Advancing Animal Companions

[HappyDaze]

When Animal Companions have a 4th or 7th level advance, they often have a new value listed for Natural Armor. Is this cumulative with the initial Natural Armor value?

For example, a Dinosaur (Deinonychus) starts with Natural Armour +2. At 7th level, it again lists Natural Armour +2, so would its base Natural Armor (before adjusting from Table 3-8) now be +4?

Also, under Animal Choices (page 53) it notes that all animal attacks are made at the animal's full base attack bonus unless otherwise noted and to add the animal's Strength modifier to damage unless it is its only attack, in which case it adds 1-1/2 its Strength modifier.

With the 7th level advance, the Dinosaur (Deinonychus) gains 2 Claws. In the Bestiary, these are secondary natural attacks (-5 penalty and 1/2 Strength modifier to damage) for the creature. Does this also apply to the animal companion version of the creature, or does the text on page 53 take priority making them primary natural weapons since its not noted to be otherwise?

[leo1925]

About the natural armor question.
You might want to check this thread, i had the same question and James Jacobs was kind enough to answer it.

[Heaven's Agent]

HappyDaze wrote:

With the 7th level advance, the Dinosaur (Deinonychus) gains 2 Claws. In the Bestiary, these are secondary natural attacks (-5 penalty and 1/2 Strength modifier to damage) for the creature. Does this also apply to the animal companion version of the creature, or does the text on page 53 take priority making them primary natural weapons since its not noted to be otherwise?

I'm not sure about the question itself. However, your example vails to note a very important difference. The deinonychus found in the Bestiary does not possess claw attacks, it has a foreclaws attack. Meanwhile, the animal companion version of the creature gains actual claw attacks. They are two separate things:

Claw attacks, such as those possessed by the animal companion deinonychus, are defined by the general rules as primary attacks. They are always treated as such.

Foreclaws, as possessed by the Bestiary version of the creature, are not predefined. That said, in this specific instance they are considered secondary natural attacks.

[Shar Tahl]

You need only look at the Companion entry, not anything about the creature's monster stat block. When it advances, you add everything listed to the base statistics. If it doesn't explicitly any of the attacks are secondary(like for horses), then it is primary