[Basic] Advantage of the Week (#53): Extra Head, Extra Mouth

[Cowrie]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Only if you aren't using Martial Arts. If you are, add:

• Can bite and grapple as a single attack (see MA 115)
• Can automatically damage grappled opponents.

It's not entirely clear how you do that in GURPS with a non-bite attack, though there are a number of real world animals that do so (e.g. crabs, lobsters, scorpions, maybe praying mantis).

A praying mantis's forelimbs should be able to do those things IMO. As it happens, somewhere on these forums I've seen a "crab claws" build based off of extra mouth with some limitations relating to the inability to do anything mouth-like other than biting.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Only if you aren't using Martial Arts. If you are, add:

• Can bite and grapple as a single attack (see MA 115)
• Can automatically damage grappled opponents.

It's not entirely clear how you do that in GURPS with a non-bite attack, though there are a number of real world animals that do so (e.g. crabs, lobsters, scorpions, maybe praying mantis).

Originally Posted by Cowrie

A praying mantis's forelimbs should be able to do those things IMO. As it happens, somewhere on these forums I've seen a "crab claws" build based off of extra mouth with some limitations relating to the inability to do anything mouth-like other than biting.

Not sure if it is the same one you were looking for, but here is the one I mentioned earlier. I think the relevant posts are

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

Yeah, that was my first impulse. Why reinvent the wheel? Just buy each pincer as Extra Mouth (Can't Breathe -20%, Can't Eat -20%, Can't Speak -20%) [2] and you're good to go.

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

Having reviewed MA p.115, I think that treating the claws as Extra Mouths is the best way to tackle this.

I don't have Martial Arts, so I don't understand that last post, but it looked important. ;)

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Otaku

I don't have Martial Arts, so I don't understand that last post, but it looked important. ;)

It's mostly aimed at the box about Teeth in Close Combat and Grapples and how relative SM and Born Biter can make it very bad to be bitten...

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

It's mostly aimed at the box about Teeth in Close Combat and Grapples and how relative SM and Born Biter can make it very bad to be bitten...

So... that means it was worth including in this discussion about Extra Mouth, right? ^^'

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Otaku

So... that means it was worth including in this discussion about Extra Mouth, right? ^^'

I'd note that the rules for latching on are mentioned in DFRPG as well, though not in as much detail as MA gives. But yes, the rules for grabbing and worrying make a big difference for biting.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Otaku

So... that means it was worth including in this discussion about Extra Mouth, right? ^^'

Definitely!

Should probably throw something into this thread (even the OP) about Born Biter as well...

If you don't get to it I'll try to remember to do it after work (a post about Born Biter and the Teeth stuff from MA).

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Definitely!

Should probably throw something into this thread (even the OP) about Born Biter as well...

If you don't get to it I'll try to remember to do it after work (a post about Born Biter and the Teeth stuff from MA).

Not sure I actually have anything on Born Biter in my own materials. My signature contains my entire GURPS 4e library; if I missed it in one of those, let me know. That said I should go back and add some of the related traits I overlooked because the text didn't spoon-feed it to me. I think I'll have to make that its own section...

...but it might have to wait until finish I getting this week's entry up and ready in a few hours. Oh well, at least this helps justify avoiding mutli-trait threads unless they are incredibly interconnected. I almost made one big thread called "Extra Body Parts", but how much longer would it have taken me to notice some of these finer details?

[Anthony]

I realize that using extra mouth for pincers also requires an enhancement that the mouth doesn't have a jaw hit location.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Otaku

Not sure I actually have anything on Born Biter in my own materials.

Yeah its in Martial Arts and I think PowerUps Perks.
Up to 3 levels and each level is +1 SM to what you can bite and easier to hit your jaw in combat.