Yo, it is I, some rando.

So, if you're like me, you prolly think hooves are stupid. If so, you may have spent a pretty long while trying to figure out how to reconcile the stupid, stubby pony grabbers with beautiful human weaponry, like swords and such other pokey bits.

In that case I have a thing you may agree with. I also would like to get some feedback on said thing, since I'm not entirely sure if it makes proper sense.

Without further ado, I give you my design for a unicorn sword...

Before you shout at me, allow me to explain why the grip is weird... it's a unicorn sword. They use telekinesis and it doesn't matter to them. Also, wouldn't it be a plus if your enemies couldn't use your own sword against you? For fear of stabbing themselves in their stupid, stubby grabbers? Think about it. Who in their right mind, other than a hornpone, would ever consider picking that up?

I also drew a pointy stick.

So here's my rationale for this spear thingy... stupid, stubby grabbers. In my headcanon, hooves have a touch-activated telekinetic hold, not unlike a magnet. Think along the lines of duct-taping stuff to your closed fist as a point of reference. See where I'm going? Their grip is weak. A spear in hoof would slide out of their grip upon first impact. As such, I figure these added handles would facilitate poking things with the sharp end. For similar reasons, non-horn pones don't get to use swords at all. Only polearms with weird grabby bits for them.

Unicorns obviously wouldn't need it, because they're already perfect. But yeah.

So, what do you guys think of my designs? Stupid? Sexy? Stupid sexy?

they're awesome

7397154
You're awesome.

What about Pegasi wings? We see in the show that they're able to manipulate their feathers much like the digits of hands, even handling multiple objects with them

7397160
That's a bit too silly for me, man. The idea of a birdhorse using their wings (their feathers to boot!) to handle a sword is just... too cartoony? I guess that's a silly sentiment when I'm designing swords for unicorns, but it do be as it be. It'd be like watching a dude handle a knife with their beard. Funny, but... yeah. Beardknife.

7397165
Wingblades might be an adequate compromise

7397175
Man, I have no idea. I am super on the fence about wingblades, mainly because I don't know much about flying or birds, so I can't make up my mind if hitting things with your wings is a very bad idea or not. Would it destabilize your flight so bad it makes you crash? Dunno. Would the high velocity impact shatter the bones? Not sure, but it seems like a possibility.

I kinda like the idea as they remind me of sabers, but these doubts gnaw at me. I'm not sure whether to cringe when I look at or read about wingblades or not, and so I exclude them from my own writing. To me, pegasi would use weird-handle spears to dive bomb, or just throw/drop projectiles over enemies.

7397175
I imagine that wingblades wouldn’t be a viable weapon, since they would cause instability in flight, loss of maneuverability, and carry the risk of breaking a wing on-contact. (The impact would transfer through the blade into the wing)

However, I could see blades that could be affixed to forelimbs, almost like the Hidden blade, but permanently extended. Or perhaps spiked/bladed horseshoes.

Based on how birds of prey fight amongst themselves, I would imagine that battles in the air would involve a lot of grappling, followed by slashing, and stabbing, rather than fast passes like how Dogfights are fought. Thus, Pegasi weapons might emphasize those aspects.

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Consider that we had a working metal wing prosthetic in canon.

7397149
As far as Unicorn-specific weaponry, I imagine that Telekinesis would play a major role. Since such weapons wouldn’t need a definite handle, Something like Zenyatta’s necklace might appear. Simple metal balls would be easy to manufacture and carry, but devastating if slammed into a target. Almost like maces, but easier to swing. This is in addition to “traditional” pony weapons. Horseshoes and such.

Earth ponies would be relegated to horseshoes and related weapons, but without a Unicorn’s shield or Pegasus flight, they might develop better armor technology, and may make more advanced weapons to attach to that armor. Maybe developing lances or defensive spines?

7397316
Fair. And I suppose you could sharpen the feathers on such a prosthetic to mimic wing blades. My point stands for blades-on-organic-wings though.

