-
FREQUENCY: Rare
(temperate
woodlands, away from human habitation)
FREQUENCY: Rare ([Temperate
Wilderness Hills]) <hills=x?> <technically, they should be found
in temperate wilderness forests!>
NO. APPEARING: 2-5
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 24”
HIT DICE: 4
+ 4
%IN LAIR: 5%
TREASURETYPE: X
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
~ 15 (hoof) /
15 (hoof) /
13(horn)
| or (if
charging) | 1
~ 13 (horn
only, no hooves)
<>
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6
/
1-6
/
1-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charge
(2-24),
surprise on
1-5
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune
to poison,
senses enemies at 24", teleport,
saves
as 11th level magic-user
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See
below
INTELLIGENCE: Average
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic
good
SIZE: L
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V
| 400 + 5
Unicorns dwell only in temperate
woodlands, away from human habitation.
These fierce but good
creatures shun contact with all creatures except
sprites,
dryadsand
the like.
ENCOUNTER (SURPRISE
= 1-5): They move very silently and surprise opponents on a 1-5.
<no
encounter (unicorns AVOIDS) if not sprite, dryad, etc.>
ENCOUNTER (ALERT = x): A
unicorn always senses the approach of an enemy at 24“ distance.
<ALERT = X. alicorn QUEST?>
ENCOUNTER.TALK: They speak
their own language.
Elven
and human maids of pure heart and good alignment may sometimes (25%) tame
unicorns for use as steeds, and such are faithful, obedient mounts.
<UA, theory.
TALK
if active character is elf female or human female && not married
(display=married: see UA, ceremony) && good
then if TALK reaction = enthusiastically friendly (96+ : see DMG.63), then
...>
Charge: When a unicorn charges into combat it does not strike with its two front hooves, but its horn strikes for double damage (2-24).
Immune to Poison: Naturally, the unicorn is not subject to poison.
Saves as MU 11: Unicorns
make all saving throws as if they were magic-users of the 11th level.
<edit, replace with SAVES:
ppdm:11 | pop: 9 | rsw: 7
| bw: 11 | s: 8>
<in the statblock, this
goes under SPECIAL DEFENSES>
Magic Resistance:
They cannot be charmed or held by magic.
Death spells do not affect
them.
<edit, place Immune to
charm, hold, death>
Alicorn: Because the
unicorn is magical, its horn gains a bonus of +2 on “to hit” dice, <make
note: able to hit creatures only hit by + 2 or better magic weapons?>
and possession of a unicorn
horn is a sovereign remedy against all forms of poison, gas included.
Teleportation: Once
per day unicorns are able to use a teleportation spell of limited distance
-- a dimension door -- to appear
up to 36” away from their former position.
They may so teleport with
a rider on their back.
Lair: Unicorns lair in open dells, their warded treasure kept in a nearby hollow tree, rocky niche, etc.
The unicorn is the sacred animal of Frey.
Q: Can a ring
of regeneration restore
a female character?s maidenhood?
Could this be done well
enough to
fool a unicorn?
A, Regenerating maidenhood:
Sorry,
unicorns know their maidens
too well to
be fooled. Under certain
circumstances, a
ring of regeneration can
restore the?
ahem?physical aspects of
a lady?s maidenhood.
A ring of regeneration can
restore
any damage or appendage
loss if it occurs
while the ring is worn.
For example, if a
character wearing a ring
of regeneration
loses a finger, the ring
will eventually
restore the finger. However,
if the character
loses the finger and then
dons the ring,
the finger isn?t regrown.
In a similar vein,
a ring of regeneration can?t
be passed
from character to character
to provide a
party with cheap healing.
Damage that
exists before the ring is
put on is not restored.
Note that a clerical regenerate
spell
can restore a lost limb
at any time. In any
case, maidenhood is a state
of being. Once
it is lost, it is lost forever,
regeneration
notwithstanding.
