Cach Off Guard and Sneak Attack

[Draco_Lord]

So, I've been looking into making a Master Spy, the whole thing looks really interesting to play in a high Roleplaying game. And I was wondering. Is there any penalty that I need to know about for using an improvised weapon as my main attack? Using things around me, carrying about something to protect myself, like a large broach, or a pen. With Catch Off Guard, all my attacks would be sneak attacks, regardless of flanking, sneaking, or anything. And with Improvised Weapon Mastery, it seems like they are actually better then normal weapons. The only flaw is weapon enchantments, but I could probably talk my DM into letting me enchant a pen with weapon enchantments.

I just want to make sure I understand this properly. Is there a downside to this I am not seeing?

[Psyren]

Yes - it only applies to unarmed opponents, which means 99% of the enemies you fight won't be flat-footed. Even monks, animals etc. are considered armed. Also the weapon enhancement thing you mentioned.

Catch Off-Guard is generally useless.

[Draco_Lord]

Ah, there we go. Figured it was too good to be true.

On the bright side, it still works well for my Spy idea, mainly since I'd want to put them in a position of sneaking, attacking without being in combat, and general spying. But it isn't as good as I thought.

Thank you.