It appears from my reading of the rules on Unarmed Combat that fists etc. aren't actually categorised as weapons, and that therefore it is impossible to block someone's punch with your hands. Am I right?

Just ask yourself:

Does it make sense?

In my opinion this is such a no-brainer that im not even gonna bother to check the rulebook. Of course you can block unarmed attacks.

(im not trying to be snippy here, but remember that a rulebook like this is written by people for people and some things the authors have to assume that he reader will get, even if it isn't specifically written in the book. So I'd advise anyone asking themselves if it makes sense or not when they find stuff like this before asking about it)

Varnias Tybalt said:

Well, firstly, I think the rules should reflect common sense, and where they don't, they should be changed. Secondly, not everyone is going to agree on what constitutes common sense. Some people might think that it's reasonable to be able to parry a pistol in melee, after all, while others might disagree (and the rules plainly don't allow that ). Or that the Two Weapon Wielder (Melee) and Dual Strike Talents should be usable with your fists. The reason I was looking it up at all was because I wanted to figure out whether, by the rules, someone with the Unarmed Warrior or Unarmed Master Talents could parry melee weapons with their hands. It's a question that I'd be happy with either answer to, but the result I appear to have found is that a master of martial arts who can punch through carapace armour can't block the blows of Adept Bob from Accounting.

Hi Gents,

I wrote the Skills and Talents chapters, and though I'm not the official voice of FFG , I can tell you the intent as I wrote them.

As an Explorer with the Unarmed Warrior talent no longer counts as "Unarmed," it makes sense that their limbs now count as melee weapons, which would include combination with other talents.

...and yes, they can be blocked.