Can someone explain a horses attack power

[mishka_shaw]

Hi
Okay a warhorse has the following attacks as per the 3.5 SRD

+6 Hoof
+6 Hoof
+1 Bite

Now this is cool and all but two things strike me as not making sense.
First off its base attack bonus is +3 and its strength modifier is +4, so shouldn’t its first attack be +7?
Second of all it does not have multi-attack so why does the second hoof not take a -5 penalty?

I mean as I understand it the horse should have a full-attack of.
+7/+2/+2
Or
+7/+5/+5 if you have multi-attack.

What am I missing here?

[mirror]

1. Horse is large and gains -1 size modifier to attack.

2. I'm not rly good with natural attacks, but I bet you can find your answer here.
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10994.0;

[Morph Bark]

Isn't a bite (nearly) always the primary attack?

[LordQwert]

+3 BaB, +4 Str, -1 Size = +6 to hit

Like slam attacks or other natural attacks they never get iterative attacks (+11/+6/+1), but get full attack on each. The bite is a secondary attack, and thus takes a -5 penalty. If the horse had multiattack it would only take a -2 penalty.

[Gwendol]

Natural attacks can be more than one, depending on the physionomy of the animal. Thus 2 hooves using the same attack bonus, and the bite which takes the -5 secondary attack penalty.

[LordQwert]

Isn't a bite (nearly) always the primary attack?

Specifically not for horses.

[mishka_shaw]

1. Horse is large and gains -1 size modifier to attack.

2. I'm not rly good with natural attacks, but I bet you can find your answer here.
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10994.0;

Oh yeah forgot the size modifier, yeah that explains that bit.

That linked explained it thanks.


When a creature has more than one natural weapon, one of them (or sometimes a pair or set of them) is the primary weapon. All the creature’s remaining natural weapons are secondary.........
An attack with a primary natural weapon uses the creature’s full attack bonus

The set of hoofs are the primary and thus gain the full.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Isn't a bite (nearly) always the primary attack?

If you were a horse, would you bite someone who scared you and bringing down the majority of your weight through your hooves?

[nedz]

If you were a horse, would you bite someone who scared you and bringing down the majority of your weight through your hooves?

Given that horses are flight animals: I would turn and run, kicking the scary thing as I went.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Given that horses are flight animals: I would turn and run, kicking the scary thing as I went.

Still proves my point.

[Morph Bark]

If you were a horse, would you bite someone who scared you and bringing down the majority of your weight through your hooves?

If I was a warhorse, I would've been trained not to stand on my hind legs unless directed to do so. Otherwise, I might throw off my rider. :smallwink::smalltongue:

[Gwendol]

Your rider would be trained not to fall off. :-)