(156.55)
<headings>
<a better quality reproduction
(lighter, no barcode) of the above is the image that should technically
be used>
The ecology
of the unicorn
By Roger Moore
APPENDIX
Unicorns are also known as alicorns,
monocorns, and have the technical name
of monoceros in sages’
texts.
Awe: If desired, the awe effect
of seeing a
unicorn may be simulated by giving them
a charismatic power that causes all crea-
tures and beings with less than one HD
to be rendered immobile upon seeing
one for 1-3 rounds; more powerful crea-
tures will be able to act normally, but
the
sight of a unicorn will still affect them
deeply in some manner. Good beings will
love and admire them, neutral ones will
seek to control or capture them, and evil
ones usually hate them, for the unicorn’s
beauty reminds them of the ugliness of
their souls.
Immunities: Unicorns may be treated
as having a 25 WIS for purposes of immunity
to
charm and hold spells or powers, as per
the DDG™ Cyclopedia;
animal
friendship, snare, trip, and
sleep spells, as well as any other
enchantment/charm spells, do not
affect
them either.
They will note a hallucinatory forest for
the illusion that it is.
Being immune to death spells covers all
enchantment/charm, conjuration/sum-
moning, or necromantic spells that cause
death with or without saving throws
(including finger of death, destruction,
symbol of death, and power word, kill).
Cleric Spell: If desired, a unicorn
may be able (once
per day or less often than that) to simu-
late one beneficial clerical spell of
any
level with a touch of its horn.
The effect
of this touch will take place instantly.
Unicorns will only use this power if
another creature or being is in extremis;
DMs should use this power with care.
Dimension
Door: The dimension door power of a uni-
corn will only rarely be used, but it
takes
effect instantly at the unicorn’s desire.
A
unicorn could, for instance, vanish just
a
moment before being struck by an arrow
or weapon if it was aware of the object’s
approach, and could even evade a fireball
as it travelled on its way.
The druid spell call
woodland beings is
not considered a charm-type spell;
it does
not put the unicorn under any compul-
sion to obey the druid, any more than
any
other creature called must obey the druid.
A summoned unicorn will be aware that
a druid is “calling” for assistance and
may decide to help (represented by the
save vs. spell). In no case will a
unicorn approach nearer than 24” from
a
druid if the presence of any enemy (an
evil character or a hunter of unicorns)
is
sensed, and a unicorn will dimension
door away if necessary to escape a trap.
Interestingly, lower-level druids have
a
marginally better chance to summon a
unicorn for aid (using call woodland
beings) than higher-level druids; this
says
something (indirectly, at least) about
the
unicorn. The way the spell is moderated,
a lower-level druid has a better chance
of
failing to attract those woodland crea-
tures mentioned ahead of the unicorn on
the list, which means the chances for
that
druid to succeed in calling a unicorn
(the
last entry in the sequential list of possible
creatures) are correspondingly better.
And
in the long run, a unicorn is more liable
to heed the summons of a lower-level
druid because (a) the druid is relatively
more likely to need help and (b) a lower-
level druid would not be seen as much
of
a potential threat to a creature as power-
ful and versatile as the unicorn.
–for Cassandra and all the others, with our love
-
“You would know about the unicorn?”
asked the dryad.
Her green eyes widened.
“You are a hunter?”
After I assured her that I bore no weap-
ons or armor, and sought to learn about
the unicorn for my own curiosity, the
dryad looked at me with head tilted.
“Most of the mortal folk hunt the Free
One for its horn, the magical horn, they
would slay it, take its horn, iron in
their
hands and ice in their hearts, and we
who
loved it are left with the body, such
is the
way of the mortal folk. Long the Free
One runs, far the Free One travels, deep
the Free One hides from the mortal folk.
The horn is its heart as the unicorn is
the
forest’s heart, would you run if mortals
chased you for your heart?” In such a
way
did the dryad speak, her words and sen-
tences running together like water in
a
stream.
