So let's say I build an Eidolon which starts with Claws, then add Slam. Both state that they are primary. Alternately, a Dragon Sorcerer/Wolf-scarred Oracle gets primary claws and a primary bite.
Which one becomes secondary for making a full attack, and how is that determined?
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Neither. Claws and Bites are always primary attacks and treated as such. The only time primary natural attacks become secondary natural attacks is when they are used in conjunction with a manufactured weapon. See the link above for a list of a natural attacks categorized and noted by whether or not they're primary or secondary.
So one can make two primary attacks in the same full attack action? Or can I only use one at a time?
Just curious, Pathar, did you play 3E D&D or 3.5 before playing Pathfinder?
Thanks, all. I misunderstood "primary" as being primary in the action, not just a way of determining the mechanics of it.
Sean--yes, but I don't think I knew anything about natural attacks back then; I wasn't GMing.
Gotcha. I ask because in 3E, whether a natural attack type was primary or secondary depended on what order it was listed in the monster stat block. Which meant that:
claw/claw/bite means claws are primary and bite is secondary, and
bite/claw/claw means bite is primary and claws are secondary.
PF changed this and locked in the primary or secondary nature of each natural attack type, which meant that the above weirdness never happened.
FYI, "secondary natural attack" just means "has a –5 penalty on the attack roll," and "primary natural attack" just means "doesn't have that –5 penalty." (The penalty is already built into a published monster's stat block.)
It's entirely possible for a creature's entire attack sequence to be just primary attacks, like claw/claw/bite, or bite/gore/claw/claw, or slam/slam/sting/talons/bite, and so on. All that means is all of those attacks use the creature's full BAB instead of BAB minus 5.
Good deal. That makes a lot more sense.
Although, there are another couple of notes. First, secondary attacks only deal half strength damage, much like an off hand weapon. This kind of shows what a "secondary natural attack" actually is: an tool used to attack that has a bit of natural awkwardness to it, such as a wing attack.
Second, the rules change a bit if you only have a single natural weapon (such as a bite, but a pair of claws would not count) Basically, they did not want to leave that -5 penalty for creatures with only one attack, so they decided that the single natural weapon would always be primary. Also, its strength mod damage would go up to 1.5x.
This is why wolves are popular as animal companions: they eventually get decent strength, and with the animal companion's altered multiattack, they can get two attacks per round with that higher strength mod damage. It ends up about the same as the small cats' damage.
lemeres is correct.