Stag Beetle's Trample

[Kalendraf]

I have a question regarding the Trample ability of the Stag Beetle in the Monster Manual. It's not clear from the description of the creature or the reference to trample in the PHB about how this really works.

1. Does the trample require an attack roll for it to occur? I have no experience with the Horseriding feat they refer which is probably half of my problem here.

2. If a character is hit by the trample, are they automatically knocked prone? (The save mentions reflex save for 1/2 damage, but doesn't talk about the knockdown effect).

3. Can the beetle combine the trample attack with its bite attack?

4. What's the best method to abuse this creature's ability as a DM?

FYI, I sent 4 of them at a 7th level party trying to knock some characters down on the 1st pass, making it easier for the other beetles to hit them. But I also ruled that attack rolls were needed to cause the trample. That seemed too weak as only 1 character was affected this way while several AoO were suffered by the 4 beetles in the process, so I'm quite sure that I was playing them very poorly here. The bite for 4d6+9 is nasty, so the beetle would likely want use that most often., but that leaves the trample ability mostly unused unless I can find a way to work that in somehow.

Any help would be appreciated for future reference.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

1. No attack roll.

2. They're not knocked prone (although that would be really cinematic).

3. No, unless it's been Hasted. Trampling is a standard action.

4. Force your PCs into a small and narrow space, like a tunnel. Have this thing run down the tunnel at them... after they've been hit by a Glitterdust trap and it's been protected by a Stoneskin spell. Repeat. Have a maniacal wizard give it a custom Potion of Tenser's Transformation (costs 6 * 11 * 50 gp, then double the cost, as per the rules in Magic of Faerun).

 

[Xarlen]

Think of the Trample ability like a Breathweapon is treated.

Basicly, the beetle just blazes down in a straight line, and runs over anyone in it's path, and they get a reflex save.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

You get a DC 19 reflex save for half damage or an AoO with a -4 to the attack roll, not both. It would be reasonable that if you chose the AoO that you would be prone, especially because a prone attack is a -4 as well, but the ability does not specify this. I would probably rule that you would be prone unless you succeeded with the reflex save.

As was said, the trample ability is a standard action, so it cannot trample and bite in the same round without some kind of Haste effect or its equivalent.