Dhampirs with Fangs...Natural attacks?

[Vamptastic]

So, Dhampirs, just like other races, get a few alternate traits if they want. I'm gonna list a little bit of their 'Fangs' here:

"Fangs On occasion, a dhampir may inherit his father's lengthy canines. Whenever the dhampir makes a grapple combat maneuver check to damage an opponent, he can choose to bite his opponent, dealing 1d3 points of damage as if using a natural bite attack."

You see that 'as if' up there? Yeah, me too. It makes me wonder if their fangs actually count as a natural attack. Feats or things that affect natural weapons, would it affect a Dhampy's fangs? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Lincoln Hills]

It's probably just to make clear that outside of a grapple, the fangs are not to be considered a full-fledged natural weapon (they do not allow an unarmed dhampir with the trait to be treated as 'armed', for example.)

[Vamptastic]

So, they only "have" natural weapons once they make a successful grapple? So, can they take feats or other things that apply to natural weapons?

[Lincoln Hills]

Even if they did, I probably wouldn't bother. Too situational. You'd get more mileage out of Improved Unarmed Strike, which is still nowhere near the best feat out there. Likewise, casting align natural weapon on your choppers probably isn't as good an idea as casting it on an animal companion. And so on.

[Vamptastic]

Unless you were making a Dhampir Grappler of some type.

[Skylancer4]

You would probably have a problem qualifying for feats regarding natural attacks. You don't have one, you have an option that is 'like' a natural attack when grappling. It may be splitting hairs, but the trait doesn't say 'you have a bite attack when grappling' it says you can do this amount of damage when grappling as if you had a bite attack.

[blackbloodtroll]

There are ways for a Dhampir to gain a real bite.

This alternate racial trait is not it.

It's just a wannabe bite, for a wannabe vampire.

Quite fitting.

[Wolf Munroe]

blackbloodtroll wrote:

There are ways for a Dhampir to gain a real bite.

This alternate racial trait is not it.

It's just a wannabe bite, for a wannabe vampire.

Quite fitting.

Well, technically vampires don't have a bite natural attack either. They can only bite (blood drain attack) in a grapple as well. Their only natural attack is a slam that also has energy drain.

So vampires and some dhampirs (those that have the traits/feats to bite in a grapple) benefit from Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Grapple.