't care about either of those things. If you insist on the Vow of Poverty route.. the only RAW way I can think of is to take levels in Kensai and make your fists your Signature Weapons.

[questionmark693]

I don't *actually* have VoP. I'm just playing a minimalist character. I can do gauntlets...but for role playing reasons is really like to have the enchantment be on me, not whoever happens to use my gear, if that's possible.

[ArcturusV]

Well... they still can be enchanted by stuff like Magic Fang/Greater Magic Fang. Which if I remember is Permanency qualified.

[Shaynythyryas]

VoP already gives you an alteration bonus to your natural weapons, which are your fists if you're a monk, I guess.
Magic Fang is an enhancement bonus, which i presume can be add to this existant alteration bonus.

[Ashtagon]

Pay 300 gp and do a DC 20 check to make them masterwork by punching bricks, breaking tiles, etc. Iron palm training is the RL term for this. Rather than a Craft check, I'd make it your choice of a BAB (able to hit well) check or a Concentration (able to endure the pain) check.

Once your fists are masterwork, spend your downtime in seclusion with the wizard of your choice while the caster does their thing. Then try to avoid the sniggering of the other party members when they ask what you two were doing together.

[Darrin]

Is there a RAW way I can add some enchantments to my fists?

Two typical methods:

1) Kensai PrC (Complete Warrior). Costs XP, and for some reason the designer thought that fists should count as two weapons, even though mechanically unarmed strike is treated as a single weapon.

2) Necklace of Natural Weapons (Savage Species). This can get expensive, particularly if you're trying to enchant multiple natural weapons, but thankfully only treats unarmed strike as a single weapon. This was reprinted online as a Necklace of Natural Attacks (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fc/20060707a), and is thus considered by some to be official 3.5 material.

As far as the gauntlets go, if you go that route, there are Dragonfang Gauntlets and the Scorpion Kama in the Magic Item Compendium that give you unarmed strike damage but can be enchanted further, if need be.

[bcg737]

Pay 300 gp and do a DC 20 check to make them masterwork by punching bricks, breaking tiles, etc. Iron palm training is the RL term for this. Rather than a Craft check, I'd make it your choice of a BAB (able to hit well) check or a Concentration (able to endure the pain) check.

Once your fists are masterwork, spend your downtime in seclusion with the wizard of your choice while the caster does their thing. Then try to avoid the sniggering of the other party members when they ask what you two were doing together.

Masterwork fists? Sorry, new to the forums, but what would change if the fists were considered masterwork?

[Coidzor]

Masterwork fists? Sorry, new to the forums, but what would change if the fists were considered masterwork?

You have to have a masterwork weapon in order to make it magic.

[Emperor Tippy]

Get a Fell Drain Maximized Empowered Corrosive Grasp cast on you. Ups your Unarmed Strike damage by 8+(.5*1d8). Have a Master of the Elements Archmage cast it on you for the other 4 energy types and you are up to 40+(.5*5d8) extra damage.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=222572

----
Other than that you options are as follows:

1) Kensai PrC.
2) Amulet of Natural Attacks.
3) Be a Warforged with a Mithril or Adamantium Body
4) Convince your DM to let you make your fists Masterwork, take one level of monk, and then enchant them.
5) Use Enchanted gauntlets.

[Malroth]

Renagade mastermaker, replace one of your fists with a masterwork robot fist that is both a natural weapon and a manufactured weapon

[Curmudgeon]

If you only want to boost your fists I'm not sure I can help. If you want to boost your entire unarmed strike, the best way is to get your party Sorcerer/Wizard to cast Greater Mighty Wallop (Races of the Dragon, page 115) to increase the effective size of any bludgeoning weapon, up to (effective) Colossal. Improved Natural Attack (unarmed strike) will get you one more effective size increase on top of that, if you have the feat to spare.

As for the base damage, the best approach for that is the Superior Unarmed Strike feat (Tome of Battle, page 33), with no Monk levels. That feat scales your unarmed damage with your HD, duplicating that of a Small Monk up through level 19; it costs no class levels when used that way. The prerequisite is Improved Unarmed Strike, which you say you've already got.

So that's it: one extra feat, and one daily spell cast on you. That ought to work for a minimalist.

[shaikujin]

If you want just the arms, besides Renegade Mastermaker PRC, there's the Mighty Arms graft in Faiths of Eberon.

They costs 1000 gp only. Gives you arms of a Warforged. You can stop here if you are happy and your DM can be convinced that they are masterwork. Otherwise see below:


You can also attach warforged components to the Mighty Arms. Look at the Battlefist in ECS. It's a +1 item that can be further enhanced like a normal weapon.

[Ace Nex]

The broken feat that adds unarmed and natural weapons together is called Beastial Strike.

[shaikujin]

The broken feat that adds unarmed and natural weapons together is called Beastial Strike.

Glad I checked this thread, I'm soooo going to use that now!

Thanks!

[Coidzor]

The broken feat that adds unarmed and natural weapons together is called Beastial Strike.

Beast Strike from Dragon 355

Not particularly broken to my recollection.

I suppose for a few feats it can let you be a claw-based tashalatora and throw monk unarmed damage progression on top of it.

[The Ravensong]

Masterwork Ward Cestus from Sword and Fist. They're classified as and unarmed attack so you get your better unarmed damage for superior unarmed strike and, as an added bonus, +1 deflection bonus on total defense actions. Each Ward cestus is specifically just the one, so you can get each of them made from a different material and enchanted to do different things. Perhaps, +1 Silver Ward Cestus of Warning (for +5 initiative) followed by whatever one you actually want to pummel people with.
The only downside is a bit of a feat tax because they're also classified as exotic weapons.

