What are the penalties for two-weapon-fighting when attacking with unarmed strikes and holding a shield?

Question

I'm playing a level 1 brawler in PFS. As I'm looking ahead to Brawler's Flurry, I'm curious about how two-weapon fighting penalties are applied.

If I'm holding a heavy steel shield in one hand, and I use Brawler's Flurry to attack with two unarmed attacks (e.g.: my other hand and one of my feet), is my penalty -2/-2 because the two weapons I'm using are light, or is it -4/-4 because I'm holding a heavy object in one of my hands? If I carry the heavy shield in my main hand does that make a difference in calculating these penalties?

Answer 1

The penalties apply from the weapons you are using, not the weapons you are holding. From Two-Weapon Fighting:

Benefit: Your penalties on attack rolls for fighting with two weapons are reduced.

It doesn't matter where the weapons are wielded, it matters what the weapons are. Since unarmed strikes are considered light weapons, the penalty is -2/-2.

Additionally, from Brawler's Flurry:

She does not need to use two different weapons to use this ability.

This means that the two-weapon fighting can actually be done with the same fist, one foot, both feet, or any other combination (including elbows and knees, from the Brawler's Unarmed Strike). Your hands could be full of items that aren't usable as weapons (and are extremely heavy, within your heavy load), and you could still use the Flurry with the normal penalties.