Monster Cohort Advancement

[Golarion Wizard Express]

If I take the leadership feat to gain a Pegasus as a Monster Cohort, how do I go about properly advancing that creature?

1. I am having issues figuring out the correct skill ranks for the normal Pegasus. It should have 8 ranks but I’m not getting that number due to how many ranks must be in Sense Motive as it isn’t a Magical Beast class skill.

2. Adding PC levels comes with the stat adjustments of (+4, +4, +2, +2, 0, -2) correct? This just happens whenever a PC class is added to a NPC creature?

3. Does my Pegasus gain Ability Score Increases every four levels or extra feats from leveling like a PC would? I assume not since I have no idea how the progression would work, other than perhaps using the class levels as the character levels.

4. Does the Pegasus gain the armor proficiencies of the PC class so it can have barding without needing to take a feat to wear armor?

Thanks for your help in advance. I’ve never used Leadership before. Not looking for optimization, but I definitely want accuracy.

[Diego Rossi]

Bestiary p. 316 wrote:

Appendix 6: Monster Cohorts

The Leadership feat (see Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook page 129) allows a character to gain a loyal cohort. With the GM’s approval, this cohort can be a similarly aligned monster rather than a humanoid with the appropriate
number of class levels. Monsters on the following list all work well as cohorts (be they bodyguards, mounts, assassins, etc.)—their effective cohort “level” corresponds to the level available to the PC as afforded
by his Leadership score.
A monster cohort gains experience points as if it were a character of its cohort level, and when it gains enough XP to advance a level, it should generally gain a key class level (fighter is often the best choice for most cohorts). You can use the monsters on the following table as guidelines when determining effective cohort levels for monsters not on this list.

Pegasus 6

1)It seems to have 13 skill points, like it had intelligence 12.

2) No. Not included in the cohort abilities. The rules on page 297 are for creating monsters, not cohorts.

3) It increases a stat every 4 HD, and gains a feat every 2 HD. That is valid regardless of how you get the HD.
Then you get what the class gives.

4) I think so, but check what penaltis it will gets to its fly skill.

[Golarion Wizard Express]

Diego Rossi wrote:

1)It seems to have 13 skill points, like it had intelligence 12.

2) No. Not included in the cohort abilities. The rules on page 297 are for creating monsters, not cohorts.

3) It increases a stat every 4 HD, and gains a feat every 2 HD. That is valid regardless of how you get the HD.
Then you get what the class gives.

4) I think so, but check what penaltis it will gets to its fly skill.

1. I calculate 11 skill ranks. But it should only get 8 right?

It has a +5 to fly, which is a class skill. A large creature takes a -2 penalty to fly. So it would need to be 2 (dex) + 2 (ranks) + 3 (class skill) -2 (large) to get a 5. It would need 1 (wis) + 3 (ranks) + 3 (class skill) + 4 (racial) to get +11 perception. Finally 6 ranks to get a +7 sense motive. Right? So 11 total ranks. But how? Magical beasts get 2 + int each hit die and a Pegasus has a zero int modifier and 4 HD. How does it get the rest?

2. Okay. I had seen other posts on Reddit and other forums where people said monster cohorts did in fact get this stat adjustments (and that they don’t really make up for the weakness inherent to choosing a monster cohort) but wasn’t sure if there was an explicit rule that said one way or the other.

3. Okay. Good to know.

4. Id probably bump up its ranks in fly however much I needed to compensate. Would only be looking at light armor anyways I think.

[Lelomenia]

You can’t have more ranks in a skill than HD; so 6 ranks of something isn’t possible. Pegasus appears to have 3 ranks Sense Motive, 3 Perception, 2 Fly, grand total 8 ranks with Sense Motive incorrectly handled as a Class Skill.

I would assume when you add class levels to a Monstrous Cohort you make the standard ability adjustments, barring language to the comtrary.

[Golarion Wizard Express]

Yeah you make a good point about HD and ranks on Sense Motive. So, I guess a Pegasus gets Sense Motive as a class skill as a special thing then. Only explanation I can think of since your math works perfectly by making it so.