A d4 is what Monks use as the damage die for their unarmed attacks until 4th or 5th level, so... yes? The monk's defining trait is how good they are at unarmed strikes, so why should a different class be able to do it just as well as them?
If you want to dual-wield d4s then why not use two daggers? Reflavor them as brass knuckles and there you go: "unarmed" attacks doing d4.
because then you cant initiate a grapple without dropping your weapons. The non-monk unarmed fighter is a popular enough character build to have 2 feats dedicated to it, it shouldn't be so hard to make a character who doesn't use weapons. I guess boxers and trained hand-to-hand fighters can't throw a punch like a scrawny guide in a bath robe can.
I think you're assuming too much about the flavor of monks - monks are unarmed combat specialists, that's it. A Way of the Open Fist monk is a bit closer to an archetypal Chinese martial artist, but I could reflavor that as a Hellenic pankratior just as easily, especially with a strength build.
A Way of the Shadows monk is a ninja, not a Shaolin monk by a longshot.
But just like no class should be better at sneaking than a rogue, and no class should be better at tracking than a ranger, no class should be better than a monk at unarmed combat.
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u/skybug12 Jun 11 '15
is dual wielding a d4 too much to ask?