Pit fiend wielding a weapon

How many attacks does pit fiend get if it wields a greatsword?

Does it get one greatsword hit plus wing attacks, bite and tail? Or does it get all the iterative attacks plus wing attacks, bite and tail? Or just the iterative attacks?

What if it wields a longsword instead? Does he get the off-hand claw attack as well? Is two-weapon fighting required?

I'm really confused. Any help is greatly appreciated.

When using both manufactured and natural weapons you make all the iterative attacks with the manufactured weapon, based on your BAB, and then you attack with those natural weapons you aren't using to hold anything. Those attacks count as secondary natural weapon attacks (i.e. they have a -5 penalty to attack and add half str bonus to damage)

So a pit fiend with a greatsword has this full attack :

Greatsword +30/+25/+20+15 and 2 wings +28 (it has multiattack)(2d6+6 )and bite +28 (4d6+6)and tail slap +28 (2d8+6)

Here we go again!

So, a pit fiend has the following natural attacks:

• 2 claws +30 melee (2d8+13)
• 2 wings +28 melee (2d6+6)
• bite +28 melee (4d6+6 plus poison plus disease)
• tail slap +28 melee (2d8+6)

Now, normally, his claw attacks are his "primary" natural attacks and everything else is a "secondary" natural attack. You'll notice that they have a -2 penalty on their attack rolls and only use 1/2 his Strength modifier for damage (he has the Multiattack feat).

If he's wielding a greatsword, he's presumably holding it in his hands. Accordingly, he can't use his claw attacks, just like the cornugon:

SRD said:

• Spiked chain +25/+20/+15 melee (2d6+15 plus stun) and bite +22 melee (2d8+5) and tail +22 melee (2d6+5 plus infernal wound)
• 2 claws +24 melee (2d6+10) and bite + 22 melee (2d8+5) and tail +22 melee (2d6+5 plus infernal wound)

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The cornugon is using his spiked chain (a two-handed weapon), and so cannot make claw attacks.

So, if your pit fiend wanted to attack with his greatsword, his full attack routine would look like:

• Greatsword +30 / +25 / +20 / +15 melee (3d6+19, 19-20/x2)
• 2 wings +28 melee (2d6+6)
• bite +28 melee (4d6+6 plus poison plus disease)
• tail slap +28 melee (2d8+6)

Notice the differences? The greatsword (large, 3d6 damage), being a manufactured weapon, can make iterative attacks. It's two-handed, so he gets a damage bonus. All of his other attacks remain the same, because they are secondary natural attacks.

What if he uses a longsword, instead?

Well, a longsword only takes up a single hand. Therefore, his other hand is open, and can make claw attacks.

• Longsword +30 / +25 / +20 / +15 melee (2d6+13, 19-20/x2)
• Claw +28 melee (2d8+6)
• 2 wings +28 melee (2d6+6)
• bite +28 melee (4d6+6 plus poison plus disease)
• tail slap +28 melee (2d8+6)

So, what are the differences here?

Well, the longsword (large, 2d6 damage), like the greatsword, can make iterative attacks. In one hand, he only gets his normal Strength bonus to damage.

The tricky point is his claw attack.

Because the pit fiend is using a manufactured weapon, it's a secondary natural attack. Accordingly, he doesn't suffer any two-weapon fighting penalties, he suffers the "secondary natural attack" penalties. In other words, he gets to attack with his claw at a -5 penalty (improved to -2 because of the Multiattack feat) and only applies 1/2 his Strength bonus on the damage roll.

Any questions?

A pit fiend isn't proficient with the greatsword, though, right? So, he should get a -4 on attacks with it, or with the longsword.

Patryn of Elvenshae said:

Any questions?

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Oh oh! I have a question!
His bite, wings, & tail are always considered secondary attacks, and I thought his claw attacks were always considered primary. Would he not get full strength bonus with his claw attack?

No, because as Patryn said, "Because the pit fiend is using a manufactured weapon, it's a secondary natural attack."

Infiniti2000 said:

A pit fiend isn't proficient with the greatsword, though, right? So, he should get a -4 on attacks with it, or with the longsword.

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Hah! Thought you caught me in an error, did you?

Actually, I thought you did, too.

Turns out I was right, but only by luck!

SRD said:

—Proficient with all simple and martial weapons and any weapons mentioned in its entry.

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Infiniti2000 said:

A pit fiend isn't proficient with the greatsword, though, right? So, he should get a -4 on attacks with it, or with the longsword.

Click to expand...

Actually, according to the Outsider Type description in the Monster Manual, all Outsiders are proficient with all Simple and Martial weapons, as well as any weapons specifically mentioned in its statistics. So it's automatically proficient with the Greatsword (since it's a martial weapon). If a Spiked Chain was part of its normal stat block, it'd be proficient with that too.

ThirdWizard said:

His bite, wings, & tail are always considered secondary attacks, and I thought his claw attacks were always considered primary. Would he not get full strength bonus with his claw attack?

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Normally, they're his primary attacks. However, because he's mixing them, they get counted as secondary natural attacks.

SRD said:

When they do so, the manufactured weapon attack is considered the primary attack unless the creature’s description indicates otherwise and any natural weapons the creature also uses are considered secondary natural attacks. These secondary attacks do not interfere with the primary attack as attacking with an off-hand weapon does, but they take the usual –5 penalty (or –2 with the Multiattack feat) for such attacks, even if the natural weapon used is normally the creature’s primary natural weapon.

Click to expand...

So isn't the question:

Why don't all pit fiends use some sort of manufactured weapon most of the time?

They are about 100% scarier when they do that... yikes!

That's a full attack-o-doom for sure. Particularly the greatsword. Urgh.