Thanks @Garran and @Absol197 for your responses! They are very helpful. @Absol197 you mentioned Survival of the Fittest, and I had a related question today that I think your detailed write up answered. Specifically a Hermit with Survival of the Fittest, Force Rating 3, and 4 ranks of Survival would still NOT be able to bond a Silhouette 2 animal companion, correct? My reasoning is that since Survival of the Fittest doesn't actually increase your Force Rating, you wouldn't have Force Rating 4 at the time of bonding the animal.

My apologies if this has already been asked and answered elsewhere. The Search function for the forums was not very useful for finding the answer if it was. My question: can a player commit dice up to his max Force Rating if it is temporarily boosted by a talent or item (e.g., Knowledge is Power, Survival of the Fittest, Unstable Kyber Crystal)? All of these talents boost your Force Rating for one check, but can you commit that many Force dice at the end of the check to maintain an ongoing effect, even if the character's Force Rating would revert back to normal at the end of the check? TIA!