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I was looking through the options for the 3rd level Path of Beast feature, Form of the Beast, and I noticed no mention for any damage modifiers on hit.

Claws. Your hands transform into claws, which deal 1d6 slashing damage on a hit. (UA 2020, Pg. 1)

In comparison to this, the Aarakocra race gives you the Talons, specifically mentioning the damage value + the Strength modifier.

Talons.
Your talons are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. (DND Beyond)

I am curious about this, because in another question, people have asked about the claws in an attack action, referencing damage values to include the Strength modifier.

---- Take Attack Action ----
attack with Greataxe (1d12+2+STR)
attack with Claw (1d6+2+STR)
attack with Claw (1d6+2+STR)
(From Can you wield a Greataxe and Claws...?)

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    \$\begingroup\$ It might be worth holding off answering this for another week until Tasha's Cauldron, which will feature the official release for Path of the Beast, comes out. I guess we could answer this question strictly with the understanding that it only pertains to the the deprecated UA version.... \$\endgroup\$
    – Rykara
    Commented Nov 12, 2020 at 3:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm asking now since I'm creating a character for a game tonight, so my time-sensitive decisions may be affected by the answer. I just want to know if there's any reason other people on this site have interpreted the Claws to include the Strength modifier, or if that was just a mistake (I want to make things easy for my DM if there's a question). \$\endgroup\$
    – John Carroll
    Commented Nov 12, 2020 at 22:32
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    \$\begingroup\$ Fair enough! The answers could always be edited to add a note about the published version as well, or a new question could be asked if the feature was changed enough in the published version to warrant its own separate question. \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Commented Nov 13, 2020 at 5:30

3 Answers 3

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Yes, you add your Strength modifier.

The rules for attack and damage rolls with a melee weapon say:

You add your Strength modifier to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a melee weapon

The UA Beast Barbarian’s Form of the Beast feature says:

Until your rage ends, you manifest a natural melee weapon, choosing one of the following options each time you rage:

Your claws are a melee weapon, so you add your strength modifier to the damage.

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Yes, they add their Strength modifier to claw attacks

The description of Strength rules states:

You add your Strength modifier to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a melee weapon [...]

All weapons created by Form of the Beast are natural weapons, so you add your Strength modifier.

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You add your strength modifier

The official release of Tasha's Cauldron of Everything has reworked the description of Form of the Beast to clarify that your Strength modifier is used. It now reads:

Until the rage ends, you manifest a natural weapon. It counts as a simple melee weapon for you, and you add your Strength modifier to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with it, as normal.

This applies to Bite, Claws, and Tail.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Tasha's didnt change the UA material. This question is about UA material, not the subclass printed in Tasha's. \$\endgroup\$
    – Thomas Markov
    Commented Nov 19, 2020 at 17:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ Awesome! This answers my question, and the updated info from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything further solidifies the justification to add the strength mod to the damage rolls. \$\endgroup\$
    – John Carroll
    Commented Nov 21, 2020 at 19:47

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