Int Boosting on an Animal Companion

[Zombulian]

So you’ve got a Watchspider companion or an Exalted Companion. It’s already a magical beast, so having an int above 2 doesn’t disqualify it as your companion.
You decide to boost your companion’s intelligence score. What can you do with this? At the very least it may get more skill points per level, and you can direct it to do tasks without needing to use Handle Animal checks.
Anything else?

[Thurbane]

Qualify for feats? Although most feats like Combat Expertise will require 13 or higher...

Obligatory X Stat to Y Bonus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?125732-3-x-X-stat-to-Y-bonus) link.

[Particle_Man]

How smart are they to begin with?

[Zombulian]

Qualify for feats? Although most feats like Combat Expertise will require 13 or higher...

Obligatory X Stat to Y Bonus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?125732-3-x-X-stat-to-Y-bonus) link.

Feats is a good point. Though +10 is a bit of a way to go.
Maybe a monkey or ape could put some cross class points into UMD?


How smart are they to begin with?

Watchspider is a unique Magical Beast that has 2 int, Exalted Companions get the Celestial template which boosts their int to 3.

[SnugUndies]

I thought the major goal for getting an animal companion with 3 or more intelligence was so that it could take Vow of Poverty. Since animal companions don't get a share of the treasure anyway, they get all of those myriad bonuses for free, so long as you don't strap some magical barding to your spider anytime soon.

Presumably it could possibly also gain the ability to be literate. A casting of tongues may or may be necessary to speak with it, but if your companion's smart enough, it could write and read messages.

[Particle_Man]

Well it will take at least int 10 to go from 1 skill point per new HD to more than 1 skill point per new HD. I would agree with vow of poverty being a way to go, perhaps with shape soulmeld as an extra afterwards.

[liquidformat]

So you’ve got a Watchspider companion or an Exalted Companion. It’s already a magical beast, so having an int above 2 doesn’t disqualify it as your companion.
You decide to boost your companion’s intelligence score. What can you do with this? At the very least it may get more skill points per level, and you can direct it to do tasks without needing to use Handle Animal checks.
Anything else?

Note of point all animal companions are magical beasts so having over 2 int already isn't an issue...

Anyways here are some different things that can be done:
Vow of Poverty
Improved Unarmed Strike
Weapon Proficiency
martial study
martial stance

[Zombulian]

Note of point all animal companions are magical beasts so having over 2 int already isn't an issue...

Not true. In fact animal companions that get an int of 3 immediately become magical beasts and explicitly cannot be companions anymore.


Anyways here are some different things that can be done:
Vow of Poverty
Improved Unarmed Strike
Weapon Proficiency
martial study
martial stance

All great picks, but aside from VoP none of them require an above-animal int score.


Well it will take at least int 10 to go from 1 skill point per new HD to more than 1 skill point per new HD. I would agree with vow of poverty being a way to go, perhaps with shape soulmeld as an extra afterwards.

I thought the major goal for getting an animal companion with 3 or more intelligence was so that it could take Vow of Poverty. Since animal companions don't get a share of the treasure anyway, they get all of those myriad bonuses for free, so long as you don't strap some magical barding to your spider anytime soon.

Presumably it could possibly also gain the ability to be literate. A casting of tongues may or may be necessary to speak with it, but if your companion's smart enough, it could write and read messages.

Yea VoP is the usual go-to for int 3 companions, and not without reason. It’s really nice bonuses that don’t cost you any money. Unfortunately it’s mostly just beatstick stuff, not really anything you can do with higher intelligence there. A Watchspider with VoP and Vow of Peace could do some cool utility stuff, but you might as well have Vow of Peace yourself at that point.

[liquidformat]

Not true. In fact animal companions that get an int of 3 immediately become magical beasts and explicitly cannot be companions anymore.

Where is that ruling located, I have never seen it before. From my understanding the act of becoming an animal companion already turned them into a magical beast hence why some of the great buffs in 3.0 don't work anymore.


All great picks, but aside from VoP none of them require an above-animal int score.
Not Sure if it is RAW but needing an int score above 3 to get weapon proficiency and improved unarmed strike is at least RAI and I have yet to meet a DM that wouldn't throw a book at you for trying to put either on an animal companion with 2 or less intelligence.

[Zombulian]

Where is that ruling located, I have never seen it before. From my understanding the act of becoming an animal companion already turned them into a magical beast hence why some of the great buffs in 3.0 don't work anymore.

It’s funny you say that, because there’s also zero evidence I can find of animal companions automatically being magical beasts. Maybe that’s 3.0.

There may be another place that it’s
mentioned (doesn’t seem to be in the druid class description), but the spell Awaken specifies that an awakened animal can no longer serve as an animal companion. Maybe the Rules Compendium says something about it.

What I’m thinking now is it’s not that animal companions explicitly cannot become magical beasts, but rather that you cannot make an animal have an int higher than 2, since they then cease to be animals. I’m not sure if that means that there is a hard cap on their intelligence, or just that casting Fox’s Cunning changes their type for the duration.


Not Sure if it is RAW but needing an int score above 3 to get weapon proficiency and improved unarmed strike is at least RAI and I have yet to meet a DM that wouldn't throw a book at you for trying to put either on an animal companion with 2 or less intelligence.

The RAW seems unclear, but there’s a strong argument that weapon proficiency and the like require “humanlike intelligence” which is at minimum 3.

[Thurbane]

It was discussed a bit here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?595412-Fox-s-Cunning-on-mindless-undead

Some relevant quotes:


Well, the "Eye for an Eye" adventure have Thornfur the White Wolf NPC, who is an actual Wolf (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/wolf.htm), just white and with Int 8; incapable to speech, but can communicate via "empathy"; and - no, he isn't a Magical Beast - he's former Animal Companion of Illitol (famous local Druid, at the time of the adventure - deceased)


I just noticed: Onyx Dog (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#onyxDog) - it's a Riding Dog (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dogRiding.htm) with Int 8 :smallbiggrin:
No, it's not a Construct, nor Magical Beast or Outsider...

[Zombulian]

It was discussed a bit here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?595412-Fox-s-Cunning-on-mindless-undead

Some relevant quotes:

Yikes. So it’s even less clear than I feared.

[Ruethgar]

If you want to avoid the animal/magical beast argument with your DM, grab a Tressym. They are valid companions(if a bit weak) and have Int 12 by default. Remember, you can use the 3.0 rules to find an above average one as well that has Int 20.

[noob]

If you want to avoid the animal/magical beast argument with your DM, grab a Tressym. They are valid companions(if a bit weak) and have Int 12 by default. Remember, you can use the 3.0 rules to find an above average one as well that has Int 20.

Afterwards:
"So the smartest person around is in fact that winged cat?"
"Yes"
"We are so doomed"
"Do not worry that cat is exalted"