Hmmm, hadn't noticed that. Seems like animals need more than 1 skill point per HD.
Ever heard the phrase "eyes like a hawk" before? Implying really good eyesight/perception.
But, I guess hawks are only perceptive if they can't fly. Maybe Pathfinder hawks are blind as a bat...
Hey, maybe that's why bats are blind - they put their whole skill point into their Fly skill.
God forbid any of them need to hunt; I'm sure they don't have many skill points left over for their survival skill.
Hey, I wonder if fish have their whole skill piont in swim?
Let's see, cats can either be able to climb a tree, or find food, or perceive the world around them, or sneak up on a mouse - pick two (they get two skill points to start) but no way they can do all four.
Hmmm, seems we may lack a little clarity on this rule.
Yeah, last thing we want is flying bears and dimplomatic anacondas and stealthy elephants, but still, it seems like this limited skill point progression really cripples the animal kingdom.
I wonder if it will be like this in the Bestiary?
To answer your actual question, I don't think there is any reason to allow one type of creature (animal, beast, dragon, undead, whatever) to get a different benefit from high intelligence than all the other creature types.
In short, animals should get bonus skills at 12 INT just like everything else does.
Unless, of course, Paizo officially decrees otherwise.
None of which would help the INT 2 animals trying to survive in their natural habitats with just 2 skill points.
Animals get 1 skill pt per HD.
Under Skills it says that Animal Companions with Int 10+ get bonus skill ranks as normal.Now normally you get bonus skill points at Int 12+, BUT normally the lowest number of skill points /per lev you get is 2pts, before Int penalties.
So is the Int 10+ a typo, or do they mean that at Int you're no longer on penalties, so you get 2 skill points/HD and continue to increase as your Int starts giving you actual bonuses.I'm looking at getting a Dragonne as an Animal Companion for my Ranger and given that it really wants to spend skill points on Fly, it would be nice to have a few more skill points to spend. If saving up for a Headband of Intellect would double it's skill points it would be well worth it.
Stephen E
My take on the Headband of Intellect is that it doesn't effect the number of skill points that you get as it is a temporary effect. Otherwise you could get one and play pass the parcel when PCs level up to get extra skill points.
Animals get 1 skill pt per HD.
Under Skills it says that Animal Companions with Int 10+ get bonus skill ranks as normal.
This is correct.
An animal gets 2 + int modifier skill points per level, minimum one.
If an animal has int lower than 10, that 2 + int mod will always be one.
Only at int 10 and higher, will they get more than one skill point per level.
IMO this was a bug in 3rd edition and has wormed it's way into PFRPG, as it made advancing animals a pain in the ass. You might notice how pretty much every animal ever printed has racial bonus to some skill. This is just a quick and dirty fix that makes animals function like they're expected to funktion.
In the beta, my large cat has spread out its skill points just a bit - that +3 based on class skill bonuses helps out somewhat. But, yeah, he has gotten noticeably poorer performing in skill checks as we level.
My take on the Headband of Intellect is that it doesn't effect the number of skill points that you get as it is a temporary effect. Otherwise you could get one and play pass the parcel when PCs level up to get extra skill points.If you wear a Headband of Vast Intelligence (as it's now called) it's a temporary bonus for the 1st 24 hours. After that it becomes a permanent bonus so long as you wear it (you must note where you spent the additional skill points). See Item description and Glossary.
So yes, it does give skill points, but no, you can't play pass the headband.
The increase in skill points are assigned to a particular skill(s) when the headband is created. When your character raises in a level, the headband automatically assigns the bonus points to the headband's skill(s).
The increase in skill points are assigned to a particular skill(s) when the headband is created. When your character raises in a level, the headband automatically assigns the bonus points to the headband's skill(s).
My take on the Headband of Intellect is that it doesn't effect the number of skill points that you get as it is a temporary effect. Otherwise you could get one and play pass the parcel when PCs level up to get extra skill points.If you wear a Headband of Vast Intelligence (as it's now called) it's a temporary bonus for the 1st 24 hours. After that it becomes a permanent bonus so long as you wear it (you must note where you spent the additional skill points). See Item description and Glossary.
So yes, it does give skill points, but no, you can't play pass the headband.
So if it has been created to add points to, say Knowlege Arcana you can't pop it on your head and put the extra points onto UMD?
That's right.
That's right.
So to answer the OP the ranger would have to specificlly purchase one which is preloaded with skill rank Fly which would also have to fit a dragonne's head (which is the easy part).
Yes. This tactic is also great for those characters who don't want to worry too much about spending skill points and just max a few key skills.
Fly skill states that ranks can't be put into it unless you can somehow practice the skill daily (via actually being able to fly, ability to gain flight through magical means or transforming into something that can fly). This means that few first level characters can put ranks into the skill, so if someone wants to put ranks into fly, they won't end up with all chosen skills maxed out.
Here comes in the Headband of Mighty Intellect +2(or more), with fly skill attached. When the headband is worn for 24 hours straight, the wearer gains his level (or HD) in ranks into the skill, and can safely max his chosen skills without worrying about fly skill, which stays maxed even as he gains levels as long as he continues to wear the headband.
@Lehmuska:
AFAIK, you aren't limited to adding 1 rank per level, you're limited IN TOTAL to 1 rank per level per Skill.
So if you start using Fly often at 10th level, you can put 10 ranks into it (or 11 ranks if you start Flying often at 10th, so you would be 11th level next time you get new Skill Ranks to allocate). What you're describing can still be a good approach though (as well for other skills, like UMD)
There in effect IS an alternate rule for animals here, since the Headbands explicitly grant a bonus (maxed) skill even though going by normal rules for Skill Ranks and INT, their # of ranks wouldn't increase until they reach 10 INT.
That's true, but if you max fly skill at level 10 (let's say from 0 ranks) there will be some other skill that won't be maxed.
My last post was for those who happen to not think about spending skill points and just put them into same skill points level after level. They can't do that with fly skill, so for the first few levels they'll have to take some other skill instead. And if they want to have both fly skill maxed and that other skill maxed, a headband with an int bonus and fly skill is the way to go.