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My friend has a Spider (Vermin) Companion.
To start, they are small, have a climb speed (+8 racial bonus), low STR (7) high DEX (17) and no ability to gain skill ranks. This adds up to a Climb bonus of +6?!?!
Shouldn't creatures with a climb speed be able to use the BETTER of Dexterity or Strength in determining climb ability? A spider that can only consistently make climb checks DC 16 is kinds of ... theme breaking.
Dude, it's a spider. If you're having it make climb checks just to stick to a wall, then you might be doing it wrong.
The strength check implies how well the spider can continue to adhere to a wall in less then optimal conditions. Consider any relatively smooth surface (wall, ceiling) to simply be normal ground for it. Only worry about the climb check in certain conditions where the spider can't rely on its natural clingy ability.
-Walking on ice.
-Someone attempts knock it off the wall/ceiling.
-Windy
-Flood-like conditions (relative to a small spider, not a person).
Remember this assumes the spider is of the clingy variety, there are some spider species that don't climb very well.
Just apply some common sense and wing it. It'll be fine.
I think your bonuses stack. If you have a climb speed, you get a +8 to climb for having a climb speed. On top of the +8 racial, that's +16 to start, then -2 strength penalty for +14. It only has to make climb checks for surfaces with DC's greater than 0.
Interestingly, spider swarm allows use of dex for climbing.
Common sense has no foundation against rules in a rules forum.
Further, the spider companion doesn't get +8 racial bonus to climb, the +8 is implied by having a climb speed; read the Climb skill description to verify.
Now, does anyone have an answer to the actual question I asked?
It sounds on target to me. your large dog sized spider can take 10 for a 16 to autosucceed on any climb at that DC or lower. It will technically get better at climbing as it levels, gaining higher points into STR from being an AniCom.
If you ever watch a spider building a web, they 'slip' a lot while laying the main web lines (no handholds, catch fall) and once they have those in, they move a lot more steadily (easy handholds) in equivalence.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Climb speed means you can take 10 on climb checks, so they can climb anything less than DC 16 without a roll.
If a vermin animal companion gains an ability score increase (at 4 Hit Dice, 8 Hit Dice, and so on), the druid can apply this increase to the companion's Intelligence, changing it from — to 1, at which point the companion loses the mindless quality and is able to know up to 3 tricks per point of Intelligence, plus the additional bonus tricks. Vermin companions have no skill points or feats as long as they have the mindless quality.
Basically when he hits 4th level, give him 1 INT and it can take ranks in climb.
Your spider has +8racial, +8from a climb speed, -2str = +14climb.
When taking 10 that is a +24. Pretty good. :)
Don't forget to have it use corners and/or opposing walls to reduce the DC of any climb check (-5 and -10 to the DC respectively).
- Gauss