Animal companion skeleton

[Braininthejar]

If I cast animate dead on a killed animal companion, what stats should I use as the base stats for the skeleton?

1 The base stats for an animal of this species/size?
2 the stats the animal had before it died (since all its HD are 'animal' dice) ?

Also, a related question I hadn't considered. A skeleton loses most special qualities, except those that augment its meleee attacks.
Would a skeletal tiger retain its grab and pounce abilities?

[Joynt Jezebel]

I don't know a specific rule on raising animal companions, but if you raise a human or other character race you will get a basic skeleton regardless of the deceased's level. By the same logic you would get a skeleton of a normal animal of it's species and size.

As to your second question, I believe the answer is yes.

[Mysterious Stranger]

The abilities of an animal companion are class features of the class that grants the animal companion. Once they are dead or dismissed they lose any of those abilities. So, an animated animal companion will have the base abilities of the type of animal it is and does not get any of the abilities of an animal companion including HD.

The skeleton template specifically states the skeleton loses all special attacks but retains the natural weapons. Grab is listed under weapon, but the description of grab states it is a special attack. Pounce and rake are also special attacks. So, to a skeletal tiger does lose grab and pounce.

[Braininthejar]

So it looks like everyone agrees on the first answer

But I get contradictory answers on the second one.

[Pizza Lord]

The owlbear skeleton seems to maintain its grab on claw attacks. The advanced megaraptor skeleton seems to keep pounce and the multiplying T-Rex skeleton appears to keep its powerful bite.

[Mysterious Stranger]

Special Attacks: A skeleton retains none of the base creature's special attacks.

[Diego Rossi]

Pizza Lord wrote:

The owlbear skeleton seems to maintain its grab on claw attacks. The advanced megaraptor skeleton seems to keep pounce and the multiplying T-Rex skeleton appears to keep its powerful bite.

Mysterious Stranger wrote:

Special Attacks: A skeleton retains none of the base creature's special attacks.

The Owbeal grab ability isn't listed in the Special Attack row of the monster description.

The T-Rex Powerful Bite is an EX Special Quality that improves the melee attack, and those are retained.

Quote:

Special Qualities: A skeleton loses most special qualities of the base creature. It retains any extraordinary special qualities that improve its melee or ranged attacks.

The megaraptor is a larger form of the Deinonychus, and those have Pounce as a SA.

Just to add confusion:

Universal monsters rules wrote:

Grab (Ex)
Source Bestiary 6 pg. 294, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary pg. 301, Bestiary 2 pg. 297, Bestiary 3 pg. 295, Bestiary 4 pg. 295, Bestiary 5 pg. 294

If the creature hits with the indicated attack, it deals the normal amount of damage and tries to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity
...
Creatures with the grab special attack receive a +4 bonus on combat maneuver checks to start and maintain a grapple.

The first part treats Grab as part of the attack, the latter as a SA.

Paizo authors haven't been constant in applying the template (what a surprise), and even the monster's descriptions don't treat Grab in a consistent way.

The best way to evaluate if a creature should keep an attack ability or not is to compare the creature supposed CR as a skeleton and the Monster Creation tables. Skeletons have fixed CR based on HDs. If the ability pushes them outside of the suggested damage for their CR they shouldn't retain the ability. Or the CR should be adjusted.

I think this will not be of great help for Braininthejar as it is more useful for GM when s/he makes an opponent, not for PCs animating a skeleton.