What is a slam attack

[Silva Stormrage]

Okay just a random question that has been bugging me. What is a "slam" natural attack supposed to be? You run into them with your body? If so why can't a human do it? I mean a zombie gains a slam attack if it was a human corpse. What exactly changed about it so that it could slam creatures as a natural weapon?

[Seerow]

It's an unarmed strike with a different name so they can justify having better damage dice than a regular human's fist.

[Psyren]

As it says on the SRD:


Slap or Slam
The creature batters opponents with an appendage, dealing bludgeoning damage.

So a Warforged/Vampire/etc.'s pimp hand is strong :smalltongue:


It's an unarmed strike with a different name so they can justify having better damage dice than a regular human's fist.

Also, not needing IUS to do lethal without penalty/avoid provoking AoO.

[Campbellk8105]

So a Warforged/Vampire/etc.'s pimp hand is strong :smalltongue:


I see a siggy here, haha.

[Urpriest]

Basically, a zombie or vampire or whatever is unnaturally strong and can hurt you just by ramming itself into you/punching you/whatever. A human or fleshraker has to use some technique to get the same effect, represented by Improved Unarmed Strike.

[Gotterdammerung]

You seen that double-fist hammer slam that Captain Kirk does?

That is a slam attack.

[Silva Stormrage]

Okay it always seemed odd for zombies in particular. Since they really aren't that much stronger. For example saying a zombie made from a human with 8 strength versus a human with 18 strength. Doesn't make that much sense as to why the zombies pimp hand is so much stronger. Especially since there isn't really any body changes to a zombie, just animation of what is left over from the corpse.

[Jeraa]

Slam is just the name chosen for bludgeoning natural attacks. Thats all. It has nothing to do with strength.

[Tvtyrant]

Okay it always seemed odd for zombies in particular. Since they really aren't that much stronger. For example saying a zombie made from a human with 8 strength versus a human with 18 strength. Doesn't make that much sense as to why the zombies pimp hand is so much stronger. Especially since there isn't really any body changes to a zombie, just animation of what is left over from the corpse.

It can hit you as hard as it can without worrying about pain/breaking its fist? Think about how much people cushion their blows to prevent their knuckles breaking. It takes a lot of training to overcome the psychological barrier to hitting something at full strength.

[Shade Kerrin]

It can hit you as hard as it can without worrying about pain/breaking its fist? Think about how much people cushion their blows to prevent their knuckles breaking. It takes a lot of training to overcome the psychological barrier to hitting something at full strength.

More or less this for zombies, in my opinion. It's not that they've gotten any stronger, it's just that they no longer care about the potential side effects of headbutting that guy in full-plate.

[Prime32]

It can hit you as hard as it can without worrying about pain/breaking its fist? Think about how much people cushion their blows to prevent their knuckles breaking. It takes a lot of training to overcome the psychological barrier to hitting something at full strength.And yet an lv20 monk, who has trained so hard that his body is partially composed of the abstract concept of training hard, cannot use a slam attack. :smalltongue:

[Shade Kerrin]

Ah, but is a lvl20 Monk really a good measuring stick for anything?

[KillianHawkeye]

And yet an lv20 monk, who has trained so hard that his body is partially composed of the abstract concept of training hard, cannot use a slam attack. :smalltongue:

A 20th level Monk's unarmed strikes are BETTER than a slam attack.

This is D&D. Stop expecting things to make sense!!

[Psyren]

A 20th level Monk's unarmed strikes are BETTER than a slam attack.

This is D&D. Stop expecting things to make sense!!

And yet your first sentence was an attempt to explain things. You want sense as much as we do :smalltongue:

[dgnslyr]

In that case, slam attacks seem to be more of a thing of convenience, with the unarmed strike rules being a total mess at times.

[Silva Stormrage]

A 20th level Monk's unarmed strikes are BETTER than a slam attack.

This is D&D. Stop expecting things to make sense!!

Fair enough :smallbiggrin: I was more just wondering what it was in the beginning. The not being able to feel pain seems to make since to me.

Thanks guys :smallsmile:

[Lord Vukodlak]

A human punches you with his fist, A zombie slams you like he was breaking down a door.

[Silva Stormrage]

A human punches you with his fist, A zombie slams you like he was breaking down a door.

Ya but I was originally wondering why a human couldn't do that as well.

