How do you feel about player races with natural weapons, such as claws or bites?

[Coidzor]

Do you think such things can be appropriately opened up to PCs outside of wildshaping or otherwise turning into critters?

Do you think there's a way to implement them without either giving (eventual) Multiattack in PC hands or opening up bonus action attacks without a feat/TWFing while keeping them somewhat relevant instead of a racial feature that is completely forgotten about except at such times that they're disarmed or naked?

[Foxhound438]

Aarocockra gets a 1d4+mod claw attack for their unarmed strike, it's certainly good but outside of monk you have to use strength, meaning the stats the race gives aren't great for the attack option. It's balanced, certainly, but I wouldn't give too much else.

As far as overall "goodness" goes, I would always use a real weapon unless the unarmed attack is busted good.

Edit: the minotaur in the UA gets a d10 horn attack, that certainly has potential. Only issue being, it doesn't work for a lot of things. No fighting style, no feat, nothing to give it good damage.

[Mr.Moron]

It strikes me more/less as a ribbon type ability. Unless the damage is higher than 1d8 it's not giving anyone stuff they couldn't get before. A bit offers marginal utility in that I suppose you can have a hand free while still wielding a weapon good for some casters I suppose. However given the damage for these is usually d4 or d6 on the high end for most homebrew I've seen even that isn't a consideration.

In terms of implementation a natural weapon is a weapon in my book. You can make attacks with it and you can two weapon fight with it, as per the normal TWF rules. If you have access to the style it gains a benefit otherwise not. A claw gives you no benefit that simply holding a dagger doesn't except perhaps the inability to be disarmed save in the literal sense.

The social and fluff implications are interesting though. If a weapon is known to have claw weapons, what happens in settings where it's demand everyone is unarmed or have weapons bonded? Must they wear big fluffy mittens?

[RickAllison]

Aarocockra gets a 1d4+mod claw attack for their unarmed strike, it's certainly good but outside of monk you have to use strength, meaning the stats the race gives aren't great for the attack option. It's balanced, certainly, but I wouldn't give too much else.

As far as overall "goodness" goes, I would always use a real weapon unless the unarmed attack is busted good.

Edit: the minotaur in the UA gets a d10 horn attack, that certainly has potential. Only issue being, it doesn't work for a lot of things. No fighting style, no feat, nothing to give it good damage.

Not true. My minotaur wizard has the shtick of grappling people or using his horns to cast GFB. Heavy-weapon damage with a shield and a free hand for components/various tricks.

EDIT: Note that this strategy does not work with Aarakocra. For GFB/BB, you must make a melee attack with a weapon. The minotaur horns are a weapon, but unarmed strikes aren't by RAW.

[MeeposFire]

Unlike in 3e where natural attacks would be in addition to your weapon attacks 5e essentially forces you to choose between what weapon or claw, bite, etc you want to use for each attack (and multi attack does not work with the normal attack action and only exists if explicitly stated to exist fora particular creature). This means that in 3e (and other editions where it worked this way) natural weapons always boosted your full attack but in 5e (much like 4e) natural attacks were potential replacements for your weapon attacks and so unless they were actually better than the weapons you could wield they were actually a down grade to use (and so would likely only be used situationally such as when you are captured, stripped of weapons, and then escape).

[Logosloki]

I see natural weapons as a fun addition to a race or class but as long as they don't go beyond d4 they are more in the ribbon category. I would add that a natural weapon shouldn't be too gimmicky in use and should be a part of the action economy in a reasonable way. Dragonborn's breath weapon for example is too unwieldy, even if it does more than d4.

[Regitnui]

I see them as nice flavour/ribbon abilities. Taking a 3.5 example, the warforged race getting slam attacks underlined their power compared to humans. The longtooth and razorclaw shifters having natural weapons also helps them feel more bestial than others. I mean, it's all good and well cornering the paladin without her weapons, but then she grows a pair of fangs/claws and starts tearing into you the old fashioned way. Admittedly, that is a fairly rare occurrence, but it is a possibility.

[Lord Il Palazzo]

Any character can pick up a dagger to deal 1d4 plus either strength or dexterity so I feel like giving characters an attack on that power level is almost purely cosmetic. (Besides immunity to being disarmed of your natural weapon and having it even if you don't have your equipment.) If the attack is limited to strength, 1d6 seems fair for the restriction (also equivalent to a weapon pretty much every character is proficient with, the quarterstaff).

