Unarmed weapon choice (was: why a background...)

[tasonir]

I wouldn't mind an additional class called "custom" or something more flavorful that let you edit everything. I don't thikn it's too likely to happen, though.

What I really want, and what I consider a flaw in the background system, is that it's surprising hard to start an unarmed character. I think only monks and transmuters can start with unarmed. Certain races, basically those with claws, also get the option to start with it on fighter/gladiator backgrounds. I want all races to be allowed to choose unarmed on any background that allows weapon choice. I'd love to play an unarmed fighter with most classes because that way I could start with a shield. That's probably the closest to being logical, but being the diehard unarmed fool that I am, I'd probably also do weird things like playing unarmed skalds, giving up the brand spells just to get regeneration and shroud.

It can be grayed out as an inferior choice, just let it be there.

[Sandman25]

I wouldn't mind an additional class called "custom" or something more flavorful that let you edit everything. I don't thikn it's too likely to happen, though.

What I really want, and what I consider a flaw in the background system, is that it's surprising hard to start an unarmed character. I think only monks and transmuters can start with unarmed. Certain races, basically those with claws, also get the option to start with it on fighter/gladiator backgrounds. I want all races to be allowed to choose unarmed on any background that allows weapon choice. I'd love to play an unarmed fighter with most classes because that way I could start with a shield. That's probably the closest to being logical, but being the diehard unarmed fool that I am, I'd probably also do weird things like playing unarmed skalds, giving up the brand spells just to get regeneration and shroud.

It can be grayed out as an inferior choice, just let it be there.

i think this is ok. MfFE or DDAE are hard to start too.

[WalkerBoh]

You can start as UC on any character, you just start with low skill. Use your starter kit to kill things while you 100% focus UC and voila, you have a UC fighter. I 15-runed a SEIE doing this (worshipping TSO start to finish).

In entirely unrelated news that's why UC apt over +1 is too good. It'd be too easy to just do this with every char. Troll is already like this anyways. /derail

[tasonir]

of course you can do that, and I have. But it's silly. that's like saying you can take tridents on a fighter, just pick axes and then start training polearms. You should be able to start with the skill in the weapon type you want, and not have skill in a type you don't intend to use.

[WalkerBoh]

of course you can do that, and I have. But it's silly. that's like saying you can take tridents on a fighter, just pick axes and then start training polearms. You should be able to start with the skill in the weapon type you want, and not have skill in a type you don't intend to use.

The difference is that as a Fi you have to find a trident to do that. Literally every char can use UC right from turn 0. The only difference background makes is amount of staring skill.

[njvack]

SPLIT!

Also: yeah, if you started with unarmed, you wouldn't get a weapon but would instead get some UC skill, just like happens when you choose claws. Seems conceptually reasonable to me.

[crate]

well you can't choose long blades on lots of backgrounds either

[rchandra]

or staves

and there are two backgrounds that force you to start with unarmed combat skill, which is two more than force you to start with axes skill/maces skill/etc...

En and As force short blades, not sure if there are others. Ar?
Hunter starts with a short sword but I don't think he has skill in it?

[DracheReborn]

I wouldn't say it's particularly hard to start a UC character - trolls and ghouls seem designed for that specifically. But at the same time, the fighter background can choose any melee type as starting weapon (including shortsword) - why not UC too?

Seems to me that this change would of (small) benefit to that minority of players who want to go UC + shield, while not being a downside for anybody else. So... why not?

[BlackSheep]

the fighter background can choose any melee type as starting weapon (including shortsword) - why not UC too?

Any weapon type except, as minmay noted, staves.

[rebthor]

Didn't priests used to be able to start with staves? I know a class did, I just don't remember which.

[BlackSheep]

Priests start with a quarterstaff, and gladiators have the option of starting with one. Artificers used to start with a plain "staff", but now they just get a short sword.

[tasonir]

Gladiators can start with all weapon types (except unarmed), but a lot of hybrid classes only get 4 or 5 choices (death knight, skald, etc). I'm not sure why. I'd let them pick all 7 types (counting unarmed). If you want to keep some sort of "D&D clerics never use bladed weapons" theme going then fine, but it never made sense to me.

Starting with staves is a bit odd because you either have to give them a good quarterstaff or a really terrible staff. That's an issue with there only being 3 non-magical staves, though.