Shifter Longtooth Bite

[EggKookoo]

So the shifter longtooth Shifting Feature says:

"If you hit with your fangs, you can deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike."

Yet the NPC Shifter at the end of RftLW has a Strength mod of +1, but its Bite attack mod is listed as +5, and its damage is 1d4 + 3. The Shifter NPC has a Dex mod of +3, so it looks like the NPC version uses its Dex for both the attack roll (assuming +2 proficiency) and damage.

Question 1: Would you allow a PC shifter to use their Dex instead of Str in this way?

Question 2: Which is the correct damage die? PC says 1d6 but the NPC deals 1d4.

Question 3: Am I confusing myself by assuming the NPC is meant to be a longtooth, when it could just be some kind of "generic shifter subrace"? No other PC shifter subrace allows a special bite attack.

[Contrast]

Question 1: Would you allow a PC shifter to use their Dex instead of Str in this way?

Personally only if they were a monk/had some way to make unarmed attacks dex based. They're still getting a free bonus action attack even if its not with their main stat which isn't nothing.

Question 2: Which is the correct damage die? PC says 1d6 but the NPC deals 1d4.

It's d6. The shifter NPC isn't using the PC rules.

Question 3: Am I confusing myself by assuming the NPC is meant to be a longtooth, when it could just be some kind of "generic shifter subrace"? No other PC shifter subrace allows a special bite attack.

NPCs and PCs don't need to use the same rules. An apprentice wizard and archmage don't get all the things an appropriately levelled wizard PC would get - just enough to give a similar flavour.

[EggKookoo]

Personally only if they were a monk/had some way to make unarmed attacks dex based. They're still getting a free bonus action attack even if its not with their main stat which isn't nothing.

Oh, wow, I never even noticed the PC version is a bonus action attack. That's huge.

NPCs and PCs don't need to use the same rules. An apprentice wizard and archmage don't get all the things an appropriately levelled wizard PC would get - just enough to give a similar flavour.

Right, that's ultimately what I thought as well. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.

Thanks!