If there's any sort of extra effect, like being able to make the natural attack in addition to your normal weapon attacks or the natural attack giving you an added effect (like the two natural weapon shifters), then there's some actual gameplay value since there's some reason to actually use the natural weapon rather than a regular one and I'd weigh it as an actual racial feature instead of just a cosmetic addition (i.e. ribbons).

Either way, I like natural weapons. They're a good way to make a race feel more... I don't know. Savage? Bestial? Either way, saying a race often fights with their claws instead of any manufactured weapon really paints a picture.

[Oramac]

I see them as nice flavour/ribbon abilities.

I'd agree with this. You can't use your natural weapon and a claw weapon at the same time, and the damage on a natural weapon is generally less than an actual weapon, so it's not really a big deal.

[Coidzor]

Any character can pick up a dagger to deal 1d4 plus either strength or dexterity so I feel like giving characters an attack on that power level is almost purely cosmetic. (Besides immunity to being disarmed of your natural weapon and having it even if you don't have your equipment.)

That's pretty much the line I was thinking along.


If the attack is limited to strength, 1d6 seems fair for the restriction (also equivalent to a weapon pretty much every character is proficient with, the quarterstaff).

I hadn't considered the angle of limiting to Str or Dex, though, instead of being either.


If there's any sort of extra effect, like being able to make the natural attack in addition to your normal weapon attacks or the natural attack giving you an added effect (like the two natural weapon shifters), then there's some actual gameplay value since there's some reason to actually use the natural weapon rather than a regular one and I'd weigh it as an actual racial feature instead of just a cosmetic addition (i.e. ribbons).

Ahh, I forgot about the shifters, I definitely need to check those out. That's in an Eberron related UA article along with changelings, right?


Either way, I like natural weapons. They're a good way to make a race feel more... I don't know. Savage? Bestial? Either way, saying a race often fights with their claws instead of any manufactured weapon really paints a picture.

Indeed, I'm looking into making a race along those lines without going overboard or being underwhelming.


In terms of implementation a natural weapon is a weapon in my book. You can make attacks with it and you can two weapon fight with it, as per the normal TWF rules. If you have access to the style it gains a benefit otherwise not. A claw gives you no benefit that simply holding a dagger doesn't except perhaps the inability to be disarmed save in the literal sense.

Fair point, I hadn't considered that part.


The social and fluff implications are interesting though. If a weapon is known to have claw weapons, what happens in settings where it's demand everyone is unarmed or have weapons bonded? Must they wear big fluffy mittens?

I'm now imagining catfolk wearing those plastic claw-covers that people make cats wear so they don't scratch up the furniture.

[RickAllison]

I'm now imagining catfolk wearing those plastic claw-covers that people make cats wear so they don't scratch up the furniture.

It would be a brave or foolish gusts who would dare to hide my minotaur's horns. You try telling a 7'8", 18 Strength bull that he has to hide his most prized feature. Seems like a short path to a lawsuit for discrimination (he is a wizard, who just happens to grapple on the side).

[Lycanthrope13]

I like natural weapons. I don't know why exactly, but I do. I guess it's the potential flavor they can add to a character. I like the concept of a barbarian who drops his weapons while raging and literally fights tooth and nail, or a paladin who vows not to give in to beastial urges, and especially a caster who isn't strong enough to make effective use of natural weapons. In the last case they would serve as a constant reminder of the character's shortcomings by the standards of their own race.

[Regitnui]

It would be a brave or foolish gusts who would dare to hide my minotaur's horns. You try telling a 7'8", 18 Strength bull that he has to hide his most prized feature. Seems like a short path to a lawsuit for discrimination (he is a wizard, who just happens to grapple on the side).

He just needs to wear this corks on the end so nobody gets stabbed. He doesn't have to hide them completely.

[Coidzor]

He just needs to wear this corks on the end so nobody gets stabbed. He doesn't have to hide them completely.

Have a cork core for a fancy designed cap. Make it a fashion trend amongst minotaurs.

[RickAllison]

Have a cork core for a fancy designed cap. Make it a fashion trend amongst minotaurs.

That... Sounds awesome. I'm stealing this idea.

[JoeJ]

He just needs to wear this corks on the end so nobody gets stabbed. He doesn't have to hide them completely.

I still call discrimination, since there's no rational basis for them. If the minotaur wanted to gore somebody, it would take all of two seconds to remove the corks, and nobody is going to accidentally get stabbed unless they try and sit on the minotaur's head.