Is there a rule...

[Darkness]

1) Is there a rule that says you have to use your full Strength (or StrMod) on an attack?

'cause I need a creature to deal minimal damage so one of its special attacks kicks in, but don't want it to cause much damage. And nonlethal damage might not do the trick (see next question).

(Of course, using less Str also generally reduces the attack bonus but them's the breaks. )


2) Is there a rule that says you can't deal nonlethal damage with a natural weapon (specifically, a bite attack)?
If not, would dealing nonlethal damage suffice to transmit a disease? I presume no, but I'm not sure.


3) Unrelated question: Is there a feat that gives you more extra Attacks of Opportunity per round? Beyond those granted by Combat Reflexes, that is. I know there are some class abilities (e.g., Knight Protector's "No Mercy") but I need a feat to this effect.

 

[Thanee]

1) I highly doubt, that there is such a rule, but I don't see why you would not be able to pull your punch. Reducing Str both for attack and damage seems like a fair enough trade-off.

2) Well, the rules for nonlethal damage say, that you can deal nonlethal damage with a melee weapon that normally deals lethal damage (at -4 attack). If that includes natural attacks, I'll leave for yourself to decide.

3) No idea.

Bye
Thanee

 

[DanMcS]

1) Is there a rule that says you have to use your full Strength (or StrMod) on an attack?

It's not specifically disallowed, so go for it. There's no rule that says it's legal specifically, but oh well.

2) Is there a rule that says you can't deal nonlethal damage with a natural weapon (specifically, a bite attack)?
If not, would dealing nonlethal damage suffice to transmit a disease? I presume no, but I'm not sure.

The rule about attacking with a -4 to do nonlethal applies to melee weapons, and natural weapons aren't melee weapons, so I would say, um, probably not.

3) Unrelated question: Is there a feat that gives you more extra Attacks of Opportunity per round? Beyond those granted by Combat Reflexes, that is. I know there are some class abilities (e.g., Knight Protector's "No Mercy") but I need a feat to this effect.

Improved Combat Reflexes, but it's epic, sorry.

 

[Ferret]

1) I don't know any rule, all though the guide on making your to hit score doesn't say you can. I think rule 0 applies here.

2)If a cat can pick a kitten by it's teeth, and a dog can grab someone in play and not break the skin, then why not? I wouldn't let disease pass though non-lethal contact, unless it was particularily virulent.

3)I don't know of one.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

1) Again, nothing that I can find. I wouldn't see it as a problem, however, to allow it.

2) Natural weapons largely follow the same rules as manufactured weapons (other than iterative attacks, of course). Allowed at the same penalties.

I'd say that nonlethal attacks don't transmit injury type diseases or poisons, though they would transmit contact diseases or poisons.

3) Have you looked at Hold the Line and similar feats? I believe it gives you an AoO for someone moving into a threatened area, though I'm not sure whether it counts as your AoO for the round or not. Otherwise, I haven't heard of any.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

1. I might even allow reverse power attack (and think I've seen something to that effect somewhere). So you improve your attack bonus, but decrease your damage bonus.
Of course, this might have to be playtested, and there should be a limit, like "not more than your strength bonus, so with Str 18 you can get up to -8 effective strength for damage and get +4 on the attack roll", and there might be problems with attacks that have other ways to harm the enemy than doing pure damage.

2. Should work without too much hassle (after all, not even every weapon should be able to deal non-lethal damage. A morning star cannot really be used to just knock someone out, now can it? You can't strike with the flat of a sphere full of wicket spikes.

3. I don't know anything beyond that epic feat, But that shouldn't really be that much of a hassle.
Maybe "Improved Combat Reflexes" (prereq Combat Reflexes): You get to make two additional AoO's per round (or maybe more). Can be taken more than once, stacking, yada yada.

 

[Krafen]

It sounds to me you want to inflict one or more of your players with a disease without killing them. Have you considered using the creature with something other than default stats? Perhaps higher Dex or Con with a lower Str? Alternatively, you could simply apply the age penalties to the creature.

 

[dvvega]

I don't think a non-lethal attack can transmit the disease. Under some section the DMG (no book) it states that the attack must do damage for its special effects to also work.

So for example someone with DR 5/- who takes 4 points of damage from a Wyvern's Tail does not need to save against the poison because the attack never penetrated.

The same would hold for non-lethal damage (supposedly bruising and battering).

As for doing what you wish to do, why don't you just "fudge" the damage roll. The creature hits, and you minimise the damage by "rolling" a 1.

D

 

[Darkness]

Thanks guys. Ok, looks like my plans should work, then. Well, except for transmitting disease with a nonlethal attack, but I was reasonably certain that that wouldn't work, anyway. (It's an injury-transmitted disease. Patryn has good point that a contact disease would work, though.)

As for my plans: I need the creature to infect a large number of low-power NPCs without killing them or injuring them too much, but also to be strong enough to give the PCs a good fight later on if they manage to corner it. I already have its stats and if it hits level 1 Commoners with full force, the result won't be pretty.