best use for a dead unicorn?

[Braininthejar2]

Is it possible to raise a unicorn as undead? If yes, what would be the coolest undead one could make out of it?

[Inevitability]

You can raise it: unicorns are living creatures with skeletal systems as far as I know.

Basic Zombie and Skeleton are only moderately attractive, but a Bone or Corpse unicorn (raisable with Create Undead) would retain all of its special abilities. Bone creature is probably best: it would allow the unicorn to remain Good (your subsequent magical control can't alter its alignment), which would prevent it from suffering from its own Magic Circle Against Evil (which, unfortunately, it would also keep).

[Melcar]

Is it possible to raise a unicorn as undead? If yes, what would be the coolest undead one could make out of it?

A sock puppet!!!

[Telonius]

I believe there's a magic item use for a "defiled unicorn horn" in the BoVD. (Can't remember if it's an optional spell component or a magic item in itself).

[Sam K]

Use it as a props for "beating a dead horse" jokes. Also, making Lisa Simpson cry.

[The_Jette]

Two words: Unicorn Steaks!

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQaUXaCdQGwbfLvjfHof_6LeRsC3E_-6oLRzqN2QiSr-cTTJsQi

[Lvl 2 Expert]

best use for a dead unicorn?

Leather armor, now with free gore/charge attack.

[OldTrees1]

The best use a Necromancer can get for a unicorn corpse?

Well Unicorns are Magical Beasts so that limits our options.

There is always the option to use Raise Dead to restore it to life. Never forget that particular necromancy trick. You gain a CR 3 ally with its full suite of abilities, but no new abilities.

With undead we have to make a choice between stronger control vs retaining the abilities. Unicorns have some nice abilities so let's look to undead we would control with Rebuke Undead.

Spectral Creature: Loses Special Attacks(Unicorns have none), Has Sunlight Powerlessness, but retains Special Qualities, gains Energy Drain and Incorporeal.
Umbral Creature: Same as Spectral but no Sunlight Powerlessness and gets Strength damage instead of Energy Drain.

[Malimar]

Dead unicorn, you say?

http://i.imgur.com/J95Avw2.gif

[Jowgen]

From BoED, Unicorn Blood taken from a living unicorn can be used either as a ravage or an optional spell component that gives a 40% chance of increasing the Fort save DC by 1. Sadly, that doesn't seem to work for you though.

More useful for you also from BoED, its tail hairs have a 20% chance of doubling a spells duration in the same capacity. Lastly, the Horn can either give you a 40% chance to get a +1 on a touch attack with a spell (BoED), or far more potentially usefull from Complete Arcane, a Horn taken from a Unicorn that has died of natural causes can turn a healing descriptor touch spell into a ray. If your Unicorn died of natural causes, and you raise it as an undead, and you can somehow regenerate it's undead horn, you may be able to make use of that.

Lastly, one fun undead template you might be able to apply is Monstrous Vampire, from Ghostwalk. Its largely the same as regular vampire (tombstone instead of coffin), but for a wider range of creatures. Only issue is that the easiest route to apply this (Flesh of Orcus item, Ghostwalk) would require for it to be at least temporarily living again, as opposed to undead...

[Nifft]

I believe there's a magic item use for a "defiled unicorn horn" in the BoVD. (Can't remember if it's an optional spell component or a magic item in itself).

It's a Violated Horn (as opposed to "in Soviet Union...").

Unfortunately, you need to remove the horn from a still-living unicorn, who thereafter lives in constant, terrible pain.

You charge it up in a perverse ritual, and then at a later time you can break it to get the effect of a word of recall spell back to the place where you did the perverse ritual.

[Zanos]

You can raise it: unicorns are living creatures with skeletal systems as far as I know.

Basic Zombie and Skeleton are only moderately attractive, but a Bone or Corpse unicorn (raisable with Create Undead) would retain all of its special abilities. Bone creature is probably best: it would allow the unicorn to remain Good (your subsequent magical control can't alter its alignment), which would prevent it from suffering from its own Magic Circle Against Evil (which, unfortunately, it would also keep).
How does Magic Circle Against Evil make it suffer?

[Braininthejar2]

It prevents it from touching itself :smallcool:

[Calthropstu]

It prevents it from touching itself :smallcool:
But...
IT's dead...
My little pony: Necrophiliac pony?

[Thurbane]

Isn't there a bunch of uses for alicorn (D&D's name for unicorn horn) as components and stuff? I know it was in earlier editions.

In regards to undead-ifying it, as mentioned Bone Creature and Corpse Creature templates from BoVD are achievable with Create Greater Undead, and leave it's abilities intact.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d7/9a/69/d79a69c4dfc2a72afe0f4f2fbd47702d.jpg

[Inevitability]

How does Magic Circle Against Evil make it suffer?

It'll have a harder time hitting anyone nearby with its own attacks, for one.

Looking at it more closely, you might even argue that the PfE effect causes your own mental control over the unicorn to end, though that requires a very specific reading.