Slam Attack w/ Sneak Attack

[Jhyarelle]

This pertains to my Half Vampire Rouge.

How does a Slam Attack work form a humanoid character? Would it be considered like throwing a haymaker punch, or does have to be done with both arms; can it be done with a kick? Is a Slam Attack consider a Full Action or a Move Action? And can it be linked with a Rogue's Sneak Atack and Quicker Than The Eye feat (Song and Silence)?


And just for fun would Bruce Lee's 1 inch punch be considered using both Sneak Attack (or Stunning Fist) and Slam Attack?

If a medium sized humanoid half vamp uses a Monk's Belt, would that increase their Slam Attack damage form 1d6 to 1d8?

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

It's just a natural attack.... You can use it as a secondary natural weapon (-5 to hit, half str to damage) at the end of your unarmed attack. If you look at monster that have slam attacks and also weapons, like some giants, there's a definite trend that doesn't allow one who's using the slam(s) to make weapon attacks the same round, and vice-versa. Which implies that you slam someone with your hand(s). So based on that, I'd say using the slam occupies one of your hands that round as if it were wielding a weapon.

A slam is a (natural) weapon attack, so sneak attack applies to it the same as any other weapon. It should work fine with Quicker Than the Eye, just not with Flick of the Wrist or anything else that requires "drawing" the weapon, for obvious reasons.

Bruce Lee's one inch punch would be an Awesome Blow that works on enemies of any size, because Bruce Lee's just that awesome.

Slam and other natural weapons are different from unarmed strike, so no. A monk's belt would not boost your damage at all, though growing in size would.

 

[Wyvernhand]

StreamsoftheSky is correct in infering that a Slam requires a free hand for humanoid things*. Its never explicitly stated anywhere, but you can infer it from monster stat blocks like the above mentioned giants or the Marilith. Think of it has a blunt claw. If you have 1 slam, you need one hand free to use it. If you have 2 slams, you need 2 hands free.

Fortunately, your UAS can be made with ANY part of your body, not just your hands. Unlike a sword, your UAS would never interfere with making attacks with natural weapons. Thus, a vampire rogue could make full iterative attacks with his UAS, and then make a slam at -5 from his highest AB.

*Nonhumanoid things that have slams don't follow this rule for obvious reasons. Gelatinous Oozes and other slimes, along with many plants have slam attacks which aren't associated with limbs, due to lacking limbs. These are exceptions.

 

[irdeggman]

From the SRD

Slap or Slam: The creature batters opponents with an appendage, dealing bludgeoning damage

A slam is made with an "appendage".

Arms, legs, tails (although usually this would be a "slap"), etc.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

But if you could just use a leg, the giants and the marilyth would be able to weapon attack AND slam. But they don't. Which leads one to think that slams do in fact require an arm if you have one, occupying it for that round's attacks just as a claw would.

 

[Corwin of Amber]

But if you could just use a leg, the giants and the marilyth would be able to weapon attack AND slam. But they don't. Which leads one to think that slams do in fact require an arm if you have one, occupying it for that round's attacks just as a claw would.

This could just be an issue of balance (equilibrium, not game balance). It's hard to kick something and swing a weapon at the same time. I'm just basing this on the fact that the Monk specifically says that he can make an unarmed attack with a kick, knee, etc with both hands full; I assume this means that everything else cannot. This would, however, still mean that you couldn't make slams with a weapon in your hand, so no argument there.

 

[Jhyarelle]

So if that is the case then a Slam Attack "is" a wild Haymker strike. Or if it takes an arma-like apendage to make a slam attack and humanoids are medium sized creatures that has two, why not have the ability to make two Slam Attacks then; why limit to one. This is why I consider Slam Attack equivalent to Unarmed Strike feat.

 

[Wyvernhand]

You only get 2 slams if you have 2 limbs capable of wielding weapons, and you are of large size or larger.

Natural Weapons

Natural weapons are weapons that are physically a part of a creature. A creature making a melee attack with a natural weapon is considered armed and does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Likewise, it threatens any space it can reach. Creatures do not receive additional attacks from a high base attack bonus when using natural weapons. The number of attacks a creature can make with its natural weapons depends on the type of the attack—generally, a creature can make one bite attack, one attack per claw or tentacle, one gore attack, one sting attack, or one slam attack (although Large creatures with arms or arm-like limbs can make a slam attack with each arm). Refer to the individual monster descriptions.

Bolded for emphasis.