>PS: You might want to simplify you critters so that they only have one
>ability usable in a specific
situation. So instead of having a scorpion man with "sword and shield
fighting" and "sting fighting" just give him or her "sword, shield and sting
fighting" at a slightly higher level.
This seems to me to be the only thing to do. As any sword and shield fighter, and they'll tell you that the shield is almost as offensive a weapon as the sword, and the sword almost as defensive an object as the shield. It's a "two-weapon" style. And that doesn't count the characters feet, which are also still excellent weapons, or his teeth - not the greatest in nature for biting, but people use them for it when desperate. Anyone using any style of fighting actually has the potential to attack many ways "at once." Yet we don't give a multiple attacker bonus. Sure, we can give a situational bonus should the style seem to particularly fit a circumstance. But otherwise we don't rate that.
If a being has great co-ordination in it's attacks, if the methods of attack do all seem to come down at once from different angles, etc, then simply give the creature a better rating for it's ability to do harm these ways. Basically, it's a better combatant for all of these things, and it should be shown in the rating, therefore. Just as a very skilled swordsman has his ability to make rapid-fire attacks, amongst other things, as part of his ability rating.
Secondarily, if you want to break it out somehow, then make it another ability that you can augment with. Co-ordinated Attacks 5W is equal to a warrior with Fast Attacks 5W.
As for the AP bids, it's like anything else. "The walktapus keeps it's distance, attacking carefully at random from different directions, probing for an opening" might be a 6AP bid. "The Walktapus shambles forward, all it's limbs flailing wildly at once to try and strike!" might be a desperation bid.
Mike
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