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The rules are not at all clear about how the 9th level Animal Companion ability called Multiattack works for animals that have fewer than 3 natural attacks.

Here are the pertinent rules:

An animal companion gains Multiattack as a bonus feat if it has three or more natural attacks and does not already have that feat. If it does not have the requisite three or more natural attacks, the animal companion instead gains a second attack with its primary natural weapon, albeit at a –5 penalty.

Most creatures possess one or more natural attacks (attacks made without a weapon). These attacks fall into one of two categories, primary and secondary attacks. Primary attacks are made using the creature’s full base attack bonus and add the creature’s full Strength bonus on damage rolls. Secondary attacks are made using the creature’s base attack bonus –5 and add only 1/2 the creature’s Strength bonus on damage rolls. If a creature has only one natural attack, it is always made using the creature’s full base attack bonus and adds 1-1/2 times the creature’s Strength bonus on damage rolls. This increase does not apply if the creature has multiple attacks but only takes one. If a creature has only one type of attack, but has multiple attacks per round, that attack is treated as a primary attack, regardless of its type.

For the first few questions, assume the animal companion has exactly one natural attack (example, a wolf's bite attack).

1. The Multiattack ability grants a second attack with the animal companion's primary weapon, but at a -5 penalty. Is this second attack considered a "secondary" attack? According to the Universal Monster Rules (posted above), if a creature has only one type of attack, but has multiple attacks per round, that attack is treated as a primary attack (implying that it might still be a primary attack, just at a penalty to hit).
2. How much strength damage does the wolf apply when making a single attack once it reaches 9th level? Since it now has two natural attacks, according to the rules, it would only deal 1 times strength bonus (making its single attack weaker than it was at 8th level). Someone posted a similar question, and the responses brought up iterative attacks, which is not relevant since natural attacks do not gain iterative attacks with a high BAB, and this is a special ability granting an additional attack.
3. If the answer to question #2 was that it deals 1-1/2 times strength damage on a single attack, how about on a full attack? Do the attacks both deal 1-1/2 times strength damage? If they are both primary attacks, would it be 1 times strength damage for both? Or would it be 1 times strength for the first attack and 1/2 strength for the second (if the second attack is considered secondary)?

For the next few questions, these are about creatures with exactly 2 natural attacks, such as the Baluchitherium and the Basilosaurus.

4. The Baluchitherium has two hoof attacks. If it gain a second attack with its primary weapon, is that a second set of two hoof attacks?
5. The Basilosaurus has two different primary natural attacks, a bite and a tail slap. Does the character choose which weapon can be used twice when gaining the ability or when making the additional attack? Or does it simply gain an additional bite attack (since that attack is listed first, so is the animal's "primary natural weapon")?
6. After gaining this "second attack" (I use quotes because it is poorly worded since the creatures both already had two attacks), it has enough attacks to qualify for the Multiattack feat. If the companion's intelligence is increased to 3 and it takes Multiattack as one of its feats, should this "second attack" now have only a -2 penalty (even if the "second attack" is considered a primary attack)?

Other animal companion questions:

7. If the answer to #2 was that the wolf deals 1-1/2 times strength damage on a single bite attack, even after reaching 9th level, then when another animal companion with more than one natural attack makes a single attack with only one weapon, does it deal 1-1/2 times strength damage?
8. An Elk lists its attack as a gore attack OR two hoof attacks. This means in a single round, it can make up to 2 natural attacks. At 9th level, does it gain the Multiattack feat or an additional attack? And which weapon is considered its "primary natural weapon"? While the gore attack is listed first, it seems its hooves are just as "primary". And when making a gore attack, how much strength damage should it apply?

I think those are all of my questions for this ability. I apologize for the length of this post.

I have been reading up on the new item creation rules, and I must admit, I am a bit confused. Let me explain:

You have a 3rd level cleric with an Int of 10. For his 3rd level feat, he took Craft Wondrous Item. He places one rank in Spellcraft, which gives him a +4 bonus to Spellcraft.

Now, he is looking for wondrous items to create. He sees Sovereign Glue, and laughs. CL 20. But, the spell required is Make Whole... That is a 2nd level Cleric spell... According to the rules, so long as he is capable of casting the spell, he can attempt to craft the item, even though he doesn't meet the minimum caster level for the item itself.

So, he spends three days and 1,200gp worth of supplies. At the end, he makes a Spellcraft check to determine success. His DC is 5+minimum CL (+5 for each prerequisite he does not meet). So, his DC is 5+20+5 (because he does not meet the minimum caster level for the item). That is a DC 30 Spellcraft check. If he rolls a 20, he only gets a 24. He is guaranteed to fail by 5 or more, making Cursed Sovereign Glue.

Now, the Appraise check to determine the function of said cleric's work is 18 (15+CL = 15+3). The DC to determine that it is cursed is 28. A 3rd level character is likely to have at least a +8, and taking a 10 on the Appraise check with Detect Magic is likely to determine that it is Sovereign Glue (not detecting the Curse). Is this an effective way for clerics to dupe unsuspecting victims into purchasing cursed items? Any cleric of a God of Trickery should be making as much of this stuff as possible!!!

Next query... a 5th level Wizard who has taken Craft Magic Arms and Armor. According to the magic item creation, he needs a minimum caster level of 3x the bonus he intends to enchant (so a +1 needs a CL of 3 and a +2 needs a caster level of 6). Let's see what kind of Spellcraft we can get by 5th level:

Let's say we rolled well. We got an 18. We put that into Int, and chose Int for our human +2. As a human, we get 2 feats at 1st level+Scribe scroll. We choose Skill Focus: Spellcraft and Magical Aptitude. This gives us a Spellcraft of +18 before magic items (5 ranks, +5 Int, +3 Class skill bonus, +3 Skill Focus, +2 Magical Aptitude). With magic items, you can probably get a headband of int+2 by then for a +19, but that really isn't necessary.

