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Our Pathfinder Society group was meeting to convert characters from PFS and our Pathfinder campaign over from 3.5 and Beta respectively.
I have a druid that I was attempting to convert, and was having some difficulty in doing so.
My previous druid had a riding dog who served as a party tank, wearing +1 Leaf Barding. (Just about every gp the character had accumulated.)
Problems:
1) +1 Leaf - My character is 3rd level (almost 4th, but due to our regular GM flaking out - not naming names Jared - and my taking over GM duties, I'm still not to 3th level. Which means that my total fortune is currently 3000gp with a single item cap of 1500gp. +1 Leaf barding is not an option because of cost.
2) No Riding Dog - The options I would have are dog, or wolf. Neither of which come "war trained" like the pony and horse do at upper levels. Which means that neither could wear barding without penalty.
3) Combat Training - according to the rules, combat training will prepare an animal to serve as a mount, which would then allow it to qualify to wear barding. But, under the PSGOP tricks system, it would mean that I have to teach the animal all 6 tricks go gain the Combat Training general purpose. This would literally take 2 full levels of training. And at some time along the way, if the animal dies, I have to start over.
So, rather than bemoan my sorry situation (don't you wish this was the worst problem in your life?) I started looking for solutions.
Enter the Mr. Chuckles Alternative. (cue significant music...)
A) "Animal companions with an Intelligence of 3 or higher can select any feat they are physically capable of using. " (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/classes/druid.html#druid - thanks!)
B) "Animal companions with an Intelligence of 3 or higher can put ranks into any skill." (same reference link)
C) At 4th level druid, the animal comnpanion gains - "Ability Score Increase (Ex): The animal companion adds +1 to one of its ability scores."
D) "Ape - Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 30 ft., Climb 30 ft.; AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 claws (1d4); Ability Scores Str 13, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 7; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent." (same link, bold text for emphasis is mine)
E) Fourth level companion has 2 feats.
Enter Mr. Chuckles:
Ape
Size Medium; Speed 30 ft., Climb 30 ft.; AC +3 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 claws (1d4); Ability Scores Str 14, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 7; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
Feats: Armor Proficiency Light, Weapon Proficiency (club) [we've all seen 2001 a space odyssey, haven't we? Or Planet of the Apes?]
Attack: +5 club 1d6+2
AC: 21 (Chain Shirt (+4), Dex (+4), Natural Armor (+3))
Skill Ranks (1 point each): Acrobatics, Linguistics, Diplomacy, Knowledge (religion)
Now, the downside of Mr. Chuckles is that his armor class is lower than my riding dog in +1 leaf's was by several points. However, should Mr. Chuckles die, I can recover the armor and club and summon a new Mr. Chuckles realatively quickly, and without having to teach him tricks.
Okay, so here's the big money question.
Is this a LEGAL (as in I show up at the table ready to play) option for Pathfinder Society. It looks to be from the PSGOP.
(Yes, I know that some DM's might frown on this, but the question is of legality, not morality or propriety).
Given the constraints on the use of an animal companion, especially the fact that teaching it a set of tricks will take a huge investment in time, this would almost be an attractive option for a druid who wished to remain a stand-off spellcaster, while providing combat support to the party.
Further to this, how would you improve Mr. Chuckles? Are there other feats or skills that would make him more effective as a party tank?
I'm not sure what the problem is in the first place. Why don't you just buy +1 studded leather barding for your animal companion? It has an armor check penalty of 0, so any animal can wear it with no penalty (whether the animal is proficient with barding or not).
But assuming you can have an animal with an Int of 3 (hard to say without looking at the Bestiary), it should be legal, I think.
I'm not sure what the problem is in the first place. Why don't you just buy +1 studded leather barding for your animal companion? It has an armor check penalty of 0, so any animal can wear it with no penalty (whether the animal is proficient with barding or not).
But assuming you can have an animal with an Int of 3 (hard to say without looking at the Bestiary), it should be legal, I think.
Duh. No armor check penalty.
That means I don't need "Armor Proficiency (light)" and can spend the feat on something really fun like "Eschew Materials" <g>