It appears to me that the RAW make a Pseudodragon familiar have a lower INT and base Will save than one that isn't a familiar, so I decided to ask on here and get your opinions.
What is the starting Int & base Will save of a Pseudodragon familiar? Would it be the same as a normal Pseudodragon (Int 10; base Will +2) or the same as a 1st level familiar (Int 6; base Will +0)?
It seems stupid that it would be lower, but I don't see anything in the RAW saying that if the familiar's original stats are higher that you would use them instead of the normal familiar ones....
As a general concept, anything that the familiar's Master provides a familiar is 'if the familiar does not have better'. The entire familiar ability is written from the point of view of an animal familiar. It does not take into account Improved Familiars. Because of this you have to read a bit into the intent.
Base Saves are explicitly kept (see below) unless the Master's is better.
It retains the appearance, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, skills, and feats of the normal animal it once was, but is now a magical beast for the purpose of effects that depend on its type.
Saving Throws: For each saving throw, use either the familiar’s base save bonus (Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +0) or the master’s (as calculated from all his classes), whichever is better.
Note that the familiar's base save bonus above is that of a 1 HD animal. Most Improved Familiars will have different base saves.
Now, while intelligence is not listed in that, it would not make sense for the familiar to be 'dumbed down'. I would treat the intelligence as base saves and skill bonuses, ie. 'if the familiar does not have better'. This is just another case where Improved Familiar was not explicit enough in what changes it made to the normal familiar ability.
- Gauss