A long time ago, I had read about the game crashing when using unarmed attacks, and I have finally figured out what's going on.

It turns out that, if you make an unarmed attack when equipped with gauntlets, the game will freeze. So, if you want to use unarmed combat, make sure you do not have any gauntlets equipped, or the game will freeze whenever you hit anything.

It's worth noting:
* Hitting a town door with gauntlets won't freeze the game if the door does not open (though be aware that hitting the guards that come after you will freeze the game).\
* When I tried this on a locked chest (which is when I first noticed this happening; good thing I saved), the game popped up a dialog box (think it might have been the description for an artifact, but I don't remember exactly what it said), and then after dismissing it, the game froze.
* This happens with both Chain and Steel Gauntlets; I didn't test leather because my current character can't equip it (and stores won't sell it to her as a result).

So, to avoid this bug, if you want to fight with your bare hands, make sure to not have any gauntlets equipped.

(One question that's made moot by the bug; when attacking with gauntlets, do the gauntlets lose durability when you fight with them?)