Return of Creature by Poll - Poll #18 (attack modes in coalesced form)

[BOZ]

so... slams as default, but it has the option of manufacting a weapon on the spot from its body.

 

[demiurge1138]

Actually, visual just popped into my head. A gear-lash (effectively slam, but gains disarm and trip bonuses) or four.

Demiurge out.

 

[Shade]

Slam and (self-)manufactured weapons it is.

 

[Conaill]

So - are we going with a specific self-manufactured weapon? Or can it manufacture any (presumably melee) weapon? Or only Simple weapons, for example.

What about weapon proficiencies?

 

[BOZ]

they are natural weapons, as i said before, so no proficiency needed.

 

[Conaill]

they are natural weapons, as i said before, so no proficiency needed.

So what are the consequences of them being Natural Weapons?

 

[BOZ]

only good things in their favor, IIRC. no need for proficiency, always primary weapons, can't be disarmed...

 

[Knight Otu]

They cannot usually be sundered or disarmed. Normally, it would mean it doesn't have iterative attacks. Some feats and abilities may affect them differently. It's very much in the details.

 

[Shade]

Is anyone opposed to the natural weapons which resemble manufactured weapons concept?

 

[Conaill]

It would have to have iterative attacks at least.

As Otu said - the differences are mainly in the details. And I think most DM's would simply play them as manufactured weapons anyway, unless you specify exactly what the differences are. For example, if the Drenkari instantiates a spiked chain and makes a trip attempt... could it drop the chain to avoid a counter-trip? If it instantiates a longsword and its opponents tries to sunder it... does the sunder simply fail with no explanation, or could the sunder actually damage the drenkari?

It would be a lot easier to say that it manufactures its own weapon, and as soon as the weapon gets separated from the drenkari it falls apart into its constitutive swarm creatures and immediately rejoins the coalesced form.


On a related topic... I suggested earlier that perhaps it would use a different - possibly random - weapon on every attack, implying that it would take effectively no time to switch weapons. At the other extreme, we could say that it takes a Move action or more to instantiate a new weapon. Where do we want to fall on that continuum?