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I was reviewing the animal companion rules for Druids and I found what I think is a contradiction.
From the section Animal Choices
Each animal companion has different starting sizes, speed, attacks, ability scores, and special qualities. All animal attacks are made using the creature's full base attack bonus unless otherwise noted.
Yet as one of the special abilities at 9th level the Druid's companion gets Multiattack
An animal companion gains Multiattack as a bonus feat if it has three or more natural attacks and does not already have that feat. If it does not have the requisite three or more natural attacks, the animal companion instead gains a second attack with one of its natural weapons, albeit at a –5 penalty.
But if a druids companion takes no penalty with its multiple attacks as per the italic section why have this as a special bonus? My understanding of Multiattack from the Bestiary is that it reduces the penalty from -5 to -2.
So which is it?
Companions get -5 with their secondary attacks (like all other animals)which makes Multiattack a useful addition at 9th?
or
Companions use their base BAB (unlike all other animals) which makes multiattack unnecessary?
Thanks in advance.
My take is that 'at some point' animals were -5 on their attack, and to offset this, multiattack was given at 9th level (12 for Rangers/Animal Clerics).
'At some other point' the choice was made to abandon this handicap, and just grant them all the same bonus. Makes sense, or you end up with level 3 animals with claw attacks at -2 (after adding Str and BAB etc) and other such craziness - imagine needing a 12 or better to hit an AC10 at 3hd... whacky.
Anyhow, I believe that the multiattack bonus is a leftover artifact and should have simply been removed from the table.
Another thing that should be renamed or clarified is the 'Link', as that implies some sort of telepathic mojo by the name of it - yet there is actually nothing to suggest its more than just a synergy. It doesn't have a range or anything useful, so it must therefore simply be an advanced (quicker) order system for the animal to carry out trained tasks.
After all, most companions are 2Int (dumb) animals and unable to talk or communicate.
Bite and Claw are primary attacks, all the others are secondary attacks, made at -5. If the animal gets Multiattacks, these secondary attacks are made at -2.
Obviously, this feat won't be of any use to animals which don't have attack modes beside Bite/Claw.
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The only creature in the list that has secondary attacks noted is the horse (the hooves attacks are noted as secondary). Unless I missed something, then this is an artifact that really does not have relevance to most of the animals on the list.
I will probably rule in my game that the animal can elect to take a bonus monster feat (from the bestiary) if they get no benefit from multiattack. A good portion of the animals on the list would get nothing, both possessing more than three attacks, and no secondary attacks.
(This is the breakdown of how multiattack would effect the animal companions in the core books:
Gets nothing due to possessing 3+ attacks: Ape, Badger, Bear, Cat (big), Cat (small),Dinosaur (velociraptor)
Gains a second attack with on of its natural weapons with a -5 penalty for not meeting prereqs for multiattack, per the multiattack entry in the druid animal companion section: Boar, Camel, Crocodile, Dog, Pony, Shark, Snake (constrictor), snake (viper), wolf
Gains actual use of the multiattack feat: Horse)
The obvious idea of multiattack is to up the damage output of the critter, so it seems easily replaced with something like weapon focus, or improved natural attack. But it may in fact be the intent of the designers to use the feat to give a boost to some of the companions while leaving out others.
But my players like to get cool stuff when they level up, and the druid has already taken a pretty good drop in power from previous editions, so I would not have issue with working out some sort of alt feature for players with companions that do not gain benefit from multiattack.
love,
malkav
1) An animal with more than two natural attacks would usually get penalties on secondary attacks and would benefit from multiattack feat as per usual. (I think they forgot to note the claws of the velociraptor as secondary)
2) Multiattack as per the class feature allows animals that do not otherwise benefit from the multiattack feat, an extra attack with one of their primary natural attack, at a -5 penalty.
for example a wolf has only one attack say +10 with a bite attack, it now gains an extra attack with a bite at a +5 bonus
(+10 with - 5 penalty) if it has more primary attacks, like claws and bite, you can choose which you want to make an extra attack with.
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1) An animal with more than two natural attacks would usually get penalties on secondary attacks and would benefit from multiattack feat as per usual. (I think they forgot to note the claws of the velociraptor as secondary)
2) Multiattack as per the class feature allows animals that do not otherwise benefit from the multiattack feat, an extra attack with one of their primary natural attack, at a -5 penalty.
for example a wolf has only one attack say +10 with a bite attack, it now gains an extra attack with a bite at a +5 bonus
(+10 with - 5 penalty) if it has more primary attacks, like claws and bite, you can choose which you want to make an extra attack with.
I agree that the claws of the velociraptor should be secondary (they are listed as foreclaws in the bestiary entry and are treated as secondary weapons receiving the -5 penalty). But even then, that still leaves several companions that gain no benefit from the class feature.
love,
malkav
I interpreted that as nothing more than 'unless otherwise noted, listed attacks are primary attacks.'
This issue was clarified by James Jacobs here
This link no longer works... can someone find this explanation again? I'd like to know how this actually works! Thanks!
Oops, never mind. Found it here.
I know this is resurrected, but anyone looking into this should check out this link and check out the sample pages in the blog.
According to Sean K and the NPC codex if your favourite critter doesn't have a secondary attack or otherwise benefit from multiattack it gains an iterative attack to one of it's primary attacks - no matter how many primary attacks it has.
Whether your GM oks that as it isn't 100% explicit from the rules text is another matter.