In the Cavalier Mounts splat book, there are several mindless vermin that the Cavalier can take. The campaign we're starting is going to take place primarily underground, so a typical horse or dog isn't going to work. My player really wants to ride a spider, which I have no problem with.
So, the splat book states that these animal companions should only be used for the Cavalier, since they are domestic animals and not suited for the Ranger's or Druid's purpose. The issue I'm having is the spider is mindless (- INT) which means the spider gets no feats, no skills, and only 1-2 tricks. The Cavalier states that the mount is always considered Combat Trained and gains Light Armor Prof as a bonus feat. RAW it appears that the mount isn't combat trained and doesn't gain the benefit of the feat. Plus, it appears the mount won't gain any feats or skills until lvl 4 when they gain an INT score, meaning they miss out on a few feats and skills. I'm trying to figure out how to fix this issue.
I have several ideas:
1) Training collar: A mindless creature wearing this collar is considered to have an INT 2.
2) Give the spider the lvl 4 +2 INT bonus at lvl 1. Possibly rework WIS to an 8 and give +2 WIS at lvl 4.
3) Claim the mount is specially trained and gains Combat Training and Light Armor as long as it's being ridden. Don't know how to work Handle Animal in this situation when not riding the spider. Either the spider will gain feats/skills but not benefit, retroactively gain all feats and skills when it reaches lvl 4, or just gains the feats/skills from lvl 4 onwards missing out on a lot of good stuff.
Personally, I think the first idea works the best. Looking for other options and opinions on my thoughts.
