[Valanthos]

Hoi chummers,

I was talking with a player the other day and he was asking me how penetrating strike works with various "unarmed" weapons and if it doesn't work with unarmed weapons how do unarmed adepts get weapon foci?

I'm of the personal opinion that knucks can be used as foci and that they might stack with penetrating strike. But shock gloves sit uneasily with me.

[Lucean]

Knucks and Shock Gloves are listed as Melee Weapons, so while using the same skill you'd not be considered unarmed anymore.

[Valanthos]

So this means unarmed adepts just have to go without when it comes to weapon foci? Is there anything to cement this in stone beyond the idea that they aren't unarmed because they have something in their hand? I mean it works but it just is a bit unsatisfactory at the end of the day.

Thanks again though omae.

[ScytheKnight]

Unsure about Knucks... but Shock Gloves (and their implanted version) are a Melee Touch Attack rather than an Unarmed Attack, basically you're just trying to lay a hand on your opponent to deliver a shock rather than an electrical punch (Though Adepts can do this with Elemental Sr tike (Electrical))

[PiXeL01]

It's been discussed before and since weapons are not part of your natural body then they do not benefit from penetrating strike. This goes for foci and implants too. With PS you are basically punching people with your aura.

[UnLimiTeD]

Penetrating Strike is essentially a power point to buff Killing hands, for that's the only time you'll use it.
You could just forego it for a Spur and make a focus out of that, however.

[Lucean]

You can also turn Knucks into a weapon focus. You just have to be wary when trying to combine it with other adept powers like Penetrating Strike. Critical Strike would work, Elemental Strike would not, although Elemental Weapon would be eligible.

[UnLimiTeD]

By the written Rules, Elemental Strike is rather pointless, however.
I suppose Static weapon or some such holds potential, however.

[Imveros]

well since they have tattoo foci and they don't mention that they have to be qi foci, it seems reasonable for you to have a weapon foci tattooed onto your fist/foot/forehead and get your cake and eat it too.

But i also agree no adept powers on nucks/shock gloves/ ext

[UnLimiTeD]

A weapon focus always has, unsurprisingly, the form of
a melee weapon. It adds magical power to the melee
attacks you make with it.

So I frankly doubt that.
You could instead get a Qi Focus for Unarmed, however.

[Reaver]

If you are looking for a weapon foci for an adept that specialized in unarmed combat, then yes, Brass knuckles (and the like) would apply. So would weighted gloves.

The Issue I think you are having is with adept powers and trying to combine them with a foci. It is important to remember that even though knuckles and loaded gloves use the unarmed skill, they are NOT unarmed attacks, you are actually hitting with the weapon, and not the bare hand/foot/elbow/knee/forehead/big toe of the adept, thus some powers and abilities that require an unarmed attack are not going to stack.

But this is no different then an other adept that uses a weapon a focus.

[Imveros]

A weapon focus always has, unsurprisingly, the form of
a melee weapon. It adds magical power to the melee
attacks you make with it.

So I frankly doubt that.
You could instead get a Qi Focus for Unarmed, however.

but your fists are a melee weapon and this quote from Street Grim says you can have non qi tattoo foci

Street Grimoire p 131:

Using the Artificing skill, the magician can create qi and other foci as tattoos.

It would be a long and boring process but an adept could stand still long enough for the multiple days it would take to enchant fist tattoo

[Reaver]

Interesting find there Imveros.

And, it definitely supported by fluff as far back as 3e with the triad "death" tattoos. So now it looks like we now have a mechanical way of making those loyalty tattoos and special Foci of the Triads. Very costly to do with what 3 Meta magic techniques mentioned? But still.

[jim1701]

The only issue is  that a weapon focus is specifically a melee weapon. 

However, you can still get the same effect by combining a killing hands qi focus with an improved ability(unarmed) qi focus. 

[firebug]

I'm pretty sure you can use knucks and such along with an unarmed strike.  I'm also certain they're intended to stack with Critical Strike (Unarmed).

Shock Gloves are an unarmed weapon, but I wouldn't allow the powers to affect them simply because they, by design, simply replace your unarmed attack with a static thing.  I might let Critical Strike affect them, but not Penetrating Strike, if only because it's established in the game's rules that when a weapon does electrical damage, you use a set AP of -5 (like stick and shock ammo, for instance) regardless of what the attack would normally be.

Also, you don't punch people with shock gloves, but you do with knucks.  For the latter, it's the same kind of attack, uses the same skill, so on so forth.

A "melee weapon" doesn't specifically not include brass knuckles.  It's still a weapon used in melee--  It's not using the term like a videogame would.  It's just to illustrate that a weapon focus only helps if you hit them with the focus.