Try the following, if you will. Create a fighter, pick Brawler Style, pick powers. Now, select your melee basic attack (or any other attack power, really). Note how the header reads "Your stats (unarmed)"; note also, if you picked the Brutal Brawler feat, that the damage die correctly reads 1d6; note finally that the +2 enhancement bonus the brawler fighter is supposed to get to unarmed attacks as per the latest errata is absent.
Next, purchase a spiked gauntlet (which is automatically equipped), then go back and look at the same power again. Again, the stats it displays are largely correct (now including the proficiency bonus and a higher damage die), but again, no enhancement bonus.
It gets better! Return to the shop tab and unequip the spiked gauntlet. Don't sell it, just unequip it. Now go examine the previous power again. It still shows you as using the spiked gauntlet for the attack (which is a feature, I believe – the CB will always use unequipped weapons to display a power's stats if appropriate; handy if you are using a two-handed weapon and also keep a thrown/ranged weapon in your inventory, for instance), but now, all of a sudden, the enhancement bonus is applied to the attack!
To summarise, as far as I can tell, you can only get the CB to add the enhancement bonus to an unarmed attack if you are using a spiked gauntlet, and even then the gauntlet must not be equipped for the bonus to be applied. If you are using actual unarmed attacks, you appear to be SOL.
Can anyone confirm or refute this? It's a convoluted affair, and maybe I'm just missing something glaringly obvious, but actually equipping a spiked gauntlet (or not equipping a weapon at all) doesn't seem to get you the enhancement bonus you are entitled to on all unarmed attacks.
(The update changes Brawler Style from this:
Brawler Style:
While you wield a weapon in your primary hand and your offhand is free (see the Sidebar), you gain a +1 bonus to AC and a +2 bonus to Fortitude.
In addition, you gain a +2 proficiency bonus with unarmed attacks and a +2 bonus to grab attacks and attacks to move a creature grabbed by you. These bonuses increase to +4 at 11th level and +6 at 21st level.
When attacking with a spiked gauntlet (Adventurer's
Vault, pages 9-10), you do not gain the Brawler Style proficiency bonus with unarmed attacks, even if the Brawler Style proficiency bonus is higher than the proficiency bonus ofthe spiked gauntlet. However, you retain the bonus to grab attacks and to attacks to move a creature grabbed by you.
to this:
Brawler Style:
While you wield a weapon in your primary hand and your offhand is free (see the Sidebar), you gain a +1 bonus to AC and a +2 bonus to Fortitude.
In addition, you gain a +2 enhancement bonus to the attack rolls of unarmed attacks and a +2 bonus to the attack rolls of grab attacks and attacks to move a creature you’re grabbing. These bonuses increase to +4 at 11th level and +6 at 21st level.)
Keep in mind though, that the +1 AC and +2 Fort applies as intended.
Yup. The spiked gauntlet is a weapon in the unarmed group, so it benefits from pretty much anything that affects unarmed attacks. Then again, the CB currently does not count dual wielding them as having the off-hand free for purposes of the defence bonus and other features/feats that rely on it, so either the builder needs fixing in this regard or the rules need clarifying.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem, at least. 
Yup. The spiked gauntlet is a weapon in the unarmed group, so it benefits from pretty much anything that affects unarmed attacks. Then again, the CB currently does not count dual wielding them as having the off-hand free for purposes of the defence bonus and other features/feats that rely on it, so either the builder needs fixing in this regard or the rules need clarifying.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem, at least.
Heh, managed to edit out the question you answered just as you answered it, but thanks :P
Dual wielding works if they're "different" though. Wielding two unenchanted gauntlets or two frost gauntlets won't work(no AC/Fort bonus). However, if only one glove is enchanted (e.g. frost/normal) or they have different enchants (e.g. frost/flame) it works. I guess the CB can't differentiate between them properly for some reason...
Hey guys,
Thanks for the posts, I'll go ahead and forward these issues on to the team.
Raven
Can somebody explain the problem with hybrid monks? The monk's bonus is a +3 proficiency bonus and the brawler used to be a +2/+4/+6 proficiency bonus. A fighter's unarmed attacks without a spiked gauntlet will fall behind because they do not get magical enhancement bonuses so this was factored into the class feature.
So I can see that a brawler/monk able to use a ki focus can add a full enhancement bonus to his attacks on top of his scaling proficiency bonus.
