Animal INT and SKILL points per Hit Dice.

[DrkMagusX]

I m playing a Arcane Hierophant and I m a little confuse on animal skill points.
I been trying to figure out how many skill points the animal gets per hit dice after becoming a Animal companion and then his INT increasing from 3 to 7,8,9 and then 10.

So with each bonus HD before his INT increase does he only get 1 INT ?
Can I get a good example of how the formula works for animals?

Also since is last increase in Hit Dice his int was at a 9 and now its a 10 so will that be still 1 or does it now go higher?

Thank you for any information to clear this confusion.

[Urpriest]

I m playing a Arcane Hierophant and I m a little confuse on animal skill points.
I been trying to figure out how many skill points the animal gets per hit dice after becoming a Animal companion and then his INT increasing from 3 to 7,8,9 and then 10.

So with each bonus HD before his INT increase does he only get 1 INT ?
Can I get a good example of how the formula works for animals?

Bonus HD don't increase your Int at all. Do you mean only 1 skill point? If so, yes, 2 Int means a -4 modifier, so animals just get the minimum 1 skill point per HD.


Also since is last increase in Hit Dice his int was at a 9 and now its a 10 so will that be still 1 or does it now go higher?

Thank you for any information to clear this confusion.

In general, to determine how many skill points any character or creature gets, you look at the base value given in their description and then add their Int modifier, with the end result restricted to a minimum value of 1. For character classes, the information is in the class description. For creature types, the information is in the description of the creature type, in the glossary. Look up the Animal Creature type, and it will tell you the benefits of animal HD, including base skill points.

[Khedrac]

The problem with Arcane Heirophant is that when you add in the Int for your companion also being a familiar the skill points start mattering.

There are basically two cases, one worse than the other:

The easier one is when your level increase puts up both the Int modifier and the number of hit dice - which comes first?
The hard one is when getting a replacement companion which has increased hit dice and a shiny new Int score.

There is no RAW answer - his is totally in the land of discuss and agree with your DM.

My DM is currently going (for the former case) with the AC gains the hit dice first and then then the increased Int.
Personally, because bonus HD come in pairs, I would probably go with get 1 HD then the Int then the other HD, but I have yet to have a player play and AH.

Good luck