Let's just look at magic weapons:

Our wizard decides he wants to create a +5 weapon. Should be impossible, because he is not 15th level. But, according to the overriding rule for magic item creation:

"Note that all items have prerequisites in their descriptions. These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created. Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item’s creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed). The DC to create a magic item increases by +5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. The only exception to this is the requisite item creation feat, which is mandatory."

So, the only thing that is mandatory is the item creation feat. He doesn't need to meet the 15th level prerequisite, but just increase the Spellcraft DC by +5. So, what is his DC to create this +5 weapon? It is 5+CL+5 = 5+15+5 = 25. By taking a 10, our wizard gets a 28. He is guaranteed to succeed.

Now, you might say, that is rather prohibitive. Our 5th level wizard is going to have a problem finding the 25,000gp material components needed for crafting a +5 weapon. All the wizard needs to do is find someone looking for a +5 weapon. He doesn't need to adventure at all. Once he finds someone, he just has them pay the 50,000gp, and he begins toiling away. 100 days later, he has two +5 weapons made with guaranteed success! He sells the second one and now has 50,000gp of his own to do whatever he wants with. For 100 days of work, why would a wizard ever go adventuring again?

Hello all,

I am running a 3.5 campaign, although thinking of switching the rules to those used for the PF system. The biggest concern I had when considering this is that my campaign is psionics-heavy, and PF currently does not offer support for psionic rules.

So, I am considering creating my own, and was wondering if any of the psionics gurus could help steer me in the right direction.

Here is what I came up with:

1. Spellcasting has remove all XP components from spells, instead requiring material components that cost 5x the amount in gp that had been required in XP previously. The problem is, psionics does not have material components. While I could theoretically keep the XP costs, it seems out of the spirit of PF to do so. The best idea I have come up with to do so is to add in a mechanic for focusing crystals or something. I can say that Reality Revision no longer has a 5,000 XP cost. Instead, you must have a 25,000gp focusing crystal. The process involves implanting the psionic power onto the crystal, then shattering it to evoke the effect. This keeps the flavor of psionics as not requiring material components, but still replaces the XP cost with a GP cost.
2. Psionic classes... I have seen several attempts at this, and I must say that I am not sure which direction to go with it. Many of the attempts have offered good advice.
   • The Psion: if I were to model it after Wizard, I would keep the power point progression exactly the same, along with the powers known and max power level known. Then, I would grant the bonus feats of the original psion, increase its HD to d6, and convert the class skills to PF skills. Next, I would use the Arcane Schools as maps for generating Discipline Powers. The spell-like abilities that can be chosen for a wizard would be psi-like abilities for a psion. No problem there. Each of the six disciplines maps to an arcane school, anyway, according to the SRD, so if I was feeling particularly uncreative, I could just copy the powers exactly. So, the problem becomes, how much do I care about low-level psions. A 1st level psion will be inferior to the 1st level wizard for one reason... the wizard has cantrips that he can cast at will. The psion does not have any 0-level powers. They don't exist anymore. Do I create some 0-level powers to make him happy? That doesn't seem like a good solution. Is there some minor fluff that I can add to make him a little cooler? Perhaps he can choose one 1st level power to be usable at will? Or do I make his 1st level discipline power a little cooler? Honestly, I don't know the answer. I have been mulling it over, and I just can't decide what to give him.
   • Psychic Warrior: The main consensus for this class is that he seems nearly PF-compatible already. He shouldn't get the fighter's armor training and weapon training, as he already receives power points and powers. If a DM really wanted, some fluff could be added at some dead levels, but other than that, seems pretty balanced with current PF classes. Although, I happen to agree that now that fighters have their armor and weapon training, they don't need to hoard the Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Focus, and Greater Weapon Specialization. So, perhaps add in the ability for a Psychic Warrior to qualify for "fighter-only" feats. Anyway, the problem I run into is converting the skills to Pathfinder skills. The Psychic Warrior was not meant to be a manifester who studies his powers. Psicraft was specifically left off of the Psychic Warrior's class skill list, yet Concentration was specifically added. It seems logical for Psicraft to replace Concentration for a manifesting class. What about Autohypnosis? What role would that skill play? Would it be bundled up into Psicraft, as well? If that were the case, it is a no-brainer, and Psychic Warrior should have Psicraft. Otherwise, perhaps Autohypnosis could replace Concentration such that the manifester must choose either Psicraft or Autohypnosis when manifesting defensively. I have always liked Autohypnosis, so I don't want to see it rolled up into another skill, personally. I am going to keep it for my games.
   • Soulknife: I am really not sure how to convert this class. This one probably has the most work required to convert it, as it is the least like any other class already out there. Any suggestions are welcome (Honestly, I am more concerned about the psion, as I have one of them in the party I am trying to convert. Likely, when I have more time, I will revisit soulknife. I haven't even checked to see if others have made headway with this class.)
   • Wilder: Pretty much in the same boat with Soulknife.
3. Psionic Races: Luckily, I have none of them in my campaign that I am converting, so I won't worry about this for right now. I will revisit it when I have time.

I plan to eventually have my own house rules for all psionics. I am interested in what the psionic gurus have to say about my plans thus far. If you have any suggestions, especially about converting the different powers over and about the psion itself, I am very open to suggestions. Thanks to any who take a look.