I'm using D&D v3.5. What should happen when a template that is both (1) applicable to any living creature and (2) includes an Intelligence bonus is added to a mindless creature? Say for instance a half-green dragon giant praying mantis. As a half-dragon, the creature would benefit from a +2 bonus to Intelligence and would gain skill points as a dragon for it's racial hit dice, but the base creature has no Intelligence score.
Does a creature with a nonability for Intelligence gain the template's increase as though its Intelligence score were starting at 0, or would the bonus to Intelligence be lost on the base creature and remain mindless?
I didn't see any rules explicitly covering this but I might have missed something. Do the rules as written cover this case, and if not how should I handle it? Please support non-RAW answers by including an analysis of the pros/cons of your solution.