[RPG] Maximizing the number of Natural Attacks on a PC?

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I would like to create a character whose concept is based on having the most Natural Attacks possible.

What resources are available to add natural attacks to PC's?

Best Answer

For a natural-attack focused character, your best bet is probably going to be using the Synthesist variant of the Summoner class.

The Summoner's big feature is the Eidolon, a special magical being they can summon with customised features and traits. A Synthesist Summoner fuses with the Eidolon when it is summoned and may therefore use all its abilities (such as natural attacks), rather than summoning the Eidolon as a separate entity. As you gain level, you gain points which can be spent on purchasing new features, called Evolutions, for your Eidolon.

Some of the available evolutions that grant extra natural attacks are:

  • Claws (1 point, but have to go on the end of a Limbs evolution, which is 2 points)
  • Bite (1 point, can buy more bites if you buy more Heads, which are 2 points again)
  • Gore (2 points)
  • Tentacle (1 point)
  • Rake (2 points - extra attacks while grappling)
  • Rend (2 points, must have claws - extra damage on multiple claw hits)

It makes sense, however, to restrict yourself to a single type as much as possible, because then you can get more benefit from feats like Weapon Focus and Improved Critical.

There is a limit on the total number of natural attacks an Eidolon can have, based on your level. It starts at 3, and goes up to 7 by level 19. However, you'd have a hard time finding ways to get more than that; most playable races that offer a natural attack only offer 1 or 2 (a bite/gore or pair of claws), and creatures whose form you can easily assume at low levels tend to cap at 3 (the standard claw/claw/bite). The ability to polymorph into forms that have more natural attacks requires higher levels and I don't know of anything off the top of my head that tops the 7 that the Eidolon can do at max level.

Note, however, that the Summoner class is not permitted in Pathfinder Society games:

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player's Guide

...

As of 4/27/15 the summoner class in this book is no longer legal for play.

Summoners, especially Synthesist Summoners, are anecdotally frequently banned by individual GMs and groups, too, either on the grounds that they are overpowered or because they're excessively complicated. If you can play a Summoner but not a Synthesist Summoner, you could just live vicariously through your summoned Eidolon, instead. Some groups (including the PFS) that ban the Summoner may allow the Unchained Summoner, which is basically a slightly nerfed Summoner with more restrictions on how you can build your Eidolon - you can't go the Synthesist route with it, but you could build an Eidolon with a similar natural attack capacity if you take the right options.

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