Question on giving an owlbear an intelligence boosting item.

[TheCIASentMe]

So, lets say we give an owlbear cub a headband (or collar?) of intellect. That headband has the skill linguistics with common and a couple other languages associated.

How does this affect training said owlbear? It would be as intelligent as a chimera (int 4) which has the entry:

"They are too stupid and belligerent to acquire followers, though sometimes a tribe of kobolds might give them offerings. Conversely, they are just intelligent and stubborn enough that they make poor pets, and only a significantly more powerful creature can keep them submissive. They may form equal partnerships with a respectful humanoid or similar creature, and even consent to be used as a mount."

Owlbears are Neutral while chimera are chaotic evil. So there is that. But would it still cost 2000GP to train and raise this owlbear cub? Would we even use the handle animal skill since it is now intelligent and can speak?

[VonGonda]

There is a good chance it will not have the power to speak even with the headband. The headband does not change their anatomy.

And here is a blog about this topic.

http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/tags/animals/v5748dyo5lc1y#discuss

[TheCIASentMe]

Thank you for that link. And yes you are correct that the owlbear wouldn't be able to speak. Thank you for pointing that out to me.

However the Owlbear is a magical beast, not an animal. That link is in regards to animals. Jason Bulmahn even pointed out "The rules leave no room for an animal to gain intelligence without somehow transforming into a magical beast, which comes with a whole host of changes."

But the question then boils down to, are animals and magical beasts of sufficiently low intelligence the same with regards to sentience? There is some credence against that concept within the current rules. For example, the awaken spell changes the animal to a magical beast implying that magical beasts do gain the ability for sentience.

[David Thomassen]

Magical Beast "Magical beasts are similar to animals but can have Intelligence scores higher than 2 (in which case the magical beast knows at least one language, but can't necessarily speak). Magical beasts usually have supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but are sometimes merely bizarre in appearance or habits. A magical beast has the following features...
Skill points equal to 2 + Int modifier (minimum 1) per Hit Die. The following are class skills for magical beasts: Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Perception, Stealth, Swim."
So I would assume they follow Animal rules unless otherwise stated - raising the intelligence of an animal does not remove the need for handle animal roles to perform tricks.
Also look at the last but one paragraph for the Owlbear "While it is considered impossible to truly domesticate owlbears due to their feral natures, they can still be used as guardians if contained within an area but allowed to roam and hunt freely there. Professional animal trainers charge up to 2,000 gp to rear or train an owlbear into a serviceable guardian that can obey simple commands (DC 23 for a juvenile creature; DC 30 for a fully grown adult)."

[VonGonda]

I would say no to the magic beasts = sentience. Look at a shocker lizard. That little monster is simply a lizard that will shock the crap out of you.

[drennier]

I'll throw one into the hat here. What happens when a Druid/Ranger uses his animal's stat boost on Int bringing it up to a 3? Does an animal just transform into a magical beast?

[Sir Morgan of Devil's Perch]

drennier wrote:

I'll throw one into the hat here. What happens when a Druid/Ranger uses his animal's stat boost on Int bringing it up to a 3? Does an animal just transform into a magical beast?

How about a Heavy Horse:

Pathfinder Bestiary page 177 wrote:

Heavy Horse: A heavy

horse gains the advanced simple template.

Pathfinder Bestiary page 294 wrote:

Advanced Creature (CR +1)

Creatures with the advanced template are fiercer and more powerful than their ordinary cousins.
Quick Rules: +2 on all rolls (including damage rolls)and special ability DCs; +4 to AC and CMD; +2 hp/HD.
Rebuild Rules: AC increase natural armor by +2; Ability Scores +4 to all ability scores.

Perhaps we can just apply some good sense and make up our own minds.

[Kydeem de'Morcaine]

Sir Morgan of Devil's Perch wrote:

...Perhaps we can just apply some good sense ...

HERESY ! ! !

BURN THE HERETIC ! ! ! ! ! !

[TheCIASentMe]

Regarding the Heavy Warhorse and the Animal companion. That was already gone over in the link that VonGonda posted. In short, they do not change from animal and do not gain any languages known.