[RPG] Can a half-orc’s Savage Attacks and a monk’s unarmed strike work together

attackdnd-5ehalf-orcracial-traitsunarmed-combat

I want to make a half-orc monk and I was wondering if the racial feature Savage Attacks from the half-orc race and unarmed strikes from the monk's Martial Arts feature work together. Or, is there some reason that unarmed strikes don't apply to this?

Best Answer

The Savage Attacks trait says:

Savage Attacks. When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

All it requires is that you get a critical hit with a melee weapon attack. An unarmed strike can be used to make a melee weapon attack, so yes, Savage Attacks will work if you get a critical hit with an unarmed strike.