wilcoxon wrote:
I agree with toodeep. For attributes where you use the animal's in place of your own, I would expect you to get the full effect (powerful attribute, natural armor, powerful attack, etc). If the spell simply gives you some sort of augmentation (rather than the full animal attribute) then I would not expect any traits to apply.
Well, it is also a way to just say this thing is different than every other creature in some specific way. I mean, you generally take the base d8, d6, or whatever template in some way, and then apply traits and talents to make a bull different than a alligator, right? They might both start as a d8 creature, but then you say, "well a bull is really strong, give it the powerful attribute might, and the alligator has a really big bite, so give it powerful attack bite. It's what the creature is. You're saying that if you take the might of a bull it will be the same as taking its quickness because it's a d8 creature? One takes the might of a bull because its what it is known for, which mean the powerful attribute should be factored in. Otherwise, what you get attribute wise will be pretty much straight d8's, since that what animals get without traits, which is pretty boring.
Plus, if you don't factor in the traits, you can't ever get natural armor from a creature, because that appears to always be gained from traits.