My own stories used
: feltlock blades
- pointing down for pegasi. used by swooping down. Preferrably foldable, otherwise very awkward to walk in.
- pointing up for earth ponies, allowing for front kicks to the enemy's belly
: sharp-edged horseshoes for gangsters
: hidden blade horseshoes (the blade is curved, and opens when the horseshoe is scraped sideways on the ground) for spies.
: ball and chain - used with the mouth
: helmet spikes
- horns or horn attachments for ground-bound ponies
- a "kingfisher" helmet for pegasi, with the spike extending forward from the mouth.
: a perch saddle. Allows a small trained monster, like a cocatrice, to perch on the pony's back, shooting over his shoulder.

7397149
Some neat designs. Of course, those unicorns can have all kinds of crazy weapons with their telekinesis. There is also the magic itself which can be a weapon (like that time Starlight literally vaporized Discord off of the School of Friendship grounds in season 8).

It seems that the mouth is the primary means of using weapons outside of magic. Real horses actually have amazing dexterity and strength in their face - I've seen horses pick locks then lift whole gates off the pins. There is one pony in particular I recall as being exceptionally gifted in this regard; he liked to grab pitch forks and slap me with them. He also almost bit my finger off, but that's another story...

Long story short, a pony could be quite handy with a well-balance blade in their mouth. Just look at the MLP Movie where Rainbow Dash is practicing swordplay with the pirates.

The problem with wing blades is that, at least for my headcanon where pegasi must observe the laws of aerodynamics, the blade disrupts the airflow over the leading edge - if you look at most modern airfoils for subsonic flight you will find that they have a blunt leading edge which keeps flow nice and smooth. Now if you were to have pegasi flying faster than the speed of sound, that kind of sharp edge would be desirable to control the shock waves. Compressible flow is weird like that.

7397317
It's Nerd Time!

Since such weapons wouldn’t need a definite handle

In my own setting I have so decreed that telekinesis in your average unicorn is actually not exceedingly strong. Twilight levels of prowess are incredibly rare, and most unicorns can only levitate a single object with roughly as much strength as your average human has. The telekinetic range is also limited, and though it varies, it doesn't usually exceed 1.5 to 2 meters from the horn. As such, handles are still definitely utilized as a cheap and easy way to extend a weapon's range, even if they're not particularly necessary.

Simple metal balls would be easy to manufacture and carry, but devastating if slammed into a target. Almost like maces, but easier to swing.

For totes, an absolutely accurate observation! I will add this to my setting. You, sir, have just been robbed.

Earth ponies would be relegated to horseshoes and related weapons, but without a Unicorn’s shield or Pegasus flight, they might develop better armor technology, and may make more advanced weapons to attach to that armor. Maybe developing lances or defensive spines?

I honestly see earth ponies as being near-totally excluded from active combat roles. Unicorns are clearly the most capable martial race, so I don't see the expense of manufacturing earth pony specific weaponry as viable when they will just be outmatched vs unicorns at every turn. I feel like those resources would be better spent arming more unicorns instead.

However! In my setting I do have earth ponies as an independent faction, and as you say, they almost exclusively utilize their hooves to fight. So spiked sabatons and such are just about their only choice of weaponry. Maybe fixed lances. Maybe. In my setting they're still neolithic, agricultural communities without metallurgy though, so it's kind of a moot point.

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Real horses actually have amazing dexterity and strength in their face

Now that I did not know! I thought the whole thing with using the mouth to hold things was just a show gag! Astounding. I need to consider this for the earth ponies and pegasi, then... It's the positioning that mostly bugs me. To hold any polearm, for example, a pony would have to turn their head to the side in order to point the sharp bit at the enemy... though I guess I could do what I already did, and add a 'mouth handle' thing, protruding from the main body of the weapon.

