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Berserk Monk
2009-04-19, 05:34 AM
One thing I love making in D&D is a character with a natural attack: druids, monks, just any character that can lay down the hurt with their own appendages. However, when I play these martial characters, I expect to be able to physically mutilate an opponent, but with damage reduction that becomes harder. I mean, lycanthropes have damage reduction 10/silver and some of them are meant for a first level party (imagine the DR on more difficult monsters). Now, magical items can bypass this, either (a) being the one exception to the damage reduction, or (b) giving the weapon enough of a boost to make the total damage dealt dwarf the DR. You also have to take into account that the damage for a medium punch/claw attack is 1d4 (not all that good). Natural attacks, well, you can't just buy some +1 fists. I'm wondering if there are any feats, magical items, or other ways to make natural attacks more powerful so as to make DR not matter that much.

Dhavaer
2009-04-19, 05:57 AM
There's a feat in the Player's Handbook 2 called something like 'Water Erodes Stone' that gives extra damage on unarmed attacks against creatures with damage reductions.

gibbo88
2009-04-19, 06:42 AM
I would have thought that in the same way as you can get a +1 sword you could get some +1 gauntlets that add to your attacks? Even if it doesn't appear directly in a source book i wouldn't think that a DM would give you a no, but then they are all different.

mostlyharmful
2009-04-19, 07:13 AM
The magic fang line will up your damage and let you hurt DR/Magic along with a 50% chance to hit incorporeals. Past that it shouldn't be too hard to bug your DM into letting you homebrew a spell based on Magic Fang to give your natural attacks an alignment or a material type, fangs of adamant or accursed claw or somesuch.

For Monks it's kind of hard given their mediocre BAB and MAD strength, they have a real hard time uping the damage to blow past DR and they have to sponge castings from the rest of the party. For Druids it's a whole nother kettle of fish, with Power Attack and grapple tactics aswell as buffing and a large/strong critter to wildshape into you shouldn't have any problems with overcoming DR and if you do then it's a rarity and just swap to using direct damge elemental spells instead. If you're running an animal compaion or a summons bear in mind that they can be usefully focussed on just tying down the enemy in a grapple/pin while the rest of the party sorts everything else out and then just waills on the helpless remnant with the high DR, you don't have to do everything yourself.

Harperfan7
2009-04-19, 07:55 AM
Amulet of Mighty Fists. It gives your unarmed attacks a magical enhancement bonus. (Sword & Fist)

Potions of fiery fist. (Sword & Fist)

PHB 2 has a feat that makes your fists fiery.

Permanent Greater Magic Fang.

Faleldir
2009-04-19, 08:54 AM
Amulet Of Might Fists is a trap! You need a Necklace Of Natural Attacks from Savage Species. It costs less and you can add any enhancements you want.

Wabbajack
2009-04-19, 09:02 AM
There is the Kensai prestige class which let's you enchant natural weapons

mikej
2009-04-19, 10:34 AM
Amulet Of Might Fists is a trap! You need a Necklace Of Natural Attacks from Savage Species. It costs less and you can add any enhancements you want.

Some DMs probally willn't allow it, since SS wasn't updated too 3.5 to my general knowledge.

Few off the top of my head;
Greator, Magic Fang [PHB]
Silvered Claws [BoED]
Align Fang [SpC]

Druid have it a lot easier to get passed this obstacle, the Monk on the other hand doesn't get very lucky. Good spell to ask your caster ally to learn is Greator Mighty Wallop [RotD]. You may not be able to overcome all damage, but with some decent buff you can keep on raising the damage output.

Siosilvar
2009-04-19, 10:42 AM
Amulet of Mighty Fists. It gives your unarmed attacks a magical enhancement bonus. (Sword & Fist or the 3.5 DMG)

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Chronos
2009-04-19, 11:52 AM
Some DMs probally willn't allow it, since SS wasn't updated too 3.5 to my general knowledge. The rule is supposed to be that anything that wasn't updated is allowed; it's only the things that were updated that aren't allowed. Thus, for instance, the Psionics Handbook isn't allowed in 3.5, because it's been replaced by the Expanded Psionics Handbook, but Savage Species is supposed to still be allowed.

Some other options: Several of the strikes in Tome of Battle will overcome damage reduction (of any kind), and are usable with any melee weapon (including natural weapons).

The binder vestige Ipos grants you claws that count as cold iron. It's a fairly high-level vestige, though.

Bluebeard
2009-04-19, 02:58 PM
With a Kensai dip for Morphing (MIC), you're pretty much set.

Complete Champion has a Druid/Ranger spell called "Metalline Fang" (or something along those lines) that lets you ignore Silver and Cold Iron DR. Maybe other metals too.

And I thought there was an item somewhere that characters could enhance to get natural weapon enhancements.
Gauntlets work too.

Thurbane
2009-04-19, 09:21 PM
I'm pretty sure there are a couple of magic items in the MIC that allows your natural attacks to count as silver and adamantine...a ring and an amulet, from memory...