Animals, iteratives and weapons

[HurinTheCursed]

Hello all,

I always had trouble understanding natural weapons, unarmed attacks, even after reading the miniguide, I think I need some pedagogy:

- Say a character with improved unarmed strikes turns into a bear (who can only walk as quadripeds in d&d I believe) or another standard quadruped, how does he use iterative attacks and natural attacks during a full attack round ?

- If he wanted to use a two handed weapon, what would be his best option to wield it ?

- How does multi attack work with all this ?

- Would it be different for a weapon-wielding character with one or more natural attacks and without improved unarmed strikes ?

Thanks for the explainations

[Coidzor]

Iterative Attacks as normal, modified by whatever bonuses, penalties, or ability scores they might have different from their normal form. Then they do all of their natural weapons at BAB-5 and have half strength due to all of them being treated as Secondary due to using the Iterative Attacks.

The only way to wield a two-handed weapon while a bear is to either somehow give that bear hands (such as via Gloves of Man) or use a Mouthpick Weapon (+1 bonus, Lords of Madness) and replace one's Bite Attack.

Multiattack makes natural weapons go at BAB-2.

It would only be different in that if one has a Claw or Slam natural weapon, one can't really use that appendage to wield a weapon and attack with the Claw or Slam at the same time.

[Necroticplague]

Hello all,

I always had trouble understanding natural weapons, unarmed attacks, even after reading the miniguide, I think I need some pedagogy:

- Say a character with improved unarmed strikes turns into a bear (who can only walk as quadripeds in d&d I believe) or another standard quadruped, how does he use iterative attacks and natural attacks during a full attack round ?
He makes all his iterative attacks as normal, then makes his natural attacks, with all weapons as secondary natural weapons (even if they would otherwise be primary natural weapons). So, in this case, assuming BaB 6 and ignoring STR mod, it would be UAS +6/UAS +1/Bite +1/Claw +1/Claw +1.

Some creatures combine attacks with natural and manufactured weapons when they make a full attack. When they do so, the manufactured weapon attack is considered the primary attack unless the creature’s description indicates otherwise and any natural weapons the creature also uses are considered secondary natural attacks. These secondary attacks do not interfere with the primary attack as attacking with an off-hand weapon does, but they take the usual –5 penalty (or –2 with the Multiattack feat) for such attacks, even if the natural weapon used is normally the creature’s primary natural weapon.


- If he wanted to use a two handed weapon, what would be his best option to wield it ?
Using a Mouthpick weapon, or pick up the feat that lets you make unarmed attacks count as two-handed. Preferebly the former.


- How does multi attack work with all this ?
It makes all the secondary natural attacks more accurate. Applying it to the same conditions as earlier, Multiattack would make it UAS +6/UAS +1/Bite +4/Claw +4/Claw +4.


- Would it be different for a weapon-wielding character with one or more natural attacks and without improved unarmed strikes ?
No. For these kinds of purposes, an unarmed strike is just like any other manufactured weapons, save being hands-free. A Minotaur uses the same rules to gore someone while using their axe.

[HurinTheCursed]

I had no time to come back in the past weeks but I just wanted to thank you guys for making things clear for me.