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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gansk" data-source="post: 2839680" data-attributes="member: 16383">Once the octopus succeeds in grappling an opponent, it does constriction damage, but it is done attacking for the round. The two combatants are now in grapple mode, and their options become limited. Since the octopus has improved grab, it can choose to try to grapple the opponent with -20 penalty (net effect is -5 grapple for a giant octopus). If it still succeeds with this penalty, it does constriction damage as above, but it is still finished attacking the opponent it is now grappling. By taking the penalty, the octopus is still allowed to attack other opponents in its threat range with the rest of its tentacles. If it keeps taking the -20 penalty, it can keep attacking and grabbing and inflicting constrict damage on each new opponent. If it doesn't take the -20 penalty, the opponents who are not grappled can move in and sneak attack the octopus or cure anybody who is taking damage, and the octopus can do nothing about it.If the grappled opponents want to escape, they need to win a grapple check vs. d20+15 or d20-5, depending on the choice the octopus made about attacking opponents outside the grapple.On the round after it has grabbed an opponent (or multiple opponents), the octopus has  two main choices to inflict damage. Before it makes its choice about the grappled opponents, it still has to choose about the opponents outside the grapple. If it still wants to attack them with free tentacles, it still needs to take -20 penalty. Otherwise they can do anything they want as I described above.  Once the octopus has decided on the penalty, it can choose to damage one of the opponents in the grapple by attacking vs. the opponent's AC or by using its grapple check.The better choice is the grapple check option, because it can do it twice based on its BAB, and each time it succeeds, it does constriction damage. So the most damage it can dish out against an opponent it has already grabbed is 2d8+10 plus 4d8+12, but it has to win iterative grapple checks to do so.The stupid option for an octopus to take against a grabbed opponent is to attack normally against the opponent's AC. The octopus can either bite or use a free tentacle to slam, but the attack is at -4 and the most damage it can do is 1d8+2 with the bite. Then the octopus is done with that opponent for the round. If it chose to not take the -20 penalty to keep the opponent from escaping, then it is done for the entire round period. No more attacks.</blockquote>

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