This could work! Plus a small holder of sorts towards the flanks, so they can balance the weapon with ease, it should allow them to hold a guard stance and charge without too much trouble, maybe.

To the drawing board!

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With all of that in mind:

Assuming Telekinesis is similar in ability to human hands, then Pole-arms would be quite useful. I would also add that, rather than swords, something like the Naginata or Nagamaki would develop instead, in order to take advantage of handle length. If energy attacks are rare, then ranged weapons (thrown weapons espescially) would likely develop shortly after the Zenyatta balls.

Being Neolithic doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t have armor. Simple armor can be made by using wooden planks, effectively strapping a wooden shield to their chest. A more advanced version could be samurai armor, made from wooden strips. Similar armor was used by the historical 47 ronin.

Unicorns would have sabers (held with telekinesis) and their magic. Pegusai and Earth Ponies would have lances attached to their bodies, and could kick balls of wood or even metal at their foes.

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I feel like swords would still be important as sidearms, like it happened in history, tbh. Sometimes you just gotta stab a dude and make it personal, but still keep a safe distance from their punchers, and any knoifs they may carry.

Thrown weapons are my favorite tbh. I figure telekinesis would be pretty accurate, too, because you're cutting the middleman (middlelimb?) and just telling the object where to go and how fast you want it to go. So javelins. Lots of javelins! Each unicorn would essentially be a walking ballista. And rocks! Slings would be a pretty important part of any unipone force.

EDIT: whoops, missed this!

Being Neolithic doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t have armor. Simple armor can be made by using wooden planks, effectively strapping a wooden shield to their chest. A more advanced version could be samurai armor, made from wooden strips. Similar armor was used by the historical 47 ronin.

For totes. This is definitely true. I figure pegasi would prefer to fight in the nude, to preserve maneuverability and speed, but Earth Poners would definitely strap up with at least a wooden coat of plates, or just padded cloth armor.

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Very interesting suggestions! I can totally see fetlock-strapped blades being a thing. Horned helmets are a must now, too. I am relieving you of these ideas, friend.

7397149
Nice work. Spears are often overlooked in most media in favor of swords.

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Pegasus combat is a bit simpler, if more barbaric. The use of wings frees up their hooves to carry weapons. A sufficiently large club wielded between the forelegs while flying serves to incapacitate the opponent, allowing the pegasus to hoist the opponent to an altitude where the resulting drop would be fatal.

Against other pegasi, this does not typically work, as the target is less vulnerable to being swiped at in the rapid, diving passes required for the initial hit. Here, we see a truly fearsome pegasus display of martial arts. With the gift of flight comes a freedom of movement unmatched by all except a few practiced or gifted unicorns. A pegasus with a wounded wing is at a significant disadvantage, thus these are the most valuable targets. In traditional sparring, once a pegasus's wing was hit, the round was called, a point was earned, and the fighters would reset to their starting positions for the next round. In combat with rival pegasus clans, such mercies may not have been shown, and the fight usually concluded quickly once one pegasus lost the ability to use their wings, or if in flight and at sufficiently high altitude, the fight ended naturally as the wounded combatant fell to their death.

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Keep in mind that basically the only reason pegasi can fly at all is magic. Stuff that would be really bad in real life might not have the same effect on a pegasi.
Also, it's been a while since I read a fic with them, but I think they're used on the ground as much as while airborne.

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Oh man, I love polearms. Spears, halberds, guisarmes, glaives, bardiches, Dane axes, and anything long and slashy/pokey. The poleaxe is my favorite!

Look at it... it can do everything!

7397149
Those look decent, although I do think the sword still has to much of a grip. Personally, with my headcanon, ponies are passed using primarily melee weapons. To me, royal guards are more of an honor guard, not front line combat troops. So it's kinda like how US marines will sometimes have swords still. As for ancient times, my headcanon, the default pattern is alicorn and pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies are more recent (relatively speaking). While they were used, melee weapons were never dominant due to magic. Weapons were built around augmenting magic, rather than augmenting limb force.

