This question is about a lvl 6 Lizardfolk multiclassed as Druid 5 / Monk 1. This particular design is built to Wild Shape into a Giant Toad to 1) Bite and automatically grapple a monster (Toad's version of Bite) and then 2) Swallow with no DC to escape once Swallowed (RAW). This would normally need 2 turns to complete and the grappled monster would have an opportunity to escape the grapple (DC13) before being swallowed.
The interesting part is adding the monk multiclass which allows for a Unarmed Strike as a bonus action. Normally, natural weapons, including claws and bites, are not unarmed strikes. However, in Volo's Guide to Monsters, the Tabaxi and Lizardfolk races both have natural weapons that count as unarmed strikes, claws and a bite respectively.
Bite (Lizardfolk, pg. 113) states: Your fanged maw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes.
Given this RAW, the LizardFolk (Druid 5/Monk 1) can now bite as a bonus unarmed strike and swallow as a main action all in the same turn. This is a big advantage since the monster loses to the chance to break the grapple on it's turn, though the Toad would need to success on two attack hits in a row.
The question/debate may be more of a RAW vs RAI... The Rules As Intended thinking below:
The monk's ability to unarmed strike is due to the monks perfection to unarmed melee attacks (as a humanoid). So Bite is a unarmed attack of a lizardfolk, but would the unarmed strike bite in Giant Toad follow the bite attack of the lizardfolk or of the Giant Toad? Frog could still bite as the unarmed strike, but would the monk have perfected the frog form (i.e.not available at lower levels) enough to bite AND grapple, something not inherent to lizardfolk?
RAW would suggest the using the Giant Toad's version of Bite, but RAI would accounted for quick melee damage as a Lizardfolk bite. Either way it's not going to break the game but wanted to see the forum's POV on the how the build should be ruled.
The Bite of a Lizardfolk is not the same weapon as the Bite of a Giant Toad, despite sharing a name. The Giant Toad's Bite is not an Unarmed Strike, and is not a Monk Weapon, and so does not trigger a Bonus Action Unarmed Strike from Martial Arts. That being said, while Wild Shaped, a Druid retains their race and class features unless the anatomy of the new beast precludes it... JC in tweets has interpreted this to mean, if your base form has an ability that relies on having a mouth, and your Beast has a mouth, you keep your feature. So a Wild Shaped Lizardfolk Druid who has assumed the shape of a Toad has (1) its Lizardfolk Bite (Unarmed Strike, Martial Arts eligible) and (2) its Giant Toad Bite (Natural Weapon, not Martial Arts eligible).
Basically while you're a Toad, your Druid/Monk can continue to use your normal martial arts rotation with Unarmed Strikes, or you can use the attacks listed in the Beast's statblock. Druid/Monks have some good synergies with buffing Beast AC's higher than they would otherwise be and improving speed, but optimizing Beast attacks isn't really one of them. Of course, you could use one round to do a Toad Bite-grapple, and then spend the following rounds pummeling them with a monk attack rotation, so it's not like there's no benefit for you.
Also, the monk's BA attack requires you to take the attack action first. So even if the lizardfolk's bite did grapple (it doesn't) and the toad's natural weapons did trigger martial arts (they don't), you still couldn't do them in the order you described.
I'm not convinced that you can't take the attack action with a creature's Natural Weapons. A Fighter 5/Druid for example I believe can Bite twice as a Giant Toad with the Attack action
I'm not convinced that you can't take the attack action with a creature's Natural Weapons. A Fighter 5/Druid for example I believe can Bite twice as a Giant Toad with the Attack action
That... Probably works. Extra attack can't combine with multiattack, though (but the road doesn't have one).
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This question is about a lvl 6 Lizardfolk multiclassed as Druid 5 / Monk 1. This particular design is built to Wild Shape into a Giant Toad to 1) Bite and automatically grapple a monster (Toad's version of Bite) and then 2) Swallow with no DC to escape once Swallowed (RAW). This would normally need 2 turns to complete and the grappled monster would have an opportunity to escape the grapple (DC13) before being swallowed.
The interesting part is adding the monk multiclass which allows for a Unarmed Strike as a bonus action. Normally, natural weapons, including claws and bites, are not unarmed strikes. However, in Volo's Guide to Monsters, the Tabaxi and Lizardfolk races both have natural weapons that count as unarmed strikes, claws and a bite respectively.
Bite (Lizardfolk, pg. 113) states: Your fanged maw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes.
Given this RAW, the LizardFolk (Druid 5/Monk 1) can now bite as a bonus unarmed strike and swallow as a main action all in the same turn. This is a big advantage since the monster loses to the chance to break the grapple on it's turn, though the Toad would need to success on two attack hits in a row.
The question/debate may be more of a RAW vs RAI... The Rules As Intended thinking below:
The monk's ability to unarmed strike is due to the monks perfection to unarmed melee attacks (as a humanoid). So Bite is a unarmed attack of a lizardfolk, but would the unarmed strike bite in Giant Toad follow the bite attack of the lizardfolk or of the Giant Toad? Frog could still bite as the unarmed strike, but would the monk have perfected the frog form (i.e.not available at lower levels) enough to bite AND grapple, something not inherent to lizardfolk?
RAW would suggest the using the Giant Toad's version of Bite, but RAI would accounted for quick melee damage as a Lizardfolk bite. Either way it's not going to break the game but wanted to see the forum's POV on the how the build should be ruled.
The Bite of a Lizardfolk is not the same weapon as the Bite of a Giant Toad, despite sharing a name. The Giant Toad's Bite is not an Unarmed Strike, and is not a Monk Weapon, and so does not trigger a Bonus Action Unarmed Strike from Martial Arts. That being said, while Wild Shaped, a Druid retains their race and class features unless the anatomy of the new beast precludes it... JC in tweets has interpreted this to mean, if your base form has an ability that relies on having a mouth, and your Beast has a mouth, you keep your feature. So a Wild Shaped Lizardfolk Druid who has assumed the shape of a Toad has (1) its Lizardfolk Bite (Unarmed Strike, Martial Arts eligible) and (2) its Giant Toad Bite (Natural Weapon, not Martial Arts eligible).
Basically while you're a Toad, your Druid/Monk can continue to use your normal martial arts rotation with Unarmed Strikes, or you can use the attacks listed in the Beast's statblock. Druid/Monks have some good synergies with buffing Beast AC's higher than they would otherwise be and improving speed, but optimizing Beast attacks isn't really one of them. Of course, you could use one round to do a Toad Bite-grapple, and then spend the following rounds pummeling them with a monk attack rotation, so it's not like there's no benefit for you.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
Also, the monk's BA attack requires you to take the attack action first. So even if the lizardfolk's bite did grapple (it doesn't) and the toad's natural weapons did trigger martial arts (they don't), you still couldn't do them in the order you described.
I'm not convinced that you can't take the attack action with a creature's Natural Weapons. A Fighter 5/Druid for example I believe can Bite twice as a Giant Toad with the Attack action
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
That... Probably works. Extra attack can't combine with multiattack, though (but the road doesn't have one).