Wildshape/Polymorph and multiple attacks

I'm a bit confused about Wildshape/Polymorph and multiple attacks.

Wildshape works like Polymorph except where stated. Polymorph works like Alter Self except where stated. Alter self says "A body with extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal." But if you turn into an animal that has two claw attacks and one bite attack, does that count as an "extra limb"? I wonder whether the idea is to limit you to a number of attacks consistent with your base attack bonus, regardless, or just to pick on you if you wanted to turn into something with four arms or something.

So if you get two attacks due to base attack bonus, and you turn into a dire lion, can you bite? Can you rake, which is a extraordinary attack and legal in that sense, but involves using the back legs (extra limbs?)? If you only had two attacks and assumed the form of a 2 claw, 1 bite creature, could you do 1 claw, 1 bite? Would that change any of the attack modifiers?

Argh, I could go on with other questions regarding this, but I'd like to see what people think about this in general first.

Thanks in advance,
MC
 

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I will throw in the monster feat: Multiattack.

Sometimes you will get this feat for free when you change into a race that gets it as a bonus feat.
 

I think they meant to say you can't use the extra limbs to increase your normal iterative attacks. You can either use your normal iterative attacks (if your form allows it) or use a monster's non-iterative attacks (including pounces, rakes etc.)

Still, I think it needs more clarification. I am still trembling at the thought of a high level rogue polymorphed into a 12-headed hydra flanking someone and executing a full attack.
 

da_deadman: I'm not sure Multiattack is the way to go because that doesn't give you the ability to use 3+ natural weapons, but rather reduces the penalties for the secondary attacks from -5 to -2 if you have 3+ natural attacks already.

Philip: I think you're right. I think that for Alter Self, the extra-limbs caveat makes sense, because you'd usually be using normal weapon attacks with an Altered form, and they just don't want you turning into some 6-armed Shiva-like creature and becoming a whirling death machine. I think they just didn't clarify in Polymorph that you get not only the extraordinary attack forms, but the "ordinary" attack forms for that creature as well.

I really think that in the Alter/Poly/Wild case it is a terrible mistake to say A is like B except where noted, B is like C except where noted, etc. I think they should have written Polymorph as a free-standing description that doesn't rely on Alter Self, and then Wildshape would be fine to refer to Poly because the changes are few (mostly just duration and limit to animal types).
 
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Magus Coeruleus said:
I think they should have written Polymorph as a free-standing description that doesn't rely on Alter Self, and then Wildshape would be fine to refer to Poly because the changes are few (mostly just duration and limit to animal types).

I agree, I made a summary of Polymorph to clarify it for myself, which can be found in
this thread.
 

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