ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

I realize this is a dumb question, but my Swallow ability rarely ever works and the Swallow ability says...

"...

The chance to swallow depends on your talent level and the relative size of the target.

and ...

The swallow attempt checks your physical power against the target's physical save.
"

So does swallow have two checks to make before sucessfully swallowing a target? What is the relationship between my talent level and my physical power? How do i make my swallow more likely to succeed?

P.S. i understand there are different tiers of physical power ratings, but is there a rough guide i can use to judge if my physical power rating is poor / average / good relative to my level?

for one, you can mouse over your opponent, to see its saves, and then check your own power to compare.
you can also right-click and "inspect creature". pressing "C" will also open your own status screen.
only the "effective" values are shown, not base.

as for the mechanic... dunno.

edit.
i think, that tha power/save determines the "when can it be instakilled", and then size difference * talent level is the chance.