[Savage Species] Octopus Spiked Chains Master & Griffin Hulking Hurler?

[Azimer the Mad]

Our group tradition is that, no matter what games are running currently, the month of your birthday you get to ask one group member to run one game for you. If you want Az to finish one-subplot in the old M&M game, or you've always wanted to run one session of Rifts, this is your chance.

One of my friends asked be to run a Forgotten Realms game whose theme was "Murder at the Mage Fair." I decided to have the players be a wizards retinue who have to prevent him from being framed for murder. They were surprised at the pregens.

They took to them like a duck to water.

At the beginning, one player was kvetching about having to run an umber hulk. At the end, he was demanding XP. So, I now have a regular 4th level Savage Species group (replacing the Star Trek game my friend was running) of

....A Lillend looking for fun
....An "Uplifted" Anthropomorphic Giant Octopus Rogue named "Tulu" who sells his own ink to mages
....A Forrest Gump-like Umber Hulk whose favored weapon is "park bench"
....A sarcastic Griffon who offered rides to get enough gold for barding, and carries a sack of mace heads he can drop from the air.
....A 15-year-old apprentice who's really a succubus
...An apprentice whose really an aranea.

I have three rules problems with the new group.

A) Tulu has 6 1d2+3 natural attacks. Does he get a Sneak Attack bonus with each tentacle? Also, how does the attack penalty progression work? Since their natural, does he get them at his full BAB rate, or does he get Multidexterity and take a penalty, or...?

B) Tulu has multiclassed into fighter and picked up EWP: Spiked Chain. How many spiked chains can a 6-armed octopus wield at what penalties with what feats.

C) The griffin wants to become a Hulking Hurler, and since the entire group is Savage Species I've been allowing them one class level for every four racial levels. He wants to rearranged his benefits so he becomes larger earlier to take Hulking Hurler. He promises no balls of iridium. Would their be any foreseeable problems I could cause by allowing him to be larger earlier?

 

[frankthedm]

A) Tulu has 6 1d2+3 natural attacks. Does he get a Sneak Attack bonus with each tentacle? Also, how does the attack penalty progression work? Since their natural, does he get them at his full BAB rate, or does he get Multidexterity and take a penalty, or...?

Each natural attack gets sneak. They might all be the same attack bonus too since they are the same type of natural attack.

 

[darthkilmor]

B) Tulu has multiclassed into fighter and picked up EWP: Spiked Chain. How many spiked chains can a 6-armed octopus wield at what penalties with what feats.

All 6, and I think the feat you want is Multiweapon Fighting, which says it just replaces Two-Weapon fighting for monsters with more than 2 arms. I'll leave the math to someone who isn't at work right now

 

[the Jester]

All 6, and I think the feat you want is Multiweapon Fighting, which says it just replaces Two-Weapon fighting for monsters with more than 2 arms. I'll leave the math to someone who isn't at work right now

Actually, 3, since spiked chains are two-handed.

He will take normal 2-weapon fighting penalties, treating each chain after the first as a secondary weapon. His initial penalties are -6 on the primary, and -10 on the (two) secondary chains; if he takes Multiweapon Fighting, Improved Multiweapon Fighting, etc. that will reduce his penalties like Two-Weapon Fighting would for a twf humanoid (i.e. to -4 on each chain).

As for the griffin, becoming Large is a HUMUNGOUS power up. Reach alone is a hell of a benefit.

 

[Azimer the Mad]

So...it is as bad as I feared. I guess his insane damage potential and to hit bonuses (23 Dex, Weapon Finesse) will make up for the low HP in a 5th level group.

You know, I never thought when I'd be making the PCs how dangerous he'd be.

Any advice on how to handle this?

 

[QuaziquestGM]

Suggest to the griffin that he would have more fun as a warlock...

 

[Alzrius]

So...it is as bad as I feared. I guess his insane damage potential and to hit bonuses (23 Dex, Weapon Finesse) will make up for the low HP in a 5th level group.

You know, I never thought when I'd be making the PCs how dangerous he'd be.

Any advice on how to handle this?

If he's playing that lopsided of a character (high attacks, low hit points) he'll probably wind up dead once he has to face a character that deals a lot of ranged damage (e.g. a spellcaster), so it might not be worth worrying over anyway.

EDIT: The Jester covered the likely math Tulu will face using so many off-hand weapons. That said, for damage, his primary attack should gain 1.5 times his Strength bonus to damage, since he's using two-handed weapons. The question is what level of Strength bonus to damage he gets with all of the secondary weapons - secondary weapons usually get 1/2 Strength bonus to damage, but he's using all of his off-hand weapons in two hands, which usually gives 1.5 times Strength bonus.

Strictly speaking, I'd make each off-hand attack only gain 1/2 Strength bonus to damage, even despite them using two-hands. That said, you could split the difference and have him just gain his normal Strength bonus to damage.

 

[darthkilmor]

Actually, 3, since spiked chains are two-handed.

Doh, thats what I get for never using spiked chains!