Aerial Creature Template + Aquatic Subtype

[Slamron]

So, you have a wizard with the Versatile Summon Monster feat from the Pathfinder Player Companion: Monster Summoner’s Handbook, and you chose aerial as one of the simple creature templates you can apply to a summoned monster. The Aerial Template states you can't apply it to an outsider or any creature with one of the following subtypes: air, cold, earth, fire, or water. Notice that aquatic is not on that list. A creature with this template applied to it "gains the air subtype"

So, you could apply the Aerial Creature Template to say, a giant octopus, yes? I think so, but I'm not sure the creature would be able to breathe air, by RAW anyway. Aquatic states creatures can't breathe air without the amphibious quaility, and air doesn't specifically state that the creature gains the ability to breathe air.

Would you allow it in your game? In my game, I probably would. Will my GM allow it? We shall see tonight.

Here are the rules:

Versatile Summon Monster:

You've learned to summon a more diverse array of monsters.

Prerequisite(s): Knowledge (arcana) 1 rank, Knowledge (planes) 1 rank.

Benefit(s): Pick any two simple monster templates from the following list: aerial, aqueous, chthonic, dark, fiery, or primordial.

When you summon one or more creatures that would normally be available with the celestial, entropic, fiendish, or resolute template using a summon monster spell (or an effect that mimics such a spell), you can instead apply one of the chosen templates to each creature. You can apply a different template to each creature you summon.

Special: You can select this feat more than once. Each time you do, you can choose an additional two templates.

Simple Template: Aerial Creature (CR +0 or +1):

Aerial creatures are native denizens of the Elemental Planes of Air, and they possess unique adaptations to help them survive there.

This template can be applied only to a non-outsider with none of the subtypes that follow: air, cold, earth, fire, or water. An aerial creature's CR increases by 1 only if the base creature has 5 or more HD.

Rebuild Rules: Type gains the air subtype; Senses gains darkvision 60 ft.; Defensive Abilities gains DR and resistance to electricity as noted on the table below; Speed gains a fly speed equal to its highest speed with perfect maneuverability (maximum fly speed of 10 feet per HD); Attacks gains bonus electricity damage as noted on the table below on attacks with natural weapons and metal weapons.

Hit Dice DR Resist Electricity Electricity Damage
1–4 — 10 1 point
5–10 3/— 15 1d6
11+ 5/— 20 2d6

Air Subtype:

This subtype is usually used for outsiders with a connection to the Elemental Planes of Air. Air creatures always have fly speeds and usually have perfect maneuverability. Air creatures treat Fly as a class skill.

Aquatic Subtype:

These creatures always have swim speeds and can move in water without making Swim checks. An aquatic creature can breathe water. It cannot breathe air unless it has the amphibious special quality. Aquatic creatures always treat Swim as a class skill.

[Ian Bell]

There's no reason you couldn't apply it to something with the aquatic subtype. The restriction is there to prevent you from making, say, a fire elemental into an air-fire elemental. There's no narrative dissonance when one of those templates gets applied to a normal creature like an octopus.

Your theoretical aerial octopus won't be suffocating anytime soon with its constitution of 17, at least not in the course of a normal combat. If you're a summoner with a multi-minute duration summons then it could become an issue eventually.