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"If you attempt to ride a creature that is ill suited as a mount, you take a –5 penalty on your Ride checks."

The whole paragraph reads

"You are skilled at riding mounts, usually a horse, but possibly something more exotic, like a griffon or pegasus. If you attempt to ride a creature that is ill suited as a mount, you take a –5 penalty on your Ride checks."

An ostrich is ill suited as a mount, but you could give it a go...

There is actually a new feat called Undersized Mount in the Advanced Class Guide.

You've learned techniques that allow you to ride beasts of smaller sizes than normal.
Prerequisite(s): Ride 1 rank.
Benefit: You can ride creatures of your size category, although encumbrance or other factors might limit how you can use this ability.
Normal: Typically a mount suited for you is at least one size category larger than you.

I would suggest that the -2 penalty that has been posted above is very appropriate in SOME cases if you don’t have this feat.
But if you are a druid with for an example a tiger animal companion, raised from a cub, I would suggest this size factor does not apply, if the tiger is to be raised as a mount eg:
Level 1-7 a Tiger is medium sized BUT

At levels 3 and 6 there is a +1 animal companion STR/DEX ability score increase.
The ability bonus at Level 4 could/should be +1 STR for the mount training.
The Druids Natures Bond, Handle Animal and Animal Empathy plus sensitive choice of light armour, or dark leaf hide armour would all go to negate any penalties that would be applied for a same sized mount (but not the encumberance penalties).

As always good role play caring for your mount optimising equipment for both you and your mount (consider bareback riding etc) should always tip the balance in the players favour.
It remains in the end a DM call.

And trough barriers thinner than 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or feet of wood or dirt.

So you can see the type of undead through a closed door for example.

I note that the Detect Magic spell and Detect Undead spells are fairly similar in general function.

It is only when you look up the Spellcraft skill that you note that this skill can be used in conjunction with Detect Magic so that you can determine more about a magical item.

This is done by analysing the aura of the item which can actually be seen through obstructions, though you need to be able thoroughly examine the object to determine its properties – by this I guess this means handle it.

Now given Knowledge Religion checks do not require you to handle the undead creature to determine what it is, which would probably not be a wise thing to day anyway... and is subject only to a skill roll, surely you can determine what the undead creature is by combining Detect Undead and the Knowledge Religion skill in a similar way.

I would think a skeleton’s aura looks fundamentally different to that of a vampire and not just in terms of strength.

What are your thoughts?

Hi there,

I wrote the menhir savant, and while I do not issue official errata for the purpose of PFS or other RAW-specific games, I can tell you that the authorial intention was that it be a yes/no detection, as detect undead is for undead.

I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to let it give you type after 3 rounds of concentration, so I think it's fair to ask your GM if he or she will stretch the rules a bit and allow it, but it's also fair for them to say "nope."

Hope this helps!

Interesting - Yes I too ran into this problem and I agree -I personally also viewed it as a boolean outcome when the character was at first level, but only because I failed to take the relevent Knowledge checks.

But we decided that if I augment Spirit Sense with skill ranks in:

Knowledge Nature - Identify Animals, fey, giants, monstrous humanoids, plants, vermin (DC 10+CR)

Knowledge Planes - Identify Outsiders (DC 10+CR)

Knowledge Religion - Identify Undead (DC 10+CR)

It could be argued that the aura (or mix of auras) is immediately identifiable (round 1) but ONLY if you have ranks in the relevent Knowledge(s).

This is a much heavier investment in this ability and I think
from then on you need the standard Knowlege roll (as above) combined with ue of the spell for subsequent rounds to correctly identify the other components of the aura and the specific creature.

I don't think it would even be necessary to 'physically see' the target, because you can 'sense the aura', even through obstructions such as lead.

Any thoughts?