Base Attack Bonus & Getting Multiple Attacks

[Marc Radle]

When you need to calculate something like CMB for a higher level character, what do you use for the Base Attack Bonus? Do you just use the first bonus? In other words, if a character gets 2 attacks at +6 / +2, do you just use the +6 when calculating CMB? I can't actually find this spelled out in the core rules!

Thanks!

[erian_7]

BAB is a defined term (see below). The additional attacks you get are a result of the BAB, not part of it. So, the first/highest number is the BAB.

PRPG-Getting Started wrote:

Base Attack Bonus (BAB): Each creature has a base attack bonus and it represents its skill in combat. As a character gains levels or Hit Dice, his base attack bonus improves. When a creature's base attack bonus reaches +6, +11, or +16, he receives an additional attack in combat when he takes a full-attack action (which is one type of full-round action—see Combat).

[TriOmegaZero]

I really wish they had dropped the iterative attacks from the class charts. It causes too much confusion to new players seeing multiple numbers.

[Hadogon]

Ive read on here that your next attack is at -5 when your BaB reaches 6 but I cant find it in the core rules book.
Im having a hard time figuring out my BaB for a 10th lvl fighter / 6th lvl barb. It turns out I was doing it wrong.

[AlastarOG]

10th level fighter 6th level barb is +16.

You would get 4 itteratives on this.

+16
+11(16-5)
+6(16-10)
+1(16-15)

This is the maximal number of itteratives attacks

Itteratives attacks only apply on a full round action, and only with manufactured weapons (as opposed to natural attacks)

(NOTE TO MY FELLOW RULED LAWYERS: I know it's possible to use natural as unarmed and get itteratives, I'm talking in general)

There are 3 progressions of bab, and they stack when multiclassing:
Fast: (+1 bab every level, martial focused chars such as ranger paladin and fighter get this)
Medium: (+1 bab every 3/4 level (first one is the dead level) this is reserved for hybrid characters such as clerics druids and rogues)
Slow: (+1 bab every 1/2 levels, (first level is the dead level) this is reserved for pure casters or physically weak classes, such as wizard and sorcerer)

If bab is confusing, I would suggest staying in the same class the whole progression, multiclassing increases the complexity by a lot, and in pathfinder staying single class is often much more advantageous unless you know exactly what you're doing.