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I actually have 2 questions, the first being if i use say an ioun stone to increase an animals intel score to a 4 what happens to the animal? can it learn to speak now that its intel is 3+?
The other question being in the items section under "Mounts and Related Gear" if you have a guard dog or a Horse with you does it earn any xp? or is it cursed to stay at it sad sad hit point total until a fireball kills it?
It can learn to speak if its anatomy allows that. Having a high intelligence doesn't help if you can't shape words with your vocal cords.
It could, however, learn to understand a spoken language.
Mounts and guard dogs do not earn any XP. If you want a powerful animal to accompany you, you should consider playing a Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Cavalier, or Summoner.
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It can learn to speak if its anatomy allows that. Having a high intelligence doesn't help if you can't shape words with your vocal cords.
It could, however, learn to understand a spoken language.
Mounts and guard dogs do not earn any XP. If you want a powerful animal to accompany you, you should consider playing a Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Cavalier, or Summoner.
Thanks
It doesn't need to be powerful it just need's to not suck, I don't need it to have evasion or a boost to Nat. armor, or extra tricks it just needs to be useable after low levels. What's the point of the Mounted Combat tree if your not one of these classes? Why does the barbarian and the fighter get the ride skill if its so useless?
It can learn to speak if its anatomy allows that. Having a high intelligence doesn't help if you can't shape words with your vocal cords.
It could, however, learn to understand a spoken language.
Mounts and guard dogs do not earn any XP. If you want a powerful animal to accompany you, you should consider playing a Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Cavalier, or Summoner.
Thanks
It doesn't need to be powerful it just need's to not suck, I don't need it to have evasion or a boost to Nat. armor, or extra tricks it just needs to be useable after low levels. What's the point of the Mounted Combat tree if your not one of these classes? Why does the barbarian and the fighter get the ride skill if its so useless?
You can always trade up to more powerful mounts. You start with a warhorse, then move up to riding a bison, griffons, etc.
Another option, you could use the feat on the Wizard's site: Wild Cohort
I also have a house-rule for improving animals that I use in my games.
Animals can be improved using the handle animal skill.
To improve (advance) an animal it requires:
1. Handle animal check DC 20 + (New HD)
2. Cost of 100 gp x (New HD), if a person trains the animal themselves the costs is 1/2 as much.
3. Three weeks of training time, with at least two hours a day dedicated to training, for non-feat obtaining HD. If the increase in HD would allow a feat then it takes four weeks.
Improved animals are difficult to handle and do not respond to handlers/riders who do not have at least 2 more HD than the animal. Druids and Rangers can use this to improve their companions but the difficulty to control still applies.
If in the animal entry, an increase in HD is associated with a larger size, then the animal enlarges as it is advanced. This can be used on animals that would not normally be allowed to advance in the MM. An animal with a fractional HD can be advanced to a full HD, just use the above rules for 1 HD (note it will only take 3 weeks to train, since the animal should already have a feat).
An animal can only be improved by one hit die at a time.
One other option if the GM allows and you want a decent to powerful animal is to take Leadership and make the animal your cohort.
As for items that raise intelligence, frankly it would still have an animal intelligence. Most animal can learn to understand a limited vocabulary already. If it is magically increased for a while that vocabulary would be bigger, but not a true understanding of the language. If you want that you need the spell Awakening.