I bowed my head to hear this; I was not
a killer. It seemed the dryad saw this:
she
bade me sit with her on a mossy stone
for
a while, and she told me of the unicorn.
The unicorn, she said, is many things.
No two people will see the same unicorn,
though one may be seen by many. Mor-
tals see it and call it shy, fierce, proud,
free, the spirit of magic, the spirit
of
unconformity, the symbol of purity,
truth, change, goodness, chaos, inno-
cence, grace, beauty, secrecy, and a thou-
sand other things. There is truth in each
of these, but each of them alone is not
enough, and all the words that could be
spoken would not a unicorn describe.
To human eyes the unicorn is less like
a horned horse than is generally believed;
it is smaller and more graceful than a
horse, and far more beautiful. Unicorns
are generally white
in color, though some
claim to have seen gray,
black,
silver
and
gold ones,
and one or two adventurers
speak of spotted ones. Their horns are
most often a mother-of-pearl color, giv-
ing off a rainbow of hues in the sunlight;
again, there are reports of silver, gold,
and black horns as well. The cloven
hooves of the creature are gray or silver.
All unicorns have a wild silken mane that
flashes in the wind as they run, a tail
like
a lion or wild boar, and a beard like
a
goat. Some
say, though, that the strangest
part of a unicorn is its eyes, for they
are
many colors at once and change even as
one looks at them. No one can well
remember the color of a unicorn’s eyes.
You will find in the world learned
sages who tell you the unicorn is not
exceptionally bright, and that if you
could converse with one you would get
little more than if you’d spoken with
an
average man who had lived in the woods
all of his life. Yet little do mortal
folk
know of what a unicorn truly thinks.
They are older than the calendars most
mortals keep, and wiser than most sages.
Their knowledge is not of building fires
and laying stone, but of the nature of
liv-
ing things, the wisdom learned from
watching the stars pass in the night,
the
endless cycle of nature repeated again
and
again yet differently every time. They
know what is in the heart of a man or
a
woman, and can read meaning into the
turn of the wind, the fall of a leaf,
the
sigh of a child, meanings no one else
knows. Dearly they love secrets, and
dearly they keep them.
It may be said that a unicorn lives for
itself. It will defend its wood and its
friends, but it exists for its own sake
and
serves no one but its own will. Even
magic is powerless to control them; their
wildness is too great to be constrained
by
a dweomer. They eat when it pleases
them and sleep when they like; they feast
on tender grasses and honeysuckle, sweet
roots and bark, and some say they can
draw energy from drinking the winds if
they need. It is known that the best place
to see a unicorn is near a still pond,
for
they love to look at themselves reflected
therein; a vanity, perhaps, but they are
entitled to it as well as anyone.
It is true, too, that unicorns are strong.
Theirs is an endless strength; they may
run for days without tiring at full speed,
passing the winds and flashing through
even the densest forest growth. “Chasing
the unicorn,” the common folk say when
they mean someone is wasting time;
“catching a unicorn,” they say of some-
one doing the impossible.
The powers of the unicorn’s horn are
debated by serf and king alike. It is
known that unicorns cannot be poisoned,
and that the horn will protect a man,
though to lesser effect, from toxins of
all
kinds. Yet there are always tales of other,
hidden magicks that the horn can per-
form. A ranger will remember a unicorn
coming upon him as he lay dying in the
woods of a goblin’s arrow; the unicorn
but touches the infected wound and it
is
healed at once. A lost child, when found,
will tell of seeing a “one-horned deer”
who cured his sicknesses from eating wild
mushrooms or berries with a tap of its
horn, then guided the child home again.
There is even a legend that two lovers,
chased into a forest by their enraged
fami-
lies, fell from a low cliff and one of
them
was slain; the survivor would have died
of
grief but heard a low sound, and beheld
a
unicorn coming, who touched the other
one once and restored the lost one to
life
before fleeing. What can be made of all
this is beyond even the sages to say;
but
clearly, one should never take a unicorn
for granted.