[Talionis]

I've seen people talk about Soulblade changing the shape of its weapon to Your fists. I don't think it's 3.5 RAW, but maybe there was a feat that did that in 3.0.

Either way Soulblade is an underpowered class anyway from psionics.

Many monk prestige classes cause your unarmed strikes to count as Magical weapons for bypassing DR.

[Vaz]

Beast Strike from Dragon 355

Not particularly broken to my recollection.

I suppose for a few feats it can let you be a claw-based tashalatora and throw monk unarmed damage progression on top of it.

Beast Strike with an Anthropomorphic Giant Squid Ascetic Mage Sorcerer Monk Soul Eater, with Death Devotion or whatever (I'm fairly sure there's a number of aberrations with a large number of Natural attacks) can put out eventually around 12+ Natural Attacks a turn dealing damage as a Colossal Bludgeoning Weapon dealing around 12-17 Negative Levels with each full attack.

Having said that, not sure if that's how it normally works anyway.

[Ignominia]

I've had a monk in my game asking a similar question.
"Can I enchant a pair of gloves"
My answer was: "NO, you cant enchant clothing and plus that removes the option to kick as an attack (if you want your bonuses)"

So, I guess the question is... CAN a monk ever enchant his weapons without the use of a feat or class dip? Or are they stuck using monk weapons if they want enchantments?

[shaikujin]

I've had a monk in my game asking a similar question.
"Can I enchant a pair of gloves"
My answer was: "NO, you cant enchant clothing and plus that removes the option to kick as an attack (if you want your bonuses)"

So, I guess the question is... CAN a monk ever enchant his weapons without the use of a feat or class dip? Or are they stuck using monk weapons if they want enchantments?


Erm, I think this question was addressed several times:



Indirectly you could use Amulet of Natural Attacks.


you can just use some magical gauntlets.


Well... they still can be enchanted by stuff like Magic Fang/Greater Magic Fang. Which if I remember is Permanency qualified.



2) Necklace of Natural Weapons (Savage Species).

As far as the gauntlets go, if you go that route, there are Dragonfang Gauntlets and the Scorpion Kama in the Magic Item Compendium that give you unarmed strike damage but can be enchanted further, if need be.


Get a Fell Drain Maximized Empowered Corrosive Grasp cast on you. Ups your Unarmed Strike damage by 8+(.5*1d8). Have a Master of the Elements Archmage cast it on you for the other 4 energy types and you are up to 40+(.5*5d8) extra damage.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=222572

----
Other than that you options are as follows:

1) Kensai PrC.
2) Amulet of Natural Attacks.
3) Be a Warforged with a Mithril or Adamantium Body
4) Convince your DM to let you make your fists Masterwork, take one level of monk, and then enchant them.
5) Use Enchanted gauntlets.


get your party Sorcerer/Wizard to cast Greater Mighty Wallop (Races of the Dragon, page 115) to increase the effective size of any bludgeoning weapon, up to (effective) Colossal. Improved Natural Attack (unarmed strike) will get you one more effective size increase on top of that, if you have the feat to spare.

As for the base damage, the best approach for that is the Superior Unarmed Strike feat (Tome of Battle, page 33), with no Monk levels. That feat scales your unarmed damage with your HD, duplicating that of a Small Monk up through level 19; it costs no class levels when used that way. The prerequisite is Improved Unarmed Strike, which you say you've already got.



there's the Mighty Arms graft in Faiths of Eberon.

They costs 1000 gp only. Gives you arms of a Warforged. You can stop here if you are happy and your DM can be convinced that they are masterwork. Otherwise see below:


You can also attach warforged components to the Mighty Arms. Look at the Battlefist in ECS. It's a +1 item that can be further enhanced like a normal weapon.


Masterwork Ward Cestus from Sword and Fist. They're classified as and unarmed attack so you get your better unarmed damage for superior unarmed strike and, as an added bonus, +1 deflection bonus on total defense actions. Each Ward cestus is specifically just the one, so you can get each of them made from a different material and enchanted to do different things. Perhaps, +1 Silver Ward Cestus of Warning (for +5 initiative) followed by whatever one you actually want to pummel people with.
The only downside is a bit of a feat tax because they're also classified as exotic weapons.

Any one of those methods work.

[Coidzor]

I've had a monk in my game asking a similar question.
"Can I enchant a pair of gloves"
My answer was: "NO, you cant enchant clothing and plus that removes the option to kick as an attack (if you want your bonuses)"

So, I guess the question is... CAN a monk ever enchant his weapons without the use of a feat or class dip? Or are they stuck using monk weapons if they want enchantments?

Technically clothing is capable of being enchanted, robe of the archmagi and the like and it's also a potentially valid target for shuffling the property of bracers of armor onto in the MIC.

[questionmark693]

Ward Cestus was literally exactly what I was hoping for, thanks a ton :smallsmile:

[Coidzor]

Ward Cestus was literally exactly what I was hoping for, thanks a ton :smallsmile:

There's also pre-errata brass knuckles from pathfinder which would offer a similar path.

The rationale for the errata essentially being "Oh, we can't let monks have magical weapon properties, that's OP," it's one of the flimsier erratas and so more easily argued to be ignored.

[Curmudgeon]

Technically clothing is capable of being enchanted, robe of the archmagi and the like and it's also a potentially valid target for shuffling the property of bracers of armor onto in the MIC.
Yes. However, note that this is only a standard magical enhancement in Body (robe) and Arms (bracers) slots, for armor bonuses. A non-standard body slot for clothing enhancements (such as Hands) and a non-armor bonus, would put you firmly in custom magic item territory and be subject to individual DM whim.