[dgnslyr]

Because a typical human being isn't strong or trained enough to use his body as a lethal weapon? and by god that sounds wrong so none of you better make a joke about it because I already did

A slam is a natural weapon, emphasis mine. It's capable of dealing lethal damage without penalty, unlike a typical puny human's fists.

[Psyren]

A slam is a natural weapon, emphasis mine. It's capable of dealing lethal damage without penalty, unlike a typical puny human's fists.

While this is true, it isn't actually saying why this is so. "It does lethal damage because it's a weapon" is circular.

The most reasonable explanation I can see is that creatures with a slam either have appendages primarily designed to attack with (e.g. a tentacle), or they simply don't feel pain the same way they would as normal humans and can thus attack at full strength (zombies, vampires, warforged etc.)

[KillianHawkeye]

If you really wanted to, I'm sure you could get rid of Slams and rewrite all the affected monsters (giving them IUS as a bonus feat) and letting them punch people like everyone else.

Personally, I'm in favor of rewriting zombies so that they have to grapple and bite and carry some sort of zombification disease.

[Anarchy_Kanya]

Some creatures have the slam attack because their appendages are hard and bulky enough to deal damage. Notice that most (if not all) creatures with slam have natural armor (and often quite high).

[Spiryt]

It can hit you as hard as it can without worrying about pain/breaking its fist? Think about how much people cushion their blows to prevent their knuckles breaking. It takes a lot of training to overcome the psychological barrier to hitting something at full strength.

It takes a lot of training to hit something "at full strenght" in the first place.

At least for 99.5% of people, and then the rest of particularly gifted in striking will also hit really hard after the training as well.

I guess we can assume that due to being zombie and all, corpse can really maul something good without life and biology limiting it.

[Revengeancer]

I love answering this question because I feel it makes a lot of sense and the answer is really funny. So, notice how it keeps all the original natural attacks and gains an extra slam attack? If it had other slam attacks, they would deal the same amount of damage, but their new slam attack goes up a dice step. This is because a zombie can hurl its entire mass onto something without any fear of damaging itself further. It just kinda flops itself onto the target with deadweight and if it's a fast zombie all of its other attacks go off simultaneously because a zombie is more like an animated object than an actual creature. A slam attack is not always from fists, that's just the most common version of a slam attack.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Note that Pathfinder tanuki can use their "slam attack" with their hands full, and that in Japanese mythology, tanuki are noted as using their absolutely massive testicles as melee weapons...

Combine with effective monk levels, IUS, and Beast Strike for a hilarious fighting style. You might even fly under the radar if your DM isn't paying attention.

[Arkain]

If you really wanted to, I'm sure you could get rid of Slams and rewrite all the affected monsters (giving them IUS as a bonus feat) and letting them punch people like everyone else.

Personally, I'm in favor of rewriting zombies so that they have to grapple and bite and carry some sort of zombification disease.

Pathfinder got your back there, actually (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/zombie). There are at the very least plague zombies and brain-eating zombies who infect others, with the latter also gaining a bite attack and grab.

[Calthropstu]

Braaaiiiiiins
Quick, get a cleric!

[Doctor Awkward]

Slap or Slam: (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#slaporSlam)
The creature batters opponents with an appendage, dealing bludgeoning damage.

[Arkain]

Quick, get a cleric!

Oh boy, didn't even notice that :smallconfused:

[ericgrau]

As a "slam" I think it's a heavy and/or wide natural attack. So usually it's from a large appendage, or in the case of a vampire he waves his hand and somehow stuff breaks with unnatural force.

The game even combines slam with slaps as Doctor Awkward quoted. Humans don't slam because they don't slap very hard. A shoulder bash is kinda similar, but it's not an appendage. Warforged slam perhaps because their arms are heavy.

[Roland St. Jude]

I love answering this question because I feel it makes a lot of sense and the answer is really funny. So, notice how it keeps all the original natural attacks and gains an extra slam attack? If it had other slam attacks, they would deal the same amount of damage, but their new slam attack goes up a dice step. This is because a zombie can hurl its entire mass onto something without any fear of damaging itself further. It just kinda flops itself onto the target with deadweight and if it's a fast zombie all of its other attacks go off simultaneously because a zombie is more like an animated object than an actual creature. A slam attack is not always from fists, that's just the most common version of a slam attack.

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