Power Attack and Agile Weapons


Rules Questions


I'm planning to build a dexterity based Alchemist for my next campaign and I was wondering if I can power attack with claws and bite using an agile amulet of mighty fists; I will get my strenght up to 13 and my dexterity up to 18.


Power Attack only uses strength as a prerequisite.

The penalty and bonus damage relies on your BAB and handedness alone.

Short answer, yes this works.


Archaeik wrote:

Power Attack only uses strength as a prerequisite.

The penalty and bonus damage relies on your BAB and handedness alone.

Short answer, yes this works.

Thanks for the answer, I didn't find anything that restricts that one but it's best to be sure.


Just be careful, depending on the source for the claw/bite they may or may not be primary natural attacks and:

Power Attack (Combat) wrote:

You can make exceptionally deadly melee attacks by sacrificing accuracy for strength.

Prerequisites: Str 13, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: You can choose to take a –1 penalty on all melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain a +2 bonus on all melee damage rolls. This bonus to damage is increased by half (+50%) if you are making an attack with a two-handed weapon, a one handed weapon using two hands, or a primary natural weapon that adds 1-1/2 times your Strength modifier on damage rolls. This bonus to damage is halved (–50%) if you are making an attack with an off-hand weapon or secondary natural weapon. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every 4 points thereafter, the penalty increases by –1 and the bonus to damage increases by +2. You must choose to use this feat before making an attack roll, and its effects last until your next turn. The bonus damage does not apply to touch attacks or effects that do not deal hit point damage.

So, you can select the feat if you have 13 strength and a BAB of +1.

Quote:

Natural Attacks Most creatures possess one or more natural attacks (attacks made without a weapon). These attacks fall into one of two categories, primary and secondary attacks. Primary attacks are made using the creature's full base attack bonus and add the creature's full Strength bonus on damage rolls. Secondary attacks are made using the creature's base attack bonus –5 and add only 1/2 the creature's Strength bonus on damage rolls. If a creature has only one natural attack, it is always made using the creature's full base attack bonus and adds 1-1/2 times the creature's Strength bonus on damage rolls. This increase does not apply if the creature has multiple attacks but only takes one. If a creature has only one type of attack, but has multiple attacks per round, that attack is treated as a primary attack, regardless of its type. The natural attacks by size table lists some of the most common types of natural attacks and their classifications.

Some creatures treat one or more of their attacks differently, such as dragons, which always receive 1-1/2 times their Strength bonus on damage rolls with their bite attack. These exceptions are noted in the creature's description.

So if you attack is primary natural attack you should get +2 damage -1 attack and scaling up per power attack.

You may (but unlikely) get to add 1.5 strength to your natural attack in which case you would get +3 damage -1 attack scaling.
Or, you may even receive the attacks as secondary attacks in which case you receive +1 damage -1 attack.

So, double check the source of the attacks, whether they're primary or secondary, and how much strength you add to determine how it interacts with power attack.

Sczarni

It sounds like -1/+3 won't apply to him, since he'll have more than one natural attack.


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If I were you, I'd just dump Strength and take Piranha Strike instead.


mplindustries wrote:
If I were you, I'd just dump Strength and take Piranha Strike instead.

That's exactly what my character needs, all the attacks for a feral mutagen are primary.

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