I also think that hooves have contact telekinesis, although I think it's stronger so you wouldn't need the crossbars.

I don't know if I'm glad or not that you didn't do bows. I'm actually an archer and they way the show did it utterly infuriates me. I've yet to figure out how they can use bows. Crossbows, sure, but not traditional bows.

7397427
For sure, for sure. In my setting pegasi flight is wholly magical, and as such they can hover, which gives them a distinct advantage as skirmishers. Since they are also barbarian nomads, I just don't see why they would ever willingly resort to prolonged melee, unless they're defending something desperately. At which point they've probably already lost.

It's just... wings seem very fragile to me. They have long, thin, and highly articulated bones with only the slightest covering of flesh and muscle. Particularly since their flight depends on magic, I don't see those muscles being especially strong. It seems to me like wingblades are a guaranteed way to get a broken wing.

I see pegasi fighting non-fliers as the Parthians would, tbh. Pelt them with projectiles, retreat, resupply and come back to pelt them again. Rinse and repeat until you've got Carrhae. If they must, then they would dive-bomb and jab with long spears, or punch with hooves if they must.

Pegasi vs pegasi would be definitely more brutal. Like jousting, with spears in the sky, or grappling to try and injure a wing or knock the other out.

7397440

I don't know if I'm glad or not that you didn't do bows. I'm actually an archer and they way the show did it utterly infuriates me. I've yet to figure out how they can use bows. Crossbows, sure, but not traditional bows.

Definitely. The only ones who might develop bows would be the unicorns because of their telekinesis. The mouth-archer thing is just beyond silly.

7397447

The mouth-archer thing is just beyond silly.

The bottom of the bow attached to the ground as well.

It's just... wings seem very fragile to me

Keep in mind that wings carry some serious loads in the show. Pegasi (especially Rainbow) pull manuvers that realistically, would probably cause serious injury. Exactly how that works is up to you. Hollow bones (if you go that route) also aren't super fragile, the bone is actually denser to compensate. That's also a difference between string muscles and muscles strong enough to fly. Human arms are plenty strong enough to swing a sword, but they're not enough to get us to fly if we had wings. Pegasi also do wing pushups.

All that being said, I'm not a huge wingblade person. I am able to suspend disbelief for them though.

I feel like the earth ponies have been robbed in a lot of martial settings, we look at the advantages of direct magic like that of the unicorns and how that allows them to practise great martial skills. Then you have the Pegasi who seem to be the martial race in the actual show, gifted with the power flight they can do many things I imagine could be devasting in a martial sense and they would be exceptionally talented as skirmishers.

Then you have the earth ponies which I find a lot of people just classing as inferior, and it is not hard to see why when they lack any of the benefits of the other races. However this a land of magic and head cannons so allow me to introduce what my headcanon is on Earth ponies.

I believe that Earth Ponies have strength and edurance that is far supiorer than the other races, making them good shock infantry with the idea being that whilst they are weak at long range once close to the enemy they are devastating. As someone else in the thread mentioned they would probably look alot into armor development and Earth ponies being Earth ponies I could imagine them wearing very heavy armor without being as limited as the other races in form of mobility due to their strength and edurance, But I imagine that a earth ponies hooves could be a extremely deadly weapon.

and as a side thought one thing that I thought up that I am rather fond of was the idea of Earth Pony berserkers I can just imagine how damaging a Earth pony in a blood rage could be.

Call me biased though I am a massive fan of Earth ponies in warfare as I like to think they can stand their own against two martially supiorer races in terms of biology

7398031

once close to the enemy they are devastating

I really don't see this happening. Any strength and armor the earth ponies may have will simply be mitigated by the historically proven super-power that is range. Specifically, polearms. A unicorn can wield a pike, halberd, poleaxe with the same ease (if not more) as a human, and we already know what happened to the much better armed, armored, and trained super warriors that were mounted knights when they went up against a peasant army with long, pointy sticks.