Would a better option be to allow the initial +2 as a proficiency bonus (which would not stack with the monk's class feature) but the subsequent +2/+4 as enhancement bonuses? Those using a ki focus could eventually outstrip the straight monk for attack bonuses with unarmed attacks but they'd be hybriding to gain that beneift.
It seems to be a problem that is confined to campaigns that use inherent bonuses but is there any reason why this fix would not work?
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Probably got changed because:
Proficiency from brawler style + relevant ability modifier + half level + enchanted ki focus + feat(s?) = ridiculous attack bonus. Warning: the following might not be the best explanation ever...
So at lvl. 1 you have +2 from the brawler style, probably +3-4 from the ability score, +1 from expertise if you took it at lvl 1 and (depending on your DM) +1 from ki focus (the +1 item would show up pretty soon anyway).
2+3+1+1 = +7 bonus (or +8 if mod was at +4)
Might be just me, but I consider to be a bit silly at level 1. Most characters would - I assume - only have a +3-4. Possibly +5 (if they boosted the relevant stat) at this level. With a possible extra +1 from expertise making an, at-best +6 (by sacrificing a bit in the other stats).
Whereas the hybrid monk/brawler would (in the same situation) have a +9. Which would only get more ridiculous the higher they get - at level 21+ they would have a +12 from the style and ki-focus(if they got a +6 ki focus that is, not necessarily guaranteed) alone, add in half level for an additional +10 and expertise for +2 making +24 attack before adding whatever the ability modifier might be at. Now, I'm not much of an optimizer so I'm sure there are ways that could be sent higher (and haven't played any epic-tier characters, so I don't know what's "average" there).
Of course, removing the last paragraph also made Spiked Gauntlets not quite as expensive as far as decent attack bonuses go. You could still enchant them for the damage bonus of course, but if you want to be able to use a magic item in your hand slot you're not buggered on your attack. And making it an enhancement bonus also means brawlers won't be getting that ridiculous attack the monk hybrid could (previously) achieve.
for at level 30:
+15 1/2 level
+6 enhancement (ki-focus)
+6 prof (brawler)
+8 ability
+3 expertise (if allowed)
+38
normal at level 30:
+15 1/2 level
+6 enhancement (magic weapon/inherent)
+3 prof (highest prof bonus on a weapon)
+8 ablility
+3 expertise
+35
for 3 better to hit than any other weapon attack
(2 better than a +3 prof weapon and a weapon talent fighter)
I think a more elegant fix might be to change the brawler hybrid class feature to an enhancement bonus while leaving the single class brawler alone. They changed the hybrid battlerage vigor to cover similar stacking issues didn't they?
They changed battlerager vigor period. I have yet to see anything that makes the hybrid version of battlerager vigor differ in the slightest from the full fighter version.
The issue I outlined in my original post persists after today's upate as well, for the record. Actually that's wrong – both "true" unarmed attacks and spiked gauntlets do now gain the enhancement bonus as they should. What does persist, however, is the "stacking" issue when wearing identical spiked gauntlets, which leads to the character losing any defences bonuses (and possibly others) derived from Brawler style.
I think a more elegant fix might be to change the brawler hybrid class feature to an enhancement bonus while leaving the single class brawler alone. They changed the hybrid battlerage vigor to cover similar stacking issues didn't they?They changed battlerager vigor period. I have yet to see anything that makes the hybrid version of battlerager vigor differ in the slightest from the full fighter version.
Well, the hybrid version doesn't get the damage bonus when you have temporary hit points... ;)
Well, the hybrid version doesn't get the damage bonus when you have temporary hit points... ;)
Ah -- but since there seems to be no errata to that effect, the implication is that the hybrid version of Battlerager Vigor is unchanged from PHB3. I don't have the book in front of me, but didn't PHB3 simply reference Martial Power rather than give the full listing of that class feature?
If that is the case, then the Compendium is in error -- it should differ from the book only when there are specific errata citing a change.
PHB3 actually states specifically that the hybrid version of BRV functions as the fighter class feature in Martial Power, except that it does not gain the damage bonus.
I'd say that the compendium/CB still are correct, though, because they do not state that this particular feature functions like its original except for X and Y, but simply list what it does, omitting the aspect it loses compared to its full version; they and the printed PHB3 amount to the same, in other words. Inconsistent perhaps, but I wouldn't say it's wrong per se. (This is getting off-topic however. :P)
Brawler Style's Enhancement bonus is being added to powers such as Goring Charge and Blood Drain.
Pretty sure this is not as intended, as the talent should be for the Unarmed weapons group. Not sure, but this might carry over to other non-weapon Melee touch attacks.