Slam Mechanics

[Hanuman]

Ok, I think this has been brought up enough times that I need to post the concept into my sig.

But please, can anyone link to a thread or explain how the whole unarmed/slam/weapon/NA dance works with a full attack?

[Keld Denar]

Your slam is a natural weapon that occupies one limb. It follows all of the rules for natural attacks. You can make an attack with it at -5 from your highest attack bonus any time you full attack while having a free hand. If you wield a 2handed weapon or two weapons in your hands, you can't make a slam attack.

UAS lives a wierd dicotomous life as halfway between a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon. It can make iterative attacks like a manufactured weapon, but it is affected by spells, abilities, and feats as a natural weapon.

So, if you had a 1st level Warforged Monk with a 16 Str, your attack routine would look like:

UAS +3 (1d6+3) and Slam -2 (1d4+1)
or, with flurry:
UAS +1 (1d6+3) UAS +1 (1d6+3) and Slam -4 (1d4+1)

Most of the rules are under manufactured weapons (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm) and natural weapons in the SRD.

[WinceRind]

I reckon you probably could do a slam while wielding a 2 handed weapon. Your feet are limbs too... And since casters can cast with a 2 handed weapon in one hand, you could probably at some point one hand the huge sword you're wielding and slam someone.

And I must also add that there are creatures that slam without having any real limbs. Oozes generally slam - I assume, by either a pseudopod or bodily throwing themselves at someone. Which brings the question, does it even have to be a limb? You can Unarmed Attack with any part of the body that's usable for striking - legs, arms, knees, elbows, head... So logically body slamming someone should be possible =p

[Keld Denar]

Looking at monster stat blocks, there are really two different kinds of slam attacks. There is the slam attack of most bipedal humanoidish creatures like giants, constructs, and undead, and then there is the slam of "other" things like GCs and oozes, and things like thoqua.

If you look at a giant's stat block, they can either make manufactured weapon attacks OR slams. Looking at the cloud giant, he has a morningstar. Disecting the damage quick, you can tell he's getting +1.5x damage with it, which means he's wielding it with both hands. When he does this, he doesn't get his slam attacks. Contrast this with a creature like a troglodyte. If he wields a club in one hand, he can still claw with the other hand. I think its pretty safe to assume, extrapolating from stat blocks, that a slam for a humanoid creature is basically a blunt claw attack.

Again, as debated in a previous thread last week, there isn't really any explicit rule stating any of this. Its mostly my speculation from staring at enough creature stat blocks.

[AnswersQuestion]

Slam is just a blunt attack.
Turning it into d&d's slam attack just means you have a natural weapon that deals bludgeoning damage, like certain animals' (goats?) heads.
It's differentiated from unarmed attacks because slam weapons are prepared to be used as such.

Also, people saying "can use it while you have a free hand" don't make much sense. If the slam weapon is not a hand limb, using all your hands won't stop you from slamming with a slam natural weapon(like tails, heads, wings).

[Coidzor]

Slam is just a blunt attack.
Turning it into d&d's slam attack just means you have a natural weapon that deals bludgeoning damage, like certain animals' (goats?) heads.
It's differentiated from unarmed attacks because slam weapons are prepared to be used as such.

Also, people saying "can use it while you have a free hand" don't make much sense. If the slam weapon is not a hand limb, using all your hands won't stop you from slamming with a slam natural weapon(like tails, heads, wings).

Indeed, though problems arise when the source of the slam attack is not clear.

[Marnath]

Slam is just a blunt attack.
Turning it into d&d's slam attack just means you have a natural weapon that deals bludgeoning damage, like certain animals' (goats?) heads.
It's differentiated from unarmed attacks because slam weapons are prepared to be used as such.

Also, people saying "can use it while you have a free hand" don't make much sense. If the slam weapon is not a hand limb, using all your hands won't stop you from slamming with a slam natural weapon(like tails, heads, wings).

Actually, aren't tail slaps and wing attacks both seperate NA's from Slam?

[Vistella]

Actually, aren't tail slaps and wing attacks both seperate NA's from Slam?

even if, what is preventing you from slapping someone with the back of your hand even if youre holding something in it?

[Marnath]

even if, what is preventing you from slapping someone with the back of your hand even if youre holding something in it?

No, I mean if you hit someone with your tail or wing, it's not a slam attack, it's a tail slap/wing attack which you can only perform if you have that natural weapon.

[Hanuman]

Ok just checking since this is my actual setup:

Creature has a slam attack and wields 2 scimitars, I think it's safe to assume this would be:
FA = Scim/Scim/Slam

But on his default stats it lists FA being Slam/Slam

So would this be Scim/Scim/Slam/Slam?

[WarrenZig]

Well, according to the Monster Manual and the D&D 3.5 Official FAQ, a creature uses an arm or an arm like appendage to preform a slam attack and that it requires a free hand to preform a slam attack.

Also the FAQ says the creature needs to actually have a slam attack in it's description in order to use one.

[Hanuman]

Well, according to the Monster Manual and the D&D 3.5 Official FAQ, a creature uses an arm or an arm like appendage to preform a slam attack and that it requires a free hand to preform a slam attack.

Also the FAQ says the creature needs to actually have a slam attack in it's description in order to use one.
So if a humanoid was holding 2 weapons, it could not perform a slam?

[Keld Denar]

According to the trends of stat blocks found in the MM...no.

EDIT: Take a look at the Marilith stat block. She gets 6 slams and a tail slap when unarmed. If shes armed, she gets 6 weapon attacks and a tail slap. The weapons are clearly inhibiting her ability to make slam attacks.

Now, if she took Imp UAS, since she has Multiweapon Fighting, she could make 4 mainhand UASs (due to BAB), 5 offhand UASs (due to MWF), and 6 slam attacks (since UASs don't "occupy" a hand slot) and a tail slap attack.

That would be truely frightening.

[WarrenZig]

Ah, the advantadges of having a crap load of arms and the ability to use them all.