Deamhan's page

I've been researching this but there is something I can't seem to find an answer on.

Using a Dire Tiger as an example, the natural attacks are Bite, Claw x2, Rake x2 and there is the special ability Pounce.

As a companion for a level 11 Druid, there is +12/+7 for the attack bonus.

I use Hero Lab and there was something I noticed.

Despite having +12/+7, the Bite was simply +12 and the Claw x2 was +12/+12. It also listed an "unarmed" for +12/+7.

I gave the companion Improved Natural Attack. I took this twice, once for claw and once for rake. This gave me a warning message. I can't take it twice for the same thing. So I found out that Rake and Claw are the same thing.

I also play a mythic game where one person has a mythic that allows another party member to have one attack against the enemy (at max attack bonus).

It was activated for the companion. I then tried to do claw x2 but the GM said that would take a full round and that I can only have one claw but I was allowed my bite.

This didn't make sense to me. The way I see it Bite = Claw x2 as far as attacks go. If not then why have the x2 there to begin with? My monk uses unarmed but doesn't have unarmed x2 simply for having two fists so claw x2 shouldn't mean that the tiger has two claws. It goes without saying so why make special mention of it?

Then there is the "+ grapple" for the bite and claw attacks and there is also the "unarmed" going along with the number of attacks at the attack bonuses dictated by the BAB.

If you compare the bite to the claws, they are kind of balanced but only if you consider the claw is a double hit and consider the difference in damage types.

Bite = 2d6+6 plus grapple
Clawx2 = 2 x 1d8+6 plus grapple

so

Bite = 18dmg plus grapple
Clawx2 = 22dmg plus grapple (claw beats bite by 4)

and

Bite = 18dmg
Clawx1 = 11dmg (Bite beats claw by 7)

So you can see that they are closer when considering both claws as one attack. The gap is made smaller when you consider that a Bite is B,P, and S while the claws are just P and S for the purpose of bypassing damage reductions. Bite has an advantage that helps compensate the difference in damage.

So this has been my take on the whole thing.

When a big cat uses their claws, they typically use both at the same time and when they bite, they simply bite.

I've read somewhere that the multiple attacks by BAB don't apply to these attacks and so...

Attacking with natural attacks is like attacking with weapons. I can bite or clawx2 and each counts as just one attack. The reason you don't pay attention to the multiple attacks per round as dictated by the BAB is because each attack includes a grapple.

So in a full round I can Bite + grapple, or clawx2 + grapple. It no longer requires a full round and only requires a single attack action to perform bite or clawx2 both without grappling.

Am I wrong?