2h Manufactured weapons & natural attacks

[Wacky89]

When I'm making a full attack action, can I attack with my greatclub then use all of my natural attacks as secondary attacks?
I got claws & bite from my template (White dragonspawn) and tail from Dragon Tail feat.
Can I make a attack with all of them?

[Darrin]

When I'm making a full attack action, can I attack with my greatclub then use all of my natural attacks as secondary attacks?
I got claws & bite from my template (White dragonspawn) and tail from Dragon Tail feat.
Can I make a attack with all of them?

The bite and tail attack, yes, definitely. See Monster Manual page 311, under "Manufactured Weapons" and page 312, under "Natural Weapons". When you wield a manufactured weapon, that becomes your primary attack, and any natural weapons that are not currently occupied can become secondary attacks.

The claws... that's a little more complicated, because nowhere in the rules does it say that if you wield a weapon with your claws, then you can't attack with your claws. This is an "unwritten rule", or at least it can be implied from the stat blocks in the Monster Manual, but it's more of a RACSD (Rules As Common Sense Dictates) rather than RAW (Rules As Written).

[Necroticplague]

When I'm making a full attack action, can I attack with my greatclub then use all of my natural attacks as secondary attacks?
I got claws & bite from my template (White dragonspawn) and tail from Dragon Tail feat.
Can I make a attack with all of them?

Yep. Might wanna pick up Multiattack if you plan on doing that.

[Hiro Quester]

The claws... that's a little more complicated, because nowhere in the rules does it say that if you wield a weapon with your claws, then you can't attack with your claws. This is an "unwritten rule", or at least it can be implied from the stat blocks in the Monster Manual, but it's more of a RACSD (Rules As Common Sense Dictates) rather than RAW (Rules As Written).


The custom/unwritten rule is implied by entries such as werewolf (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm#werewolf).

In hybrid form it's full attack is 2 claws and a bite. The entry also notes though:

A werewolf in hybrid form usually dispenses with weapon attacks, though it can wield a weapon and use its bite as a secondary natural attack.

The implication is that if it holds a weapon in its hand, then its claws are unavailable for use in natural weapon attacks.

This is echoed in the FAQ (zip .pdf) (http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/files/Main35FAQv06302008.zip) which I interpret as being darn close to a "written" rule:


What happens when creatures use their natural weapons as secondary attacks along with a manufactured weapon? For example, lizardfolk have two claws that also serve as hands. What happens when they wield a one- handed weapon in one hand and nothing in the other? Do they lose both claw attacks in exchange for their attacks with the weapon?

Wielding a manufactured weapon doesn’t prevent a creature from using all its natural weaponry, provided that the creature is using the full attack action and the additional natural weapons are free.

The example lizardfolk can’t make a claw attack with the “hand” that holds its weapon, although it does get to attack with the weapon itself. But, if it’s using the full attack action, it can use its other claw as a natural secondary attack (–5 to attack rolls, half Strength bonus), and can also bite as a natural secondary attack. In effect, the lizardfolk is using its normal full attack routine with the manufactured weapon attack substituted for one claw attack.