Conversely... If I were to take a piece of that armour off and use it as an improvised weapon. With RAW, it would get the benefits.
I don't agree with this.
XGE says that only melee weapons and ammunition get the perk from being coated (nothing about improvised weapons).
PHG says "Often, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table leg is akin to a club. " ...but then it goes on to say "An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals 1d4 damage ". I think when it comes to using your armor pieces as weapons, that second sentence makes it pretty clear that improvised does not equal melee.
So if you're in a dungeon and decide to tell your party to take a break and hang for the 5 minutes it takes to doff you adamantine chest plate, so you can smash it against a door to see if crits....it does 1d4 damage...that's it. Then, of course, you get to spend the next 10 minutes putting your armor back on.
An improvised weapon is, indeed, a weapon, but only the moment it's used as such. A chair/shield/etc isn't a weapon otherwise. As per Jeremy Crawford
Also, I mentioned taking a "piece" of the armour off. Not the full set. A suit of plate includes gauntlets, heavy leather boots, a visored helmet, and thick layers of padding underneath the armour. Taking your helmet off would not require the full time to Doff or Don plate armour.
I'm not seeing using armor as an improvised weapon. But if you can smack somebody with a beer bottle, you can smash him with a uh...breastplate?
I would go with the rules and say armor doesn't change unarmed combat unless the specific armor says so. If you want to increase unarmed results get a weapon or item that does it. Nothing wrong with studs or adamantine knuckles.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
An improvised weapon is, indeed, a weapon, but only the moment it's used as such. A chair/shield/etc isn't a weapon otherwise. As per Jeremy Crawford
Also, I mentioned taking a "piece" of the armour off. Not the full set. A suit of plate includes gauntlets, heavy leather boots, a visored helmet, and thick layers of padding underneath the armour. Taking your helmet off would not require the full time to Doff or Don plate armour.
I'm not saying its not a weapon. I'm saying an improvised weapon is an improvised weapon...and I'm saying an improvised weapon is not melee weapon (and adamantine rules only apply to melee/ammo).
but sure, you don't need to take the full 5 minutes to take off your gauntlet if you want to smash an object with it, certainly can't do it in one round though.
This is mostly true, but monks are basically designed to be an unarmed fighting class. Martial Arts and Ki-empowered strikes are there to help counterbalance with the fact that monks are limited to very few weapons and basically no armor or shields (unless they want to lose their material arts abilities). A 1st-level fighter with the Unarmed Fighting style could potentially do more damage (i.e., 1d8 + STR mod.) while wearing full plate armor...whereas the 1st-level monk is dealing 1d4 + mod. damage and must rely on good DEX and WIS bonuses to have a decent AC to avoid attacks.
I know you disclaimered this, but I feel obligated to point out that a level 1 monk can also hit with their bonus action. So it's often 1d8+mod vs (1d4+mod + 1d4+mod).
I think unarmed fighters are perfectly viable as is. I previously listed two different items that make the damage magical, and with one of those and a WWE Championship Belt a.k.a. Belt of Storm Giant Strength your fists can effectively become +5 weapons. Certainly it's outpaced by a greatsword fighter with the same belt, but it's as good as anything a DEX fighter will be able to put out unless they somehow get a pile of +DEX books.
A gauntlet is an armed strike. It would be a weapon or an improvised weapon, not an unarmed strike. The distinction between armor and weapon is superficial, a shield is a weapon because you wield it, but most ppl think of it as armor. And your armor itself when used to shoulder ram, kick or punch are also weapons, these are not mutually exclusive.
The rules however artificially separate weapons and armor, armor is not natively assigned any offensive benefits, so Adamantine armor should not impart Adamantine weapons. Furthermore, the attempt to rationalize it outside of the rules makes assumptions about the application of magic metals in equipment production, and false assumptions about the uniformity of metals between armor and weapons. The metallurgy behind hardening or spring tempering weapons is different than the reinforcement done to make armor durable. Even the way armor is attached to your body is designed to disperse and deflect force, not deliver it.
It's a trivial matter though, since armored attacks don't apply to unarmed strikes, and whether you just hand wave the technical differences or add a homebrew customization to the armor for weaponized armor, the benefit is superficial. It would only have a serious impact if the armor could be coupled with Monk weapon use.
An improvised weapon is, indeed, a weapon, but only the moment it's used as such. A chair/shield/etc isn't a weapon otherwise. As per Jeremy Crawford
Also, I mentioned taking a "piece" of the armour off. Not the full set. A suit of plate includes gauntlets, heavy leather boots, a visored helmet, and thick layers of padding underneath the armour. Taking your helmet off would not require the full time to Doff or Don plate armour.
I'm not seeing using armor as an improvised weapon. But if you can smack somebody with a beer bottle, you can smash him with a uh...breastplate?
I would go with the rules and say armor doesn't change unarmed combat unless the specific armor says so. If you want to increase unarmed results get a weapon or item that does it. Nothing wrong with studs or adamantine knuckles.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
I'm not saying its not a weapon. I'm saying an improvised weapon is an improvised weapon...and I'm saying an improvised weapon is not melee weapon (and adamantine rules only apply to melee/ammo).
but sure, you don't need to take the full 5 minutes to take off your gauntlet if you want to smash an object with it, certainly can't do it in one round though.
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I know you disclaimered this, but I feel obligated to point out that a level 1 monk can also hit with their bonus action. So it's often 1d8+mod vs (1d4+mod + 1d4+mod).
I think unarmed fighters are perfectly viable as is. I previously listed two different items that make the damage magical, and with one of those and a WWE Championship Belt a.k.a. Belt of Storm Giant Strength your fists can effectively become +5 weapons. Certainly it's outpaced by a greatsword fighter with the same belt, but it's as good as anything a DEX fighter will be able to put out unless they somehow get a pile of +DEX books.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
A gauntlet is an armed strike. It would be a weapon or an improvised weapon, not an unarmed strike. The distinction between armor and weapon is superficial, a shield is a weapon because you wield it, but most ppl think of it as armor. And your armor itself when used to shoulder ram, kick or punch are also weapons, these are not mutually exclusive.
The rules however artificially separate weapons and armor, armor is not natively assigned any offensive benefits, so Adamantine armor should not impart Adamantine weapons. Furthermore, the attempt to rationalize it outside of the rules makes assumptions about the application of magic metals in equipment production, and false assumptions about the uniformity of metals between armor and weapons. The metallurgy behind hardening or spring tempering weapons is different than the reinforcement done to make armor durable. Even the way armor is attached to your body is designed to disperse and deflect force, not deliver it.
It's a trivial matter though, since armored attacks don't apply to unarmed strikes, and whether you just hand wave the technical differences or add a homebrew customization to the armor for weaponized armor, the benefit is superficial. It would only have a serious impact if the armor could be coupled with Monk weapon use.