Monsters and Power Attack

[Berandor]

According to the SRD, "an unarmed strike is always a light weapon".

A light weapon cannot be enhanced with Power Attack.
What about monsters who have natural attacks and power attack? What if they only have one attack dealing +1.5x Str damage?

I assume they can use Power Attack as normal, but even critters with only one attack can only get 1 point of damage for each point they take off their BAB.

 

[dcollins]

Actual quote from SRD:

POWER ATTACK [GENERAL]
Prerequisite: Str 13.

Benefit: On your action, before making attack rolls for a round, you may choose to subtract a number from all melee attack rolls and add the same number to all melee damage rolls. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. The penalty on attacks and bonus on damage apply until your next turn.

Special: If you attack with a two-handed weapon, or with a one-handed weapon wielded in two hands, instead add twice the number subtracted from your attack rolls. You can’t add the bonus from Power Attack to the damage dealt with a light weapon (except with unarmed strikes or natural weapon attacks), even though the penalty on attack rolls still applies. (Normally, you treat a double weapon as a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. If you choose to use a double weapon like a two-handed weapon, attacking with only one end of it in a round, you treat it as a two-handed weapon.)

A fighter may select Power Attack as one of his fighter bonus feats.

 

[Berandor]

Duh.

Thank you - that's for reading half the part ("light weapon") and assuming

So what about Monsters with one attack? Is that a "two-handed" weapon because of the Str bonus?

 

[Crothian]

RAW, I have no idea but it sounds close enough to me that I use it that way....

 

[Klaus]

In the MM, in the appendix on making monsters, in the part of Attack and Damage, it states that if a creature has only one natural weapon, it gets 1+1/2 times Str bonus to damage. So I guess that means a single natural weapon is treated as a two-handed weapon...

 

[Hypersmurf]

In the MM, in the appendix on making monsters, in the part of Attack and Damage, it states that if a creature has only one natural weapon, it gets 1+1/2 times Str bonus to damage. So I guess that means a single natural weapon is treated as a two-handed weapon...

Whereas I'd say that it means that a single natural weapon gets 1.5x Str bonus to damage.

Power Attack is not affected by the wording in the MM.

-Hyp.

 

[Klaus]

Ah, but where's the fun if we do not extrapolate?

 

[kjenks]

When DMing, I have a problem thinking like a dumb monster with Power Attack.

Presumably, a creature with the feat will try to make best use of it, taking a big penalty for soft, squishy targets and little to no penalty for hard-to-hit targets. But if the critter has Int 3, how well can it recognize which targets have a lousy AC and which have a good AC?

My monster rule of thumb is:
No armor: Power Attack all the way
Light or medium armor: Power Attack for 1/2 BAB
Heavy armor: Power Attack for 1

Then if the dumb critter hits a lot, he increases the number; if he misses, he decreases it. If he spends two rounds missing, he changes to Power Attack all the way and hopes for a Nat 20.

What do you do?

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

With a 3 Int, I wouldn't be having them use PA at all...

 

[shilsen]

With a 3 Int, I wouldn't be having them use PA at all...

Are you nuts? It's all power attack, all the time, baby !