PDA

View Full Version : Multiple bite attacks



HCL
2009-11-16, 07:16 PM
Lets say I am a Darfellan Totemist with Worg Pelt shaped (and maybe Girallon arms for claws or another bite from Winter Mask) and bound to my Totem Chakra, and then lets say also Girallon Arms or something. Do I have multiple bite attacks (1 natural, 1 from class)?

So can I use the bite from my Worg Pelt as a primary attack on a full attack followed by the claw attacks and my natural bite attack as secondaries?

If I have a weapon equipped and Worg Pelt and Winter Mask shaped, can I make a full attack with the weapon and three bite attacks as secondaries?

Person_Man
2009-11-16, 07:51 PM
Natural Weapons do not stack unless the power/ability/etc granting them specifically states otherwise. They overlap, and you use the higher of the two values. So if your Totemist already has a bite from a racial ability, bind something else.

The mechanics of using natural weapons is pretty complicated. Basically, if you have a secondary natural attack, you can use it as part of a full attack at -5, IN ADDITION TO your primary attack routine. Thus you can make an attack with a manufactured weapon (or one of your natural weapons, if you choose to make it your primary attack), and then all of your remaining natural weapons, assuming you are not physically prevented from doing so (ie, you can't use a claw attack if you're holding a weapon in that hand).

However, the controlling factor over whether or not you can use a natural attack as a secondary attack in addition to your normal attack routine is the wording of its source, and not any consistant or logical rule. A Lizardfolk has 2 claws and a bite. A Werebear has 2 claws and a bite. But a Lizardfolk using a sword only gets a secondary bite attack when it uses a weapon, whereas the Werebear gets the bite, a claw, and the weapon. I know that it makes no sense. That's just the way its written.

So, if a soulmeld doesn't say it can be used as a secondary natural attack, then it can't be. A reasonable DM will hand wave it away. But that's not the RAW.

RandomLunatic
2009-11-16, 11:26 PM
However, the controlling factor over whether or not you can use a natural attack as a secondary attack in addition to your normal attack routine is the wording of its source, and not any consistant or logical rule. A Lizardfolk has 2 claws and a bite. A Werebear has 2 claws and a bite. But a Lizardfolk using a sword only gets a secondary bite attack when it uses a weapon, whereas the Werebear gets the bite, a claw, and the weapon. I know that it makes no sense. That's just the way its written.

I think this is because the Werebear uses a greataxe, which it can use one-handed in Hybrid form, whereas the Lizardfolk in the MM statblock uses a weapon and a heavy shield, which leaves it no free hands to claw with.