Celestial Servant Questions


Rules Questions

Grand Lodge

Celestial Servant turns your animal companion/familiar/mount into a celestial creature, which brings up some questions.

1) If brought to 3 intelligence or higher, can it speak, provided it has ranks in linguistics?

2) How does this effect a familiar that is a construct or evil outsider?

3) Does this change the companion's alignment?


blackbloodtroll wrote:

Celestial Servant turns your animal companion/familiar/mount into a celestial creature, which brings up some questions.

1) If brought to 3 intelligence or higher, can it speak, provided it has ranks in linguistics?

2) How does this effect a familiar that is a construct or evil outsider?

3) Does this change the companion's alignment?

1) Not necessarily. "Magical Beasts are similar to animals but can have Intelligence scores higher than 2 (in which case the creature knows at least one language, but can’t necessarily speak)."

While it understand a language, IMO it doesn't get the vocal cords enabling it to actually speak it.
However it can be ruled the other way around, seeking inspiration from Awaken, which specifically grants the animal the ability to speak (on the other hand that also grant a significantly higher int score).

2) Sucks to be them... Changing type would most often be more harmful than gainful. There is really no way to determine the effect on constructs, as they don't have any con-score.
RAI seem to be related to animals, and as a GM, I would need a specific reasoning for it to apply on a construct or evil outsider. If that was the case, we could probably work something out.

3) The Celestial template doesn't affect alignment. Per RAW there is no effect.
However, as above, being the GM I might have a problem with an evil creature getting the celestial template.

Grand Lodge

Well, the feat itself has no alignment requirement.

Does the feat allow you to treat your construct/outsider/undead companion as an animal or magical beast?

Does it change their type?


blackbloodtroll wrote:

Celestial Servant turns your animal companion/familiar/mount into a celestial creature, which brings up some questions.

1) If brought to 3 intelligence or higher, can it speak, provided it has ranks in linguistics?

2) How does this effect a familiar that is a construct or evil outsider?

3) Does this change the companion's alignment?

Celestial Servant wrote:
Your animal companion, familiar, or mount gains the celestial template and becomes a magical beast
Celestial template wrote:
Senses gains darkvision 60 ft.; Defensive Abilities gains damage reduction and energy resistance as noted on the table; SR gains spell resistance equal to new CR +5; Special Attacks smite evil 1/day as a swift action
So:
  1. No, it can't speak unless it could already do so.
  2. This one's tough. The Improved Familiar rule states "if the creature's type is something other than animal, its type does not change". But the Celestial Servant feat has no such stipulation. So RAW would mean they lose their Outsider or Construct qualities, and become Magical Beast. That's... well, that's pretty stupid. So I assume the intent is for them to keep their old creature type.
  3. It doesn't. So your Imp can now Smite its own Evil self.

Grand Lodge

How does this work if your familiar is already has the Fiendish template?


blackbloodtroll wrote:
How does this work if your familiar is already has the Fiendish template?

Per RAW they can stack, as nothing prohibits it...

Such a mixed heritage, for an otherwise unintelligent beast might need some explanation at my table.

Mechanically however, you won't get as much from the second template as from the first one.

Grand Lodge

Well, Fiendish familiars are quite intelligent.

The power to gain a celestial companion seems to come from the PC's celestial blood, not his beliefs or alignment.


VRMH wrote:

This one's tough. The Improved Familiar rule states "if the creature's type is something other than animal, its type does not change". But the Celestial Servant feat has no such stipulation. So RAW would mean they lose their Outsider or Construct qualities, and become Magical Beast. That's... well, that's pretty stupid. So I assume the intent is for them to keep their old creature type.

I would assume the intent was for the feat to apply to animals, without thought given to non-animal companions and familiars. The whole part of "you may still treat it as an animal..." strongly suggest it.

While RAW of changing type might be stupid, then same could be said about a celestial cacodaemon...


An Aasmir Alchemist with a Tumour familiar and celetrial servant would be another twist, it should work though.

Grand Lodge

Let's say, by RAW, it changes the familiar/companion's type, regardless of original type.

How does this work with familiars/companions without con scores?


blackbloodtroll wrote:

Well, Fiendish familiars are quite intelligent.

The power to gain a celestial companion seems to come from the PC's celestial blood, not his beliefs or alignment.

EDIT: I forgot the fact that familiars are intelligent.

If you are gunning for compatibility, you should consider a entropic celestial animal for smiting devils.
However, whether or not it is actually useful will depend on whether you rule that the smite damage is an effect related to number of hit dice, following: "For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher.".

If that is the case (I am currently undecided myself), the little bugger would be smiting the hell out of devils by dealing twice your level in additional damage.


I think it would just smite at your level, not both. I think it would also remain a construct, it would just be made of celestial materials. That would effect the template bonuses, but hey, its a weird combo.

Grand Lodge

Besides, evil Aasimar are cool.


blackbloodtroll wrote:

Let's say, by RAW, it changes the familiar/companion's type, regardless of original type.

How does this work with familiars/companions without con scores?

They'd get a Con score the moment they lose their old type and become Magical Beasts.

I've no idea what their Constitution would be though.

Grand Lodge

Some improved familiars have alignment restrictions, does this alter those?


As usual, look at the flavor text to see what the intent is. It's only meant to work on animals (in our sense of the word, not as the Type).

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Race Guide wrote:


Celestial Servant (Aasimar)

Rather than being a normal animal or beast, your companion or familiar hails from the heavenly realms.

Prerequisites: Aasimar, animal companion, familiar, or mount class feature.

Benefit: Your animal companion, familiar, or mount gains the celestial template and becomes a magical beast, though you may still treat it as an animal when using Handle Animal, wild empathy, or any other spells or class abilities that specifically affect animals.

So, what defines something as a "beast".

Just saying, the intent seems apparent, yet also vague.

Grand Lodge

Does this feat alter the familiar/animal companion/mount BAB or saves?


blackbloodtroll wrote:
Does this feat alter the familiar/animal companion/mount BAB or saves?

Yes, unless the description of the familiar/companion/mount imposes a specific progression. In case of a familiar, BAB and saves are the master's. So no luck there. But I'm too lazy to look up the details of ACs and bonded mounts - things might be different for them.

Grand Lodge

I would still like to know how this feat interacts with non-animal familiars/animal companions/mounts.

Would this provide vermin companions with an intelligence score?

Grand Lodge

Not a rules guy, but James Jacobs gives his opinion here.


Hey, as a beatmaster(druid) with multiple companions, how does this work? Do all my animals get the template or no?

Grand Lodge

Moonraider wrote:
Hey, as a Beastmaster(druid) with multiple companions, how does this work? Do all my animals get the template or no?

That is a good question.

The Exchange

when you read the feat in question it clearly states a singular target. so no a beastmaster druid would not get it on multiple companions. also a character with a companion and a familiar or any other combination has to pick which he will be targeting with this feat. but with multiple targets i could see someone taking this feat multiple times applying it to a different target each time.

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