Animal Companions wearing Magic Items

[skelso]

I've never seen this question, had a player ask about it or read any rules regarding whether or not an animal or animal companion could wear a magic item, if it seemed at all appropriate. A wolf with Gloves of Dex is obviously ridiculous, but what about an amulet of natural armor or health?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Skip Williams had this to say in the Rules of the Game:

Animal Item Slots
Although it's easy to imagine an animal benefiting from magic equipment beyond a simple saddle and a suit of barding, fitting a mount's physiology to the list of item slots available to characters is not an easy task. Try the following variant list of item slots for quadruped animals (and other monsters when appropriate).

One skull cap or helm
One pair of lenses or goggles
One collar
One saddle blanket or vest
One saddle or jacket
One belt or strap worn in front of or over the haunches
One pectoral or harness worn over the chest or shoulders
One pair foreleg bracers
One pair of foreleg shoes or mitts -- hoofed creatures wear shoes and creatures with paws wear mitts
Two rings -- creatures with toes wear rings on the toes and creatures with hooves wear "rings" just above fore hooves
One pair of hind leg shoes or mitts -- hoofed creatures wear shoes and creatures with paws wear mitts

If you ask nicely, Klaus might post his kitted-up wolf.

Edit - found it!

-Hyp.

 

[frankthedm]

The MIC had some details on this and it was pretty much the less humanoid you were, the more screwed you got. It more or less said if the item would fit, it would work. Any slot area the critter did not have was lost and no equivalent slots were granted for critters of varying anatomies.

The one time varying slots for varying anatomies came up was in Lords of Madness.

 

[ardentmoth]

Craft it specifically to fit, might be an option. For instance, not gauntlets so much as bracers; not necklaces (too delicate and dangly) so much as collars.

I've never had a problem with this. If Bracers of Speed would fit a halfling, they'd fit my dog's legs.

 

[Corsair]

not necklaces (too delicate and dangly) so much as collars.

I have plenty of friends whose dogs I would trust with a necklace more than a raging barbarian/frenzied berserker.

 

[skelso]

Thanks for answering my question!

 

[Folly]

If I remember correctly, the DMG has a section on animals and magic items. It gives a list of common slots on animals, but says that in the end it is up to the DM to determine if a slot is appropriate to the animal.