A unicorn runs more like a deer than a
horse, travelling in great leaps that
clear
the height of a man at times. Because
of
their speed, there are precious few crea-
tures who will ever get close to one with-
out its permission, and fewer still since
unicorns have a magical intuition about
the approach of anyone who has evil
thoughts or has the intention of harming
them. Unicorns avoid all but those of
good heart and those who love the forests;
the rest see little more than their tails
flicking as they leap into the distance,
and often they will see nothing of them
at
all; unicorns love to hide and can be
more
quiet than an empty cathedral when they
want to be.
No one knows how old unicorns be-
come. The dryads say that it is rarer
for
the moon to turn blue than for unicorns
to mate, and the birth of a foal is cause
for riotous joy among all the inhabitants
of a unicorn’s wood. Some elven folk
remember tales of their ancestors of gen-
erations before, telling of the same uni-
corn those elves see now, which if true
means that unicorns live for thousands
of
years. The dryad I spoke with had known
two unicorns, and neither of them knew
how old they were, much less how much
time had passed since the week before.
If
time means little to elves, it means
nothing at all to unicorns, and each day
to them is special and new. The chaos
in
them casts boredom aside; a unicorn can
watch the same event over and over, and
each time will see something new about
it
to hold its interest.
Who befriends a unicorn? Everyone
knows that a maid, old or young, who is
good at heart will stand a fair chance
of
seeing and perhaps even touching a uni-
corn. Sometimes it happens that the maid
may even gain the unicorn’s agreement
to
serve her as a steed, and the unicorn
will
be faithful to her for as long as the
maid
is good; the unicorn will suffer no one
else to ride it, however, and may not
even
let the maid ride it if the maid comes
to
believe she is the unicorn’s master. No
one is the master of a unicorn.
Druids also like unicorns, not so much
for their goodness (druids also like green
dragons) but because unicorns are so
much a part of the forests the druids
pro-
tect. At times a unicorn may give aid
to a
druid, but always it is because the uni-
corn chooses to do so, not from any com-
pulsion the druid may exert by charm.
Rangers and unicorns seem to do well
together, and unicorns will even let them-
selves be seen by male rangers and
touched by them, though only female
rangers may ride them. Good bards are
known to chase after unicorns, and mad
chaotic bards as well; the sight of a
uni-
corn brings bards to tears, and they will
write volumes and volumes of poems and
tales and songs about their beauty, and
recite them every chance they get.
Of the true woodland folk, faeries and
elves are among a unicorn’s closest
friends, and some of them even have
speech with unicorns. Dryads,
satyrs,
nymphs, pixies, and sprites see them
often enough, and it is said that treants,
who may be the only beings to live longer
than unicorns, know more unicorns per-
sonally in their lifetimes than any human
could guess at. All of the true wood folk
except the evil ones love the unicorn
and
would throw down their lives for it, and
even the evil ones would not cause it
harm; unicorns are fearful when aroused
for fighting, and have slain ogres and
worse with a single thrust of their
whorled horns.
Who is a unicorn’s foe? It is true that
they avoid all who are evil, and who
would cause them harm. Yet it is also
true that those who are selfish and petty,
who desire dominion over their fellows,
and who are blind to the goodness and
innocence of childhood will never see
the
horned one. If one cannot see beyond the
reach of his own grasping hands, he will
wander the forests of the world and see
nothing at all but trees.
Such was the tale the dryad told me,
and I was utterly silent as I heard it,
and
afterward. I felt the wonder in me rising
and my thoughts were adrift; the dryad
seemed to know it and she laughed.
“Stranger, I have told you that a thou-
sand words could not say what the sight
of one unicorn can, and you look as if
you’ve seen one a’ready.”
