Damaging in a grapple + constrict

[Zanticor]

Hi There,

One of my players is a druid with PRC's in beast master. When he turned level 15 I decided this made him eligible for an upgrade in animal companion and since I turned his last dire wolf into a snack for a beholder. With some intervention from a spirit of the lands I decided to give him a legendary animal (MMII). After some to and fro we decided on a legendary snake.
Well I didn't realize this critter would become such a pain in the ass. Combined with animal growth his grapple check is immense and my friend (who is a bit of a rules lawyer) keeps asserting that the snake can try to damage three times a round on his turn while grappling.
Here comes the rules question: Does the improved grab ability of the snake give him the ability to both do the insane 1d8 con damage of his poison bite three times and then constrict three times a round as well?
I don't want to take away the goodies I gave to my player but this beast is outshining everybody with his damage output.

Thanks for helping,

Zanticor

 

[jaelis]

The true answer is that no one knows, because the rules for grappling monsters are not very complete.

The FAQ/RotG doesn't specifically address this question, but they do say that the snake could make three grapple checks per round, which suggests that three constricts are possible.

 

[blargney the second]

What's the snake's BAB?

 

[Zanticor]

What's the snake's BAB?

BAB is 15. His grapple (before enlarge animal) is +32 and the save for the poison is a 29 fortitude.

 

[blargney the second]

Looks like he's doing it right then. Grapples should be +32/+27/+22 for bite + constrict + poison.
-blarg

 

[Don Ventresca]

What's the snake's BAB?

Whats BAB?

 

[VanRichten]

Sounds like your player is trying to do 6 attacks per round. Those being 3 bites for poison and 3 squeezes for grapple damage.

The problem is you cannot do both. You can either do the squeeze damage or bite attack with each attack chance. Since the creature only gets 3 attacks per round then you could only do some combination but to the maximum of 3 attacks.

Simple way around this problem is throw an Iron Golem at them. An iron golem is not only immune to the poison, it is also stronger than the snake. It should prove nicely effective against it.

Or if you really want to be nasty throw a few vampires. Immune to poison, and the vampire can do two levels of Energy Drain vs the Snake in a grapple.

 

[blargney the second]

Whats BAB?

Base Attack Bonus. Player's Handbook, page 22.
-blarg

 

[blargney the second]

Sounds like your player is trying to do 6 attacks per round. Those being 3 bites for poison and 3 squeezes for grapple damage.

No, he's got it right. It's right in the description of the legendary snake, and standard operating procedure for a monster with improved grab and constrict.
-blarg

 

[Folly]

Not having the legendary info infront of me. If the constrict entry says it does poison when it constricts then your player is correct, else the snake does not get the poison unless it uses the attack the poison is a part of.