Call me dense, but I can't seem to find the rules for how natural attacks are advanced for monsters. Like, an elder elemental has two slam attacks, even though their BAB would allow for three iterative attacks, if they were a PC wielding a weapon.
More specifically, what I'm trying to determine, is the following:
1) When I wildshape into critter forms, how do I determine how many natural attacks I have? (Read: "Critter" = anything I can wildshape into)
2) Am I limited to the natural attacks of the form I choose (let's focus on huge earth elemental), or can I swap to iterative attacks, if, say, I ripped up a tree and wanted to use it as a huge club?
3) How is it determined whether an elemental would have one, two, or more slam attacks?
Call me dense, but I can't seem to find the rules for how natural attacks are advanced for monsters. Like, an elder elemental has two slam attacks, even though their BAB would allow for three iterative attacks, if they were a PC wielding a weapon.
More specifically, what I'm trying to determine, is the following:
1) When I wildshape into critter forms, how do I determine how many natural attacks I have? (Read: "Critter" = anything I can wildshape into)
2) Am I limited to the natural attacks of the form I choose (let's focus on huge earth elemental), or can I swap to iterative attacks, if, say, I ripped up a tree and wanted to use it as a huge club?
3) How is it determined whether an elemental would have one, two, or more slam attacks?
Natural attacks do not advance or gain additional uses based on BAB. Creatures have natural attacks based on how many are available to their physical shape; I think elementals, with their two slams, are assumed to have two 'arms' or other apendages to make attacks with.
That said, if you have a creature with natural attacks and a limb capable of using a weapon (Say, a gorilla, with two slams based on its two arms), one arm can be used to wield a weapon (sacrificing your natural attack with that limb) normally (getting all of its iterative BAB attacks at no penalty) and the other slam may be used in addition as a secondary attack (all natural attacks, when used with manufactured weapons, count as secondary).
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1)You have as many natural attack as that creature would normally have.
2)If you have a manufactured/improvised weapon, and you have the ability to wield it, you can use it either alone, or with any natural attacks that don't use that appendage that is being taken by the manufactured/improvised weapon.
3)Their stat block will say whether they have 1, 2, or more natural attacks. BAB doesn't affect the number of natural attacks a creature gets, just the end attack bonus. BAB still affects any manufactured weapons it may use, however.
Edit: Ninja'd
Any idea why the smaller/younger elementals would only have one slam, and the older ones have two?
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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1) When I wildshape into critter forms, how do I determine how many natural attacks I have? (Read: "Critter" = anything I can wildshape into)
You gain the natural attacks listed in the bestiary stat block. If there are 2 slam attacks that is what you gain.
2) Am I limited to the natural attacks of the form I choose (let's focus on huge earth elemental), or can I swap to iterative attacks, if, say, I ripped up a tree and wanted to use it as a huge club?
You can use a weapon, a tree would be an improvised weapon at -4 to hit. If you had an appropriately sized weapon set aside before you wild shaped you could use it. A two handed weapon would require two limbs to wield sacrificing your two slam attacks. Many forms might not be able to wield a weapon at all, there will likely be some table variation on this though (for example I would say a deinonychus is unable to effectively wield a weapon with his small fore claws).
3) How is it determined whether an elemental would have one, two, or more slam attacks?
Most creatures attacks are defined by their form when they are created. Elementals are a bit odd because they don't have explicitly defined forms and their attacks are generic and a bit arbitrary.
To take it to the ridiculous, what if we had, say, a monk/druid, wildshaped into an elemental. Could he flurry?
What about secondary effects, like a fire elemental's burn? Could the druid-monk burn and with every flurry attack?
Thanks for the help, guys. :)
He could flurry, but it would deal unarmed damage for a monk of his size, not slam damage. It would still trigger things that rely on contact, like burn.
3d8 plus Str for a huge monk, plus burn, then.
Too bad the attack rolls would be terrible.