What does a Slam Attack LOOK like?

[benthehater]

I know what a sword does. I know what a punch or kick does. I know what a claw or bite does.

But what does the slam do? How do you describe it in that mode?

The Vampire's mocking laugh echoed in the chamber as he nimbly dodged the axe kick from Brazen the Monk, while hopping over the horizontal slash from Geffrin's Dwarven War Axe. In retort he delivered unto Brazen a ...

A what?

... a slam.

With his?

... slam attack.

No no, with the description, what he did he slam Brazen with? His head? Is it a headbutt?

No, it's not a headbutt.

Well what is it?

It's ... it's a slam attack. Just shut up and take your damage.

You don't know what it is, do you?

No, now let's move on.

Is it kung fu?

No, it's not kung fu.

Can we pretend it's kung fu?

No. Moving on.

Can we houserule it as kung fu?

No.

I'm just going to imagine it as kung fu since I like that.

Oh look, your character just died.

[Starsinger]

When I first heard the term, Slam Attack, I assumed it was the creature picking up it's target, and slamming them into the ground. Then I was politely told by the DM that I was wrong. Slam Attacks were like a body tackle. Why being tackled by a Vampire leads to energy drain I don't know.

I think it's one of those terms, like subdual damage, that they just made up and have no idea what it is.

[Rama_Lei]

Well certain creature, like treants which have slam attacks, give the impression of being bludgeoned with a large blunt object, in this case the attacker.

[Ranis]

It's a very generic classification of a noncommittal attack category for monsters or creatures that don't have natural weapons or weapon-weapons.

As to what it looks like, well, that varies depending upon what creature it is. For a vampire, I would imagine it as something of a tackle. For something like a skeleton/vampire, I'd consider it a claw attack that missed with the claw and just slammed against the enemy it was targeting.

[Inyssius Tor]

Here's the actual definition. The Monster Manual: it has a lot more stuff than one might think!

[Citizen Joe]

You know when Kirk uses both hands in a single attack, usually as a 'finishing' move. That's a slam attack.

[Yuki Akuma]

The Monster Manual describes slam attacks thusly: "The creature batters opponents with an appendage, dealing bludgeoning damage."

Well, that clear that up. *sigh*

Edit: Damn you, Simu-Tor.

[Wraithy]

i thought slam was just stumbling into someone (mosh pit but lazier) usually involving your own shoulder being broken

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

As far as I can tell, the creature just bashes you with an appendage, preferably a noodly looking one.

[Sutremaine]

Punch, stamp, knuckles across the mouth, headbutt, elbow, knee, clothesline, tentacle slap... I really don't care as long as it delivers the appropriate amount of bludgeoning damage and doesn't break versimilitude, and apparently neither does the MM.

[Attilargh]

A vampire's Slam Attack is clearly a weaker version of the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, except it does not make your heart explode.

Ædit:

Punch, stamp, knuckles across the mouth, headbutt, elbow, knee, clothesline, tentacle slap... I really don't care as long as it delivers the appropriate amount of bludgeoning damage and doesn't break versimilitude, and apparently neither does the MM.

On a more serious note, those are all unarmed strikes. What makes a mummy's punch deadlier than a boxer's punch?

[Amphimir Míriel]

A slam attack by a treant is just it clubbing you with one of its branches...

A slam attack by a vampire is just a glorified name for a slap

At least that's how I see it...

[Illiterate Scribe]

What does it look like?

Like THIS!

(sorry; martial arts, like sarcasm, come across badly on the internet)

I'm still giggling at the 'slap attack' option though; is this just stuff like tail slap, or is there anyone who deals damage with the back of their hand?

[DraPrime]

Slam attacks vary from creature to creature. A zombie slam attacks by hitting you with that rotten meaty arm. A vampire slam attacks you by ramming its body into you. Or at least that's how I imagine it. It's all about how you picture it in your mind. Just imagine something that involves some kind of slamming.

[Sutremaine]

...those are all unarmed strikes.

They're also attacks that are made by an appendage and deal bludeoning damage.

What makes a mummy's punch deadlier than a boxer's punch?

The mummy's physiology (and that of other creatures with slam attacks) is better suited to delivering telling blows than the boxer's, allowing it to not only more easily score a telling blow, but to put more of its power behind the blow. This is why slam attacks do more damage and apply more Strength bonus than unarmed strikes.

[Were-Sandwich]

I always pictured a vamp's slam attack as some kind of vampire kung-fu.

[Yuki Akuma]

A mummy-punch is harder than a boxer-punch because mummies, being undead, have none of those silly psychological blocks humans have that prevent them from using all of their muscle power at once, lest the force break our puny living bones.

This is why zombies are stronger than humans.

[Diggorian]

You know when Kirk uses both hands in a single attack, usually as a 'finishing' move. That's a slam attack.

LOL, Polish Hammer for the win!!

Slam attacks are what the SRD describes them to be, threateningly lethal slaps/punches/bashings.

What I've portrayed them to look like in game is a very powerful blow:

Unarmed attack hit-- "The monk quick jabs you in the face. You roll with the blow and ready to return the favor."

Slam attack hit-- "The Earth elemental bashes you with a fist like a granite sledge. You slide back a few feet on your toes as world seems to shift backwards. Through sheer tenacity you recover your wits, intent to repay the creature."

Unarmed miss-- "You dodge away from his haymaker deftly."

Slam miss-- "Dropping to a knee barely avoids the golem's strike. It knocks a head sized chunk out of the marble pillar behind you with a deafening crash."

It's mainly a matter of extremity.

[Rama_Lei]

This is a vampire/mummy slam attack

[ocato]

...which book had Namor as a pimp in it??

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

I'm under the impression that slam attacks function just like unarmed strikes. They take a part of their body and hit you with it, be it them ramming their shoulder into you, punching you, kicking you, kneeing, elbowing, headbutting and so forth.

[PinkysBrain]

Vampires can only do it if they have a hand free. Personally unless it doesn't say specifically and/or it just doesn't make sense (non humanoid) I rule that a slam is done with a fist.

[Reptilius]

I always pictured a vamp's slam attack as some kind of vampire kung-fu.

Exactly! Haven't any of you seen Buffy? All the demons inexplicably know kung fu.

[Beleriphon]

...which book had Namor as a pimp in it??

The motion lines are going the wrong way for him to be be a pimp. But yes, that would seem to indicate a Slam attack to me.

[EvilElitest]

Considering that it drains energy, i think a Vampire's slam attack is simple him smashing his enemy with his first as hard as he can. I always imagine it open palmed, while sucking the life out of his target
from,
EE

[Demented]

The vampire approaches you from behind and punches you. By punches you, I mean that he leaps forward with open palms and batters you mercilessly with unnaturally hard, bone-cracking blows, crushing and twisting flesh with his fingers' grasp. You can feel the internal organ damage like an unmedicated tooth feels a dentist's drill.

Undead are simply better at assault and battery than normal humans are.

[Matthew]

Ever see John Carpenter's Vampires? Bad film, but an awesome first twenty minutes. The Vampire Master does some stuff that I would imagine being 'Slam' Attacks...

[Maerok]

I've always seen it as a tackle or a haymaker of a natural attack.

[....]

Go watch the ending part of X-Men 3. See what Beast is doing to people? Those are slam attacks.

[AtomicKitKat]

With a vampire, I see it as like a Buddha Palm(fingers up, palm towards enemy, thrust it flat against the chest), literally punching your chi right out of you(and absorbing it in turn).

For bigger things, like Golems, I see it as a sort of casual swat, where they just backhand you with the forearm, sweeping you aside.