Staves, Swords and having no hands

[MainHeroProtagonist]

I have a question that I never thought would be pertinent, but can a unicorn actually wield any type of hand requiring item? One of my players has one as a cohort and the question of rods, wands, swords and staves are coming up. I could just 'my little pony' this and say they just use their mouth, but was there any other printed solution? Even a flumph has tentacles. Also, side note: most of the 'horse' magic items specifically stipulate that they enhance 'animals'. Does the unicorn count for that? What magic item slots have they even got if that isn't the case?

[Heather 540]

Quadrupeds with hooves have these slots: armor, belt (saddle), chest, eyes, feet (horseshoes), head, headband, neck, shoulders.

Also, my last GM allowed for rings to be used as legbands for my animal companion. Still only allowed for 2, same as regular rings. That's a houserule though and not RAW.

And I'm pretty sure that unicorns can be effected by animal-effecting spells and items. Not 100% about it though. Either way, they have the same bodyshape as horses so they have the same item slots. And no, they can't wield items with their mouths.

[Derklord]

Here are the full rules on the subject, they should answer most of your questions.

MainHeroProtagonist wrote:

Also, side note: most of the 'horse' magic items specifically stipulate that they enhance 'animals'. Does the unicorn count for that?

Strictly RAW, no, although this is a case of the rules being written with only animal companions (and class features like that, e.g. a Cavalier's Mount) in mind - the words "horse" and even "animal" in descriptions like Horseshoes of a Zephyr's don't appear to be meant as rule keywords, but rather mere descriptive words. Indeed, the rules linked above say "a hoofed quadruped can wear horseshoes of a zephyr", and a unicorn clearly qualifies as "a hoofed quadruped".

[Diego Rossi]

Derklord wrote:

Here are the full rules on the subject, they should answer most of your questions.

MainHeroProtagonist wrote:

Also, side note: most of the 'horse' magic items specifically stipulate that they enhance 'animals'. Does the unicorn count for that?

Strictly RAW, no, although this is a case of the rules being written with only animal companions (and class features like that, e.g. a Cavalier's Mount) in mind - the words "horse" and even "animal" in descriptions like Horseshoes of a Zephyr's don't appear to be meant as rule keywords, but rather mere descriptive words. Indeed, the rules linked above say "a hoofed quadruped can wear horseshoes of a zephyr", and a unicorn clearly qualifies as "a hoofed quadruped".

Unless they are specifically made for a different creature, I would limit the Horseshoes of a Zephyr to animals with hooves similar to those of a horse. A unicorn is often depicted with cloven hooves. The Bestiary depiction has horse hooves.

[MainHeroProtagonist]

Finally, source answers. The unicorn can't wield a Staff of Healing, but at least it still has an ingrown +3 aligned weapon that it can use. And horseshoes.