Tabaxi are a race known for their speed and dexterity. Part of their racial abilities are that they have claws which do 1d4 damage on unarmed attacks. These should be classified as finesse weapons (as should all unarmed attacks that get increased damage such as a monk's.)
Except I don't believe it is an issue and I'm guessing neither do the folks at WotC.
Unarmed strikes are not weapons and therefore do not qualify for any of the weapon properties. An unarmed strike is just that: attacking unarmed (read without a weapon). Just because I have a two fists doesn't mean I know how to use them effectively in combat. A Monks special training is what allows them to do what they do with those unarmed strikes.
Tabaxi and Lizardfolk have natural weapons that they can also use to make unarmed strikes. So yes a Tabaxi can benefit from the Monk abilities but it does not have the Finesse property on it's natural attack. I do not think this was an oversight on the part of WotC.
If you don't like it though you are free to change it in your game-world. Tabaxi rogue dual wielding his claws for sneak attacks sure sounds pretty cool.
I agree with Jeremy Crawford that they shouldn't be "Finesse" weapons, mostly to keep too many "unintended consequences" from happening due to things like "sneak attack", Barbarian's Rage, or Paladin's Smite only working on "Weapon Attacks"... although some might argue a Lizardman's biting smite could be cool, I could see it as a thing they just don't want to have to "worry" about when writing rules.
On the other hand I feel like WotC missed an opportunity with natural weapons not just having the option of being Str or Dex based. IF you want your unarmed attacks to be dex based and not awful you have to M.Class Monk. As others have said you can homebrew, but I'm personally more concerned with what is Adventure League legal.
I also think humans should be "trained" in fisticuffs and this idea that human's don't naturally know how to beat something to death with their hands but every other creature does to be very stupid. I used to get into this argument back in 3.5 that a Fighter is proficient with EVERY weapon known to man, but not boxing was insane.
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Tabaxi are a race known for their speed and dexterity. Part of their racial abilities are that they have claws which do 1d4 damage on unarmed attacks. These should be classified as finesse weapons (as should all unarmed attacks that get increased damage such as a monk's.)
If the items you name were intended to be Finesse weapons they would be labeled as such.
Jeremy Crawford has already ruled on this - doesn't look like they'll change it: http://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/11/16/are-tabaxi-claws-considered-finesse-weapons/
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Except I don't believe it is an issue and I'm guessing neither do the folks at WotC.
Unarmed strikes are not weapons and therefore do not qualify for any of the weapon properties. An unarmed strike is just that: attacking unarmed (read without a weapon). Just because I have a two fists doesn't mean I know how to use them effectively in combat. A Monks special training is what allows them to do what they do with those unarmed strikes.
Tabaxi and Lizardfolk have natural weapons that they can also use to make unarmed strikes. So yes a Tabaxi can benefit from the Monk abilities but it does not have the Finesse property on it's natural attack. I do not think this was an oversight on the part of WotC.
If you don't like it though you are free to change it in your game-world. Tabaxi rogue dual wielding his claws for sneak attacks sure sounds pretty cool.
I agree with Jeremy Crawford that they shouldn't be "Finesse" weapons, mostly to keep too many "unintended consequences" from happening due to things like "sneak attack", Barbarian's Rage, or Paladin's Smite only working on "Weapon Attacks"... although some might argue a Lizardman's biting smite could be cool, I could see it as a thing they just don't want to have to "worry" about when writing rules.
On the other hand I feel like WotC missed an opportunity with natural weapons not just having the option of being Str or Dex based. IF you want your unarmed attacks to be dex based and not awful you have to M.Class Monk. As others have said you can homebrew, but I'm personally more concerned with what is Adventure League legal.
I also think humans should be "trained" in fisticuffs and this idea that human's don't naturally know how to beat something to death with their hands but every other creature does to be very stupid. I used to get into this argument back in 3.5 that a Fighter is proficient with EVERY weapon known to man, but not boxing was insane.