...and that's considering the knights were actually capable of using weapons themselves. In this case, the 'knights' would be fighting with nothing but their bare fists.

Earth ponies would make fine brawlers, but they would make poor soldiers.

In my setting, earth ponies only survive as an independent faction because of their numbers. The ability to guarantee successful harvests each season allows them to have a population size that dwarves that of unicorns and pegasi, and as such, are capable of sustaining terrible losses on the field and still being able to come back for more.

7398053
Touche, However I certainly believe that Earth ponies would find a way to form a effective fighting force that does not suffer terrible loses each battle. Polearm formations can be broken with the proper use of tactics, and I stand by my thought that they are devastating once close to the enemy (meaning within the polearm formation itself). Lastly by using hooves I mean bucking and bladed attachments, you are entirely correct in the fact that a knight with nothing but bare fists is useless, but I can imagine a earth pony buck being very damaging.

At the end of the day though my knowledge of medieval weaponary is limited and I assume you probably know more than me so in that regard I yield. I just find it very hard to believe that Earth ponies would be solely ineffective in combat and I am certain they would adapt... That being said it would start getting into head canon territory from there

7398062

Earth ponies would find a way to form a effective fighting force that does not suffer terrible loses each battle

Oh, for sure! I figure their stamina would allow them to outpace any unicorn army, making them perfect for harassing supply lines and cutting off escape routes. Coupled with superior numbers, this would mean earth ponies fighting at home would be excellent at starving out an enemy invading force. Which is a shame, since unicorns in my setting are essentially coastal raiders. So these amazing advantages go unused more often than not.

Polearm formations can be broken with the proper use of tactics, and I stand by my thought that they are devastating once close to the enemy (meaning within the polearm formation itself)

Absolutely! I read you wrong there, it seems. Definitely so, after a unicorn formation breaks, there would be very little they could do to withstand an earth pony charge. I actually figure earth ponies to be excellent light cavalry, unlike most settings seem to think (whereas they are the defacto infantry). Earth ponies would avoid fighting until after an enemy formation has been sufficiently degraded to allow the full psychological impact of a massed charge to thoroughly break them. At which point, it doesn't matter how long your pointy stick is.

I can imagine a earth pony buck being very damaging.

Definitely. They are the strongest pones, so I imagine it'd be lasting damage after two bucks, dead by four.

Truly, some fine people here have suggested very interesting ways earth ponies might make themselves more dangerous. Wooden armor (particular to my setting), bladed attachments to the fetlocks, and mouth-held lances are all extremely good ideas. However, despite all this, I still consider the unicorns to be the superior martial race. Earth ponies may be no joke, but at the end of the day, in a 1 to 1 ratio, a unicorn is still my best bet.

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In a 1:1 ratio without any support I 100% agree that unicorns would win at that stage it's not even a battle. A pole arm is completly supieror in a one on one battle against a unarmoured oppenent, that and magic (ouch). Earth ponies would only truly be liable on a battlefield when in formations. That and they would need to use specific tactics depending on the battle itself.

The point I was trying to make from my first comment at the get go that I worded badly was that I believe Earth Ponies get put down too much when it comes to warfare scenarios as ineffective due to the fact they lack magic or flight. When in reality they could truly be a extremely effective fighting force if the played off their strengths. It's just hard for that to be written when you have warrior wizards and flying lancers.

