What does this do - in practice?
Yes, it changes the secondary attack from -5 to -2 - yup happy with that.
Anyone got an example from the MM that they can explain the number crunching of it. A ghoul for example...
Attack: Bite +2
Full Attack: Bite +2 and 2 claws +0
Standard action uses Attack, full round action uses Full Attack.
I would have expected the Full Attack to have been 3 less than the single standard attack Bite - and the same for the claws (expect for the difference due to the 1.5 str mod). What am I doing wrong?
Okay - for a ghoul (3.5MM p.119),
he has a BAB of +1 (from his 2 HD), and
he has a STR=13, which gives a +1 bonus to hit/damage.
So his primary attack (bite) has a total +2 "to hit",
and does 1d6+1 damage (the +1 is from his str bonus).
He also does paralysis, but that's a special attack.
His claws (secondary attack) would normaly be at a -5 penalty
(+2-5=-3), however, he has the multiattack feat, which makes
the penaly -2 instead of -5, and +2-2=0.
So his two claws are at +0 "to hit" and do 1d3 damage.
It's actually 1d3 + half strength bonus, but in this case
"half the str bonus" is just 0.5, and you round the fractions down.
This becomes important if you want to create a ghoul with an 18 str, or give him barbarian levels and have him rage, etc.
What does this do - in practice?
Yes, it changes the secondary attack from -5 to -2 - yup happy with that.
Anyone got an example from the MM that they can explain the number crunching of it. A ghoul for example...
Attack: Bite +2
Full Attack: Bite +2 and 2 claws +0I would have expected the Full Attack to have been 3 less than the single standard attack Bite - and the same for the claws (expect for the difference due to the 1.5 str mod). What am I doing wrong?
I think I see where the confusion happened. The feat states that "the Creature's secondary attacks with natural weapons take only a -2 penalty." I think you might have been trying to reduce the primary attack by 3 to get the secondary bonus... Maybe.
The above poster is correct; the secondary attack is only two less than the primary.
To clarify further: The first attack in a full attack line is the creature's "primary attack." All other attacks are secondary.
A creature with multiple natural attacks generally has only one primary attack (it will be stated if otherwise). It may use any of the secondary attacks as primary attacks, but only as a standard action (single attack in a round).
Some creatures (generally passive herbivore animals) treat all of their attacks as secondary attacks, and cannot choose to make primary attacks.
Hope this helps
TK