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Is it possible, with all discussed rules of Unarmed Strike/Martial Arts for it to be used with UA Mystic 3's Potent Psionics?

Potent Psionics At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon attacks with psychic energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon, you can deal an extra 1d8 psychic damage to that target. When you reach 14th level, this extra damage increases to 2d8.

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Technically, no. Potent Psionics requires you to "hit a creature with a weapon". An unarmed strike isn't a weapon, so you can't use Potent Psionics when you hit a creature with an unarmed strike.

However, unarmed strikes are melee weapon attacks. Given that Potent Psionics says:

At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon attacks with psychic energy.

It's possible that it was intended to work with weapon attacks (which would include unarmed strikes) rather than with weapons specifically. As always with Unearthed Arcana, you have to remember the disclaimer:

These game mechanics are in draft form, usable in your campaign but not refined by design iterations or full game development and editing.

So while, technically, Potent Psionics doesn't work with unarmed strikes, you shouldn't be surprised if this changes in the final version of the Mystic.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ @ Miniman: Would "Psychic Focus: Whenever you focus on this discipline, choose one weapon you’re holding or your unarmed strike. When you attack with it while focused on this discipline, its damage is psychic and magical, rather than its normal damage type. Until you reach 6th level as a mystic, you don’t add your Strength or Dexterity modifier to the psychic attack’s damage rolls." help any since modifies the users hands and counts as Psychic and Magic. This focus also comes form UA Mystic 3. \$\endgroup\$
    – Jhyarelle Silver
    Commented Apr 28, 2017 at 2:07
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    \$\begingroup\$ @JhyarelleSilver No - you'd have to find a way to have your unarmed strikes count as weapons. \$\endgroup\$
    – Miniman
    Commented Apr 28, 2017 at 2:16
  • \$\begingroup\$ You could make a specifically unnamed discipline that made your hands into weapons as you focused on it. Take your idea but make the clause that if you choose unnamed strike it now counts as being a weapon \$\endgroup\$
    – McPeeperson Smith
    Commented Apr 28, 2017 at 9:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ Miniman & McPeeperson Smith...Well there is this from a UA MYstic 3 Immortal Discipline - Beast Form: "Bestial Claws (1–7 psi). You manifest long claws for an instant and make a melee weapon attack against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, this attack deals 1d10 slashing damage per psi point spent." Now it does say "Instant" in the power so I figure it's pretty much "at will" or free cast/manifest to trigger. But besides that...Wouldn't this temporarily give me "natural weapons" during an attack via claws and wouldn't that qualify for Potent Psionics? \$\endgroup\$
    – Jhyarelle Silver
    Commented Apr 30, 2017 at 14:18
  • \$\begingroup\$ @JhyarelleSilver As written, no - all it does is let you make a melee weapon attack that does damage as described. \$\endgroup\$
    – Miniman
    Commented May 1, 2017 at 5:04

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