I'll just make a list

• Wingblades - a huge no. Not only aerodynamic and traumatic issues, but they are way behind your head and forelegs which would get hit before you engage. Also, what are you going to do if the blade got stuck in a corpse/armor\shield?
• Spiked helmets - a similarly huge no. You ask the enemy hit you in this exposed head with a spike/crest on it which is good for catching hits. All while you also can't see shit because you either move trying to fence or charge head bent.
• Mouth grip - tolerable but noob only. It is very restricted in terms of attack directions and have the same vision issues as you have to constantly turn your head. Also it can't be used in close formations, restricted space and has big chance to hit yourself with any kind of flail.
• Flank strapped lances - only for unicorns or as supportive measure in a phalanx. Because how are you going to aim with this thing and retract it from corpses? Knight actually throwed their lances away and took something for prolonged combat.
• Horseshoes, claws, etc. - probably air fighters only, or as some support. Becasuse they have ridiculously small range and will lose to almost any other variant except for lances... or especially them.
• Multiple weapons for telekinesis - nope. As somebody already said, not every unicorn is Twilight Sparkle, and even she struggled with multiple objects. Imagine doing this in the heat of battle while being also defenceless due to concentration on striking with your orbs/daggers/whatever.

Oof. Too long, so this is all for now. Probably you should also not make things more complicated than they are by refusing to accept hoof-telekinesis and anthro-stance for martial arts and sport fencing.

7398475

Counter-list time!

Wingblades - a huge no

For totes agree.

Spiked helmets - a similarly huge no.

Not even a little? Ah, you're probably right... It was a nice visual image though, to imagine poners headbutting each other into submission.

Mouth grip - tolerable but noob only.

This was my initial thought as well, though I can see it working in tandem with a lance. Like the spear I drew up there, the mouth handle would jut out perpendicular to the lance, and allow the poner to hold it properly during a charge. It'd be useless after the charge, of course.

Flank strapped lances - only for unicorns or as supportive measure in a phalanx.

I don't think unicorns would need to strap them to themselves, and I just don't see an earth pony phalanx working. Even with a modified mouth grip, their range of movement would be very limited imo. Anthro stance could potentially fix this. It's what I'm currently considering the evolution of earth pony warfare to look like, in fact. From light cavalry to stationary infantry pike formations.

Horseshoes, claws, etc. - probably air fighters only, or as some support. Becasuse they have ridiculously small range and will lose to almost any other variant except for lances... or especially them.

Most definitely. Pegasi in particular would find hoof-strapped weapons to be particularly viable, though I still think spears might be their go-to melee weapon. Earth ponies I imagine as being reliant on their raw strength, due to their low technological advancement in my setting, but fetlock 'hammers' of sorts, like spiked greaves, sounds nice! Unicorns wouldn't bother, I think. They can mind-stab you long before you get close enough to be kickable!

Multiple weapons for telekinesis - nope. As somebody already said, not every unicorn is Twilight Sparkle, and even she struggled with multiple objects. Imagine doing this in the heat of battle while being also defenceless due to concentration on striking with your orbs/daggers/whatever.

I agree! For the most part, anyway. Most unicorns won't be able to handle more than a single object in their telekinetic hold without distracting themselves too much. Shields are rarely used in conjunction with other weapons for this reason, in my setting. But there's unicorns and then there's unicorns, so I do love the idea of champions who can wade headlong into combat with spear and shield, or use a weapon, and their telekinetic grab to unbalance opponents in a very dirty display of pragmatic combat.

hoof-telekinesis and anthro-stance

Hoof telekinesis is a must for me! I just headcanon it to have a rather weak grip, compared to humans. So adaptations are necessary to most weapons for them to be able to use them effectively. As for anthro stance, I figure it makes sense in formations, where the back ranks can help support the front and keep them from losing their balance.

Many thanks for your comment! You raised very interesting points. 🙏

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Like the spear I drew up there, the mouth handle would jut out perpendicular to the lance, and allow the poner to hold it properly during a charge. It'd be useless after the charge, of course.

I don't think unicorns would need to strap them to themselves, and I just don't see an earth pony phalanx working. Even with a modified mouth grip, their range of movement would be very limited imo. Anthro stance could potentially fix this. It's what I'm currently considering the evolution of earth pony warfare to look like, in fact. From light cavalry to stationary infantry pike formations.

Unicorns are the only ones need to