Can a Simulacrum Attune or use magic items?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Let's say a Lore Bard was attuned to Ohlam's Harp or an Oath Bow and created a Simulacrum of herself. Could that Simulacrum which is nothing but an illusory duplicate attune to either item?

Could the Simulacrum attune to a new magic item or would that be considered "learning"?



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You shape an illusory duplicate of one beast or humanoid that is within range for the entire casting time of the spell. The duplicate is a creature, partially real and formed from ice or snow, and it can take actions and otherwise be affected as a normal creature. It appears to be the same as the original, but it has half the creature’s hit point maximum and is formed without any equipment. Otherwise, the illusion uses all the statistics of the creature it duplicates, except that it is a construct.
The simulacrum is friendly to you and creatures you designate. It obeys your spoken commands, moving and acting in accordance with your wishes and acting on your turn in combat. The simulacrum lacks the ability to learn or become more powerful, so it never increases its level or other abilities, nor can it regain expended spell slots.
If the simulacrum is damaged, you can repair it in an alchemical laboratory, using rare herbs and minerals worth 100gp per hit point it regains. The simulacrum lasts until it drops to 0 hit points, at which point it reverts to snow and melts instantly.
If you cast this spell again, any currently active duplicates you created with this spell are instantly destroyed.

[MrCharlie]

No reason it can't. Adventure's league, by the way, house-ruled that familiars/animal companions/simulacrums use your attunement slots, if that filters into this thread-but RAW, there is nothing in the text saying that, nor explicitly stopping them from attuning themselves, and I don't see how attuning to an item would be prohibited by the learning restriction in the spell.

Of course if you have enough magic items to equip your simulacrum in addition to all your party members, the DM kinduve deserves the headache they made for themselves

[Hael]

There’s nothing in RAW that says you can’t. However, if I was your DM I wouldn’t allow it, for the same reason AL doesn’t allow it. It gets broken real fast when you can pull out an endless horde of servants attuned to an array of different magical items. Pulling a few out of a Demi plane or something like that gives the spellcaster 90% of the benefits, especially for items with active effects like spells or healing...

[Montesquieu P.]

I'd rule against a simulacrum being able to attune an item without 'taking' a slot from its source. I base this on the limitations that it can never "become more powerful, so it never increases its level or other abilities".

However -- using the same reasoning -- a simulacrum could take over any attuned item which the original source had when the simulacrum was created. So the source could essentially 'pass over' an attuned item to the simulacrum on creation...and would have to destroy the simulacrum in order to re-attune it to him/her/itself.

So to transfer from one casting to the next, the source person would have to destroy the first simulacrum, re-attune the item after the first simulacrum was destroyed, and then hand over the item to the new simulacrum. If the first simulacrum is destroyed by a re-casting of the spell (say, to "re-establish" and not "recover" the expended spell slots), the attunement is shattered for the source person as part of the disruption of the new casting.

[Zhorn]

I'd allow it. If it's a creature, it can attune.

I see no need to add special restrictions. Especially when simulacrums and familiars already have their own risks associated with them.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

I'd allow it. If it's a creature, it can attune.

I see no need to add special restrictions. Especially when simulacrums and familiars already have their own risks associated with them.

Ia the question if the simulacrum is a creature? Then, do u need to be a creature to attune to an item?

[Zhorn]

Ia the question if the simulacrum is a creature? Then, do u need to be a creature to attune to an item?

PHB p276 specifies on the second line of Simulacrum's spell text "The duplicate is a creature"

DMG p136 sets the base requirement of a creature spending a short rest focusing on the item and maintaining contact, nothing else unless the item calls for it specifically (ie: requires attunement by a spellcaster, or requires attunement by a warlock, etc)

Personally I think a Magen would be a better candidate for magic items over a simulacrum, as they are easier to heal. Simulacrums are rather costly to take into combat.

[Sigreid]

I'd rule against a simulacrum being able to attune an item without 'taking' a slot from its source. I base this on the limitations that it can never "become more powerful, so it never increases its level or other abilities".

However -- using the same reasoning -- a simulacrum could take over any attuned item which the original source had when the simulacrum was created. So the source could essentially 'pass over' an attuned item to the simulacrum on creation...and would have to destroy the simulacrum in order to re-attune it to him/her/itself.

So to transfer from one casting to the next, the source person would have to destroy the first simulacrum, re-attune the item after the first simulacrum was destroyed, and then hand over the item to the new simulacrum. If the first simulacrum is destroyed by a re-casting of the spell (say, to "re-establish" and not "recover" the expended spell slots), the attunement is shattered for the source person as part of the disruption of the new casting.

By this logic a simulacrum picking up an ordinary carpenter's hammer has become more powerful and wouldn't be allowed.

[KorvinStarmast]

By this logic a simulacrum picking up an ordinary carpenter's hammer has become more powerful and wouldn't be allowed. And if it's made of silver, it's even more dangerous. :smalleek: