This is important for my character because he'd like to take the feat that treats your Animal Companion and your Familiar as one and the same, but have only one feat available.
And are they CG or NG?
Are Tressyms statted out in another 3.x source?
Sandstorm includes the Tressym as a 1st-tier animal companion for Druids and Rangers, if that helps.
A Ranger PC in one of my games recently gained a Tressym animal companion. These are some pics I found around the net:
(from the FRCS 2e)
I prefer the illustration in the Campaign Setting, a few pages after its entry. Less cutesy.
My post was to be snarky. I suppose I should have written the /snark into my post. :D
AWWW, SO CUTE!!!! I just wanna take it home, make it my familiar and teach it how to immolate my enemies with fire Winged cats originated, IIRC, in the Al-Qadim monstrous compendium. They were later merged with tressym in 2E's monstrous manual.
All the said, the most official version of them is the Lost Empires version because it is the last and supercedes (and was clearly intended to do so) the other versions. And that said, you can make them whatever you want.
I know, right? Don't you just wanna grab it, and love it, and squeeze it, and never ever let it go?!? All it needs is a bell tied to its tail for extra CUTENESS!
anyways ... 
I'm gonna go watch ESPN now.
I know, right? Don't you just wanna grab it, and love it, and squeeze it
...and call him George. No wait, that's rabbits. Nvm.
Well dark and low-light vision hardly seems the reason to upgrade it from animal, but thanks for the additional sources. I prefer the illustration in the Campaign Setting, a few pages after its entry. Less cutesy.
I missed that, thanks. "Rothe (the big animal); Tressym (the small one)" I never would guessed.
And these pics here are the fan-made kitten versions, not necessarily representative of the full-grown animal. :P
18DELTA (Chosen of Cyric, who loves Kitties!)
Though I will agree that the one from the 3e FRCS is the best drawing I've seen of them so far.
3 guesses what I named him! :D 18DELTA (Chosen of......) :P
2: Empty
3: Dark & Empty
Try again. :P 18DELTA (Chosen of...........................................Cyric)
-Hmm...
1: Shar
2: Mask
3: Cale
18DELTA (Chosen of Cyric!) ;)
2. Tressym
3. Fireclave
no. ;) 18DELTA (Here is a hint, it starts with the Letter C) :D
(Here is a hint, it starts with the Letter C) :D
I got it! It's Cat. Yup, Cat the cat.
psst! ... 18DELTA, what say we go drink to our gods' brilliant plan to whack Mystra?
angelus_obscura (First Son of Mother Dark) ;)
I got it! It's Cat. Yup, Cat the cat.
-I know someone with a cat named Cat.
-To get a bit more on topic, in a game I am in, our characters met a flock...a herd...a pack...a wing of Tressym, and stopped a poacher from capturing them. We sent them on their way, but now I want one...
Winged cats are actually a real thing, though it's always a serious medical condition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_cat
KITTY!!!!!
angelus_obscura (Chosen of Shar; keeper of my secret
Show
I loves me kitty.
I got it! It's Cat. Yup, Cat the cat.
-Ding, ding, ding we have a winner folks! ;) Cat, the cat. :P
18DELTA (Chosen of Cat the Cat!) :D
-Now I want one.
I've always wanted one.
Delta, Congratulations on your new arrival.
Thats what I named the cat, in honor of "KID" from "Crypt of the Moaning Diamond".18DELTA (Chosen of Cyric)
-Little dude Kid gives me love nibbles on my toes daily. I will be trying to sleep and Kid will attack my feet. Playful scrawny thing. I am working on the scrawny part. Kid is starting to fill out because he eats so much! :D Its funny when Kid starts to chase the big fat Jabba the Hutt cat we got. I didnt realize how fat or pleasingly plump she is. My dog will get in my lap and bark at Kid. Scarey old dog. So Kid will chase him around. :D
18DELTA (Kid brings joy to my life)
I've aways found the monster entries in 3E confusing, particularly when it comes to monster skills. Going with the latest printed edition in Lost Empires, the Skills line says: Balance +12, Climb +4, Hide +16 (+20 in tall grass or trees in leaf*), Listen +3, Move Silently +8, Spot +2
Then in the description, it states: Skills: A tressym receives a +8 racial bonus on Balance checks and a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. It uses its Dexterity modifi er for Climb checks. *In areas of tall grass or trees in leaf, the tressym’s Hide bonus rises to +8.
Looking at Balance then, he has a +8 racial bonus and the total in the block says +12. Where does the extra 4 come from? Skill points spent ala a character?
There is a Move Silently +4 racial as well, and the block states +8, another difference of 4.
Hide is actually easier to understand but still unclear. the total in the block is +16/+20*. The racial bonus in the description is +4/+8*. The * stat is in tall grass or green trees. That's a different of 12.
So are all these base skill points "spent" by the monster type at its base hit dice as listed? And I presume I get to add skill points to these stats as class skills at full instead of half as it increases Hit Dice, as Animal Companions or Familiar Companions do.
Every monster with racial HD gets skill points due to those HD. Class skills are either mentioned in the entry, under the general type, or I think are whatever the monster spent its points in.
As a Magical Beast, the Tressym gets 2 skill points per die, times 4 for its first. It has Intelligence 12, +1. So it has (2 + 1)*4 = 12 skill points it can spend. It's Tiny, so it gets a +8 to Hide.
The skills bought seem to be: Balance 2, Climb 2, Hide 2, Move Silently 2. Total 8. EDIT: I miscounted earlier, it's correct now. But still a little short.
I can't explain the Listen 2 and Spot 1 though.
Perhaps some points were spent cross-class.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q
:D :D :D