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I am one of the users doing Data Entry work for the SF system on Foundry VTT. I am currently working on expanding the racial features items in our system, but ran across the Barathu's Internal Chemistry feature. One aspect of this feature is that they can do a Ranged Natural Attack.
In the Foundry VTT system, we have feature items, and weapon items (Different submenus). I set up the Melee version of Natural Attacks as a weapon, setting them a Basic Melee, as they emulate a special Unarmed Attack.
However, with Barathu's ability, I don't know how I would categorize a ranged Natural Attack. Small arm? Long arm? this would be important for how other bonuses can stack with this attack.
For now, we are setting this as a Small Arm weapon in the VTT. But I'm still curious to hear answers from here.
I believe I would count it as a special unarmed attack, just like a melee natural attack. It just happens to have a range stat.
Agreed. I don't know my way around Foundry but I'd suggest pulling up a ksarik, from Alien Archive, to see how its ranged natural attacks are coded.
I have Melee natural weapons set as Basic Melee, because of it being a special version of Unarmed attack. So it's set as a Weapon Item. Setting is as a feature item wouldn't allow it to be set as a basic melee currently.
However with the Weapon Item, a Weapon Type must be set (This may perhaps be changed in the future, I'm not one of the programmers). And because of that, the Ranged one needs a weapon type set as well.
So if I'm understanding correct, you would treat it's weapon type as a Basic Melee?
Also, looked at ksarik in our system. it's set as a small arm.
Don't know how Foundry works but would setting it as a small arms mess up the Specialisation damage?
Don't know how Foundry works but would setting it as a small arms mess up the Specialisation damage?
If not accounted for, yes. But I've already done so. The damage formula in item only adds partial level damage, so that it combines with the Specialization damage. 1/2 added for Melee, full for ranged (in the discord we decided small arm is better). And the additional damage only gets added once a PC has reached 3rd level.
The remaining concern, is since we don't have an obvious ruling on what type a range natural weapons type is, we don't know if other features should add to it. Like features that add more damage to "Weapon Type A".
We know the Melee version is Basic Melee, since it's a special version of the unarmed attack.
This could suggest the ranged is also basic melee, just ranged. But I don't know for sure, So for now it's Small arm.
The remaining concern, is since we don't have an obvious ruling on what type a range natural weapons type is, we don't know if other features should add to it. Like features that add more damage to "Weapon Type A".
We know the Melee version is Basic Melee, since it's a special version of the unarmed attack.
This could suggest the ranged is also basic melee, just ranged. But I don't know for sure, So for now it's Small arm.
It would gain bonuses that add to natural attacks (and, I think unarmed strikes) it would not benefit from effects that affect small arms. That's why I'd suggest basic melee.
