So... what happens when an animal companion has their Int raised from 2 to 3? Are they now magical beasts? Do they stay the same? The Awakened spell seems to indicate they become magical beasts, which in turn means they can't be animal companions any more. The "animal" creature type also says no animal can have an Int higher than 2.
Help!
Hyrum.
The simplest explanation is the animal companion cannot increase it's Int above 2, however:
SkillsThis lists the animal's total skill ranks. Animal companions can assign skill ranks to any skill listed under Animal Skills. If an animal companion increases its Intelligence to 10 or higher, it gains bonus skill ranks as normal. Animal companions with an Intelligence of 3 or higher can purchase ranks in any skill. An animal companion cannot have more ranks in a skill than it has Hit Dice.
(bold is mine) indicates it can have an Int above 2 and that it can still be an animal companion. could be an error.
The rule about the int of 3 making them magical beast went away with 3.5. Druid and Ranger animal companions are allowed to break the int 2 rule for animals. I think that is the only exception though. I don't see it is as an error. I think it was done intentionally so as to not make the animal companion special since they don't get all the features a normal animal of their type would get.
So... what happens when an animal companion has their Int raised from 2 to 3? Are they now magical beasts? Do they stay the same? The Awakened spell seems to indicate they become magical beasts, which in turn means they can't be animal companions any more. The "animal" creature type also says no animal can have an Int higher than 2.
Help!
Hyrum.
Animal Companions are special in that they do not cease being animals once they reach INT 3.
Mechanically, they can understand language, put points into any skill (though the most useful skills for them are the ones they already have), and they can take any feat for which they qualify.
They don't stop being your AC, and they don't stop becoming animals.
They're special.
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So...if they have an INT of 3 they could take a skill to learn Common although not being able to speak it, understand it.
Would you be able to do that and not need to use Handle Animal checks anymore?
Yup yup, of course the animal would likely gain a greater degree of personality at this benchmark and depending on your DM the animal may being to exert a greater degree of self-reliance.
Tricks are no longer necessary, same with handle animal checks. If you are trying to convince them to do something they are not comfortable with it would from then on be an opposed diplomacy check. At least that is how I would run it.
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So...if they have an INT of 3 they could take a skill to learn Common although not being able to speak it, understand it.
Would you be able to do that and not need to use Handle Animal checks anymore?
Yup yup, of course the animal would likely gain a greater degree of personality at this benchmark and depending on your DM the animal may being to exert a greater degree of self-reliance.
Tricks are no longer necessary, same with handle animal checks. If you are trying to convince them to do something they are not comfortable with it would from then on be an opposed diplomacy check. At least that is how I would run it.
familiars have a better int but dont have a self reliance issue, why should companions?
also isn't that what wild empathy is for? even the ability to handle your mount as a free action should still apply
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Pathfinder did not remove the rule stating that no animal can have an INT score higher than 2. They still become a magical beast if the INT score increases to 3 or higher.
The Animal Companion rules are a special case that overrides this general rule. Animal Companions CAN increase their INT score to 3 (and beyond) but they remain an animal. Keep in mind that this is primarily due to the close bond the animal has with the Druid or Ranger - if the animal is released / dismissed, it ceases to be an Animal Companion and loses all Animal Companion abilities, including the increased INT.
As stated before, an Animal Companion with a 3 or higher INT can understand basic comman and no longer needs to rely on tricks. The Ranger or Druid (or anyone else, really) can just speak their basic commands.