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As per title, I'm wondering whether the Gigantic Steed ability of the Mammoth Rider grants your mount all the benefits of a size increase, namely +8 Str. In fact, the text of the ability is:

A mammoth rider's steed increases to Huge size. [...] It also gains a +2 size bonus to its Strength and Constitution.

And then the bonuses to Str and Con increase over time with the Mammoth Rider class. So, for example, a standard Mastodon companion has a base str of 24, so by becoming Huge its str goes up to 26 (and then there are all the size modifiers to CMB, CMD, AC, Attack, etc). Am I correct?

Finally, I recall that a size increase from large to huge means +8 str, but I can't find any confirmation in the books. Right now all I have is Animal Growth's text and the fact that PCGen gives it a +8 str. Is there any standard reference for the matter?

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Huge creatures do not get a strength bonus because of size in Pathfinder.

The monster creation guidelines show that strength varies based on the desired CR of a creature. While bigger creatures have bigger average Strength, there is no strength bonus for being large.

The theoretical Mastadon's strength would increase from 24 to 26.

You might be remembering a +8 attack bonus that Huge creatures had in D&D 3.5.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks a lot. That's what I was thinking. This also means that the size rules implementation in PCGen is bugged. \$\endgroup\$
    – luvemil
    Aug 25, 2015 at 13:42
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    \$\begingroup\$ @luvemil Note that, even in 3.5, the increase in Strength from getting bigger applied only to creatures who got bigger as a result of HD Advancement. Any other source of getting larger did not automatically apply that increase, and would have to specify what increase to Strength, if any, the creature saw. Compare the effects of enlarge person and righteous might, for example. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Aug 25, 2015 at 14:28
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https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/monster-advancement/ this points out a different look...maybe it's new since then but this would then be considered a clarification. There is str gained when size changed. Plus since its an (Ex) "extraordinary" ability, it is not of magical means either. From my understanding means it can stack with spells.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Welcome to the site! Take the tour. Your answer is kind of hard to understand. Is this meant as a separate answer to the question, or did you mean to comment on an existing answer? \$\endgroup\$
    – MikeQ
    Jul 29, 2020 at 19:44
  • \$\begingroup\$ Pretty sure those rules are from the original Bestiary, and are specifically for making existing critters tougher, rather than being general guidelines for what happens when critter details change. \$\endgroup\$
    – YogoZuno
    Jul 29, 2020 at 20:55

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