Primal Animal Companion Pre-reqs?

[Ishyna]

If you are a Primal Companion Hunter can you give the "Claws" evolution to a an Animal Companion who already has arms but not the "Arms" evolution? For instance can you give an Ape or a Trex Claws?

But RAW I would say no, it requires you to take the arms evolution. But by that rule set you also can't take any evolution that require a "base form".

By RAI I'm not sure. Opinions?

[Farastu]

yeah... RAW for this is questionable, but personally, I would treat the animal companion as all ready having the appropriate base form as far as prerequisites for further evolutions is concerned.

So, a big cat animal companion, I'd just treat as having the quadruped base form for example.

If you were concerned about treating it this way resulting in things that could be considered silly because the base form has it but the animal doesn't (let's say for example your quadruped animal doesn't have claw attacks, but the quadruped base form does) then, you could just say that in that particular instance, it doesn't have that specific feature that the base form would usually grant.

If you are DM, do what makes the most sense to you, if you aren't, I suggest asking your DM how they handle it though.

[Josh-o-Lantern]

the whole Primal Hunter thing is badly written honestly. Unless you GM is a hard ass, I'd think everyone would agree that's it's fine to throw claws on somethnig that already has arms.

[dragonhunterq]

Why would you not treat the AC as having the limbs it patently has? that way madness lies,surely?
however if you want to tread that path, a slight RAW support for treating it as having the appropriate base form:

APG wrote:

Primal Transformation (Su): At first level, a primal companion hunter can awaken a primal creature from within his animal companion as a swift action. The animal companion gains a pool of evolution points that can be used to temporarily give the companion evolutions as if it were an eidolon.

[Josh-o-Lantern]

dragonhunterq wrote:

Why would you not treat the AC as having the limbs it patently has? that way madness lies,surely?

however if you want to tread that path, a slight RAW support for treating it as having the appropriate base form:

APG wrote:

Primal Transformation (Su): At first level, a primal companion hunter can awaken a primal creature from within his animal companion as a swift action. The animal companion gains a pool of evolution points that can be used to temporarily give the companion evolutions as if it were an eidolon.

SRD wrote:

Claws (Ex)

An eidolon has a pair of vicious claws at the end of its limbs, giving it two claw attacks. These attacks are primary attacks. The claws deal 1d4 points of damage (1d6 if Large, 1d8 if Huge). The eidolon must have the limbs evolution to take this evolution. This evolution can only be applied to the limbs (legs) evolution once This evolution can be selected more than once, but the eidolon must possess an equal number of the limbs evolution.

that's why.

[dragonhunterq]

Aye and all eidolons have a base form with free evolutions. your AC should get all the evolutions of it's base form - as if it were an eidolon, or at the very least the limbs of the base form.