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Everybody Was Unarmed Striking... Still Not Done With PF1 (Patreon)

Published:
2026-03-24 17:07:07
Imported:
2026-11
Tags:

Content

It started as just this:

#TypooftheDay: "Pathfinder Fist Edition"

...

"So, "Oops, all monks?"

"Oh no. We'd also have Brawlers, AND other classes if they have the right archetypes: Alchemist (Toxicant), Bloodrager (Bloody-Knuckled Rowdy), Druid (Skinshaper, Urushiol), Fighter (Unarmed Fighter), Kineticist (Elemental Ascetic), Magus (Esoteric, Iron-Ring Striker, Jistkan artificer), Medium (Medium of the Master), Paladin (Iroran Paladin), Samurai (Brawling Blademaster), Shifter (Style Shifter), Vigilante (Brute, Chu Ye Enforcer), and Warpriest (Sacred Fist)."

"That... that actually sounds kinda cool..."

...

But that DOES kinda sound cool. And now I am wondering... what AREN'T there unarmed combat focused archetypes for Pathfinder First Edition arcanists, clerics, gunslingers, hunters, inquisitors, investigators, mesmerists (well, okay, the mychen is ALMOST that), ninja (I mean, come on), occultists, roacles, psychics (combat psychometry!), rangers, rogues, shamans, skalds, slayers, sorcerers, spiritualists, summoners, swashbucklers, wizards, and witches?!

I mean some of those would be easier than others, but... imagine how fun an all-unarmed campaign could be!

Comments

Dave Bruno

Sounds like you have a new series for your Patreon/blog! 💚 We could call it "Way of the Rogue Fist" maybe? 😂

Lee Christoffers

Does a rose by any other name punch as hard? I've played more than a few UAS characters in my tenure with 1e-- Hex Strike is I think, hands down, my favorite feat in the system. The thing I think I enjoy the most about playing an unarmed character is how often it puts me on the backfoot as a player, and how I like giving these types of problems from the DM side of the screen as well; most martials fear a Rust Monster, sure, but this turns just so many encounters into that kind of dilemma-- oozes, certain kinds of demons, etc that you don't want to interact via touching if you have another option. The result is a flourishing of dynamism in combat actions. "Well, there's one baddie, and if I don't want to hit him, I'm gonna ready to reposition allies he'll swing against and eat his turns 1-for-1", or start looking towards the environment for solutions-- all of these options are likely just as (or nearly as) open to the party member holding a sword, but often that mental flowchart is just "have sword"->"swing sword", whereas the UAS character is way more often in a 'need to problem solve' state. "If I try to grapple that dragon I WILL be blended in short order... I can either choose another avenue or try and stack the cards to oppose my impending blending"

Alzrius

Speaking of typo of the day, this post mentions "roacles." That's not quite "roaracles," but now I kind of want to see some sort of class or archetype putting that name to use!

Chris Mortika

I'm imagining the "Mystery, Inc". gang, all as unarmed player characters. Instead of a Great Dane, Scooby is a rust monster.

David Chart

So, does the unarmed gunslinger point two fingers at people and shout "bang! bang!"?

Owen K.C. Stephens

HA! So, there are a few (slightly) more serious options. Gut Shooter. "I have to ram my gun into my foes. Shooting people too far away to punch back isn't honorable." Knuckle-Duster. "Guns and bullets are EXPENSIVE. And dangerous. I just built my own black-powder explosive gantlets for "punch augmentation." Gunjitsu. "I do not use guns. Instead I have STUDIED guns, and learned the martial art of the explosive punch, extreme penetration, flash, burn, and quick draw. I don't need guns. I AM a gun... metaphorically speaking."

TheLurkerAbove

There was an attempt at an unarmed cleric archetype, done by Kobold Press, the Ascetic, but as with most of the archetypes in the same book, it seems as if Kobold didn't quite get the idea of how archetypes were supposed to work, when the book was published on the heels of the release of APG, and the archetype just... didn't give up ANYTHING (except for armor proficiency) to get half the monk's abilities. No GM I know of in their right mind has ever allowed it at their table. It's a shame actually, because Golarion has Irori that begs for an unarmed cleric. Same for Forgotten Realms with Ilmater. Oracle can gain monk-likes by choosing the Ascetic mystery; the only thing lacking is unarmed damage progression, but unarmored AC and even a spellstrike via unarmed attack is there. Throw in VMC monk and you're set. For that matter, VMC monk (or Rogue Genius' VMC brawler) makes pretty much any class a potential unarmed fighter.