Animals, BAB, and Multiple Attacks

[maggot]

Let's say a druid awakens an animal with just one attack like a really big dire wolf with a BAB of say +10. Then the awakened wolf gains a level of fighter, so the BAB is then +11. Does the wolf suddenly gain multiple attacks like a fighter and have a BAB of +11/+6/+1 or would it have to wait until it was a 6th level fighter and add that fighter's +6/+1 to its +10 to get +16/+11.

What if we use a multiple attack creature like an awakened dire bear?

I'm really confused about this. Why do some creatures get multiple attacks for BAB and some not? (That's really a rhetorical question. The real question is how do you combine the two.)

Thanks for any help. I'm very confused

 

[AGGEMAM]

BAB (Base Attack Bonus) and Attack bonus is two different things.

 

[Voadam]

Extra attacks from BAB do not apply to natural weapons, it does not matter whether they are from monster HD or class HD. If he is polymorphed into a humanoid form and uses a weapon then he gets full BAB # of attacks. Check the other Primary attacks thread for the FAQ quote.

For combining them look to the examples of salamanders and marilith demons. In the average salamander from the srd, a medium sized (+0) 7HD outsider (+7)with Str 14 (+2), you get long spear +9/+4 and a tail slap of +7.

It also has multiattack:

Multiattack [General]

Prerequisite: Three or more natural weapons.

Benefit: The creature’s secondary attacks with natural weapons suffer only a -2 penalty.

Normal: Without this feat, the creature’s secondary natural attacks suffer a -5 penalty.

 

[Christian]

Maggot, to expand on Aggeman's comment-a dire wolf's +10 attack bite is +5 BAB, -1 Size, and +6 Strength. You can't just equate the attack bonus in the MM with it's BAB ...

But also, Voadam's comment is correct, so it's not really relevant here. Take a look at, say, the Tyrannosaurus, a page back. It attacks with a bite at +20: that's +13 BAB, -2 Size, and +9 Strength. By the standard progression, it should get 3 bite attacks. But it only gets one. (One could argue that that's all it needs, of course. )

The awakened dire wolf Ftr1 would have a BAB of +6/+1 and a bite attack at +11. (If it could just learn to use a sword ...)

 

[maggot]

Clarification

Sorry, I should have been more specific. When I said "really big dire wolf," I meant one that had been advanced until its BAB was +10, its attack bonus would be much higher due to STR, etc. IDHMBIFOM so I was just making an example, and apparently I hit on the actual dire wolf attack bonus adding to the confusion.

I'm bothered by this weapon attack rate versus natural attack rate thing. High-level humans can attack multiple times with their natural weapons (hands), why can't high-level awakened wolves? What about wolf-monks or even better yet gorilla-monks, are they limited to one natural attack?

 

[AGGEMAM]

Re: Clarification

What about wolf-monks or even better yet gorilla-monks, are they limited to one natural attack?

Sort of, the gorilla-monk is sufficiently similar to a humanoid form to possibly warrant more attack. Check the FAQ on that, IIRC it has something on that.