“Your story has caused it,” I replied,
embarrassed. “I am no one like a bard
or
a prince or a ranger; I am a wanderer
and
the road is my home. I have heard many
tales and seen many strange beings in
my
years, but never such a creature as you
have told me.”
The dryad’s eyes twinkled merrily.
“And if you were to see one, what would
you do?”
I thought for a moment and laughed
myself. “In truth I have no idea. Perhaps
all in all, I would do nothing but wonder
at it. Beautiful things are rare in the
world, and, for myself, to be lucky
enough to see a unicorn would be all I
could ask.”
“Lucky thou are, then,” said the dryad.
“Look over your shoulder, slowly and
with care.” Her eyes were shining like
stars and her face glowed with awe. She
was looking behind me.
-
For all of my life I remembered that
moment, as I watched her face and it
dawned on me what she meant. In that
moment I had an awareness of someone
near me, very close to me, someone I had
sought all my life. Even though I am
older now than almost any man, I still
remember the last few seconds before I
turned around, and in the light filtering
through the leaves and in the silence
of
the primeval wood, beheld the unicorn.
<Unicorns are edible. cf. MAGIC>
The uses
of unicorn horns
by Ed Greenwood
The horns of unicorns are
rare and
precious things, seldom
gained by a
user of magic, so it behooves
one not to
waste or misuse any such
gained. Often
the horns of other creatures
will be
sold or offered as those
of unicorns; the
powers and properties below
are
unique to the true items,
and testing
will avoid successful deceptions.
When a unicorn lives, its
intact horn
has strong magical powers,
notably the
ability to call upon Silverymoon
(the
"divine unicorn," mentioned
in
DRAGON®
Magazine issue #54 in the
Forgotten Realms pantheon,
under
"Cults
of the Beast") for one clerical
spell of any sort per day,
something seldom
done (some say Silvanus
grants
such magics). Unicorns cannot
be
coerced into such use of
their horns?
nor do the horns retain
this power if
removed from the host, or
if the unicorn
is slain.
Other powers do continue
after the
separation from the living
beast, and
these should be carefully
noted; most
importantly, they are sovereign
remedies
against poison.
U p o n d i r e c t c o n
t a c t w i t h a n y
poison--liquid, solid, or
vapor--a unicorn's horn turns from its usual ivory
hue to purple,
the intensity of the color
(mauve through black) deepening
according to the efficacy
of the poison.
(This effect fades in 1-4
rounds after the
cessation of contact.) Some
very rare
horns are naturally of a
hue other than
ivory, but they are never
purple, and
turn to such hues only when
poison is
present. Powdered unicorn
horn, taken
internally (washed down
with water or
wine) is an antidote to
all ingested poisons,
neutralizing such immediately,
to
prevent any further damage.
Rubbing
an envenomed blade, spearhead
or
arrow-tip with powdered
or whole
horn will remove and negate
the poison
(so effectively that the
process of
removal itself is not dangerous).
A unicorn
horn carried next to the
skin of
any creature confers upon
that creature
a + 7 bonus in all saving
throws of
any sort.
Druids
have found that a faerie fire
spell cast upon a whole
horn or piece of
one will last for 44 rounds.
The
efficacy
of a mending
spell is increased by
touching a part of the item
to be mended
with a unicorn horn during
casting;
magical items can be made
whole--
a l t h o u g h t h e i
r d w e o m e r i s n o t
restored--and shattered
items with
many fractures (such as
broken earthenware
pots or crystal flasks)
can be
completely restored.
If
the cantrip bluelight is cast with a
unicorn horn in
hand,
the glow centers upon the horn,
not
the caster's palm, and the horn can
be
released by the caster and the caster
and
horn separated by any distance
without
the light failing--until the caster
ceases
to concentrate on it.
Other powers of unicorn horns
are
rumored, but no more as
yet have been
verified.
Powdered horn is known to
be
a possible ingredient (there
are herbal
alternatives) in the making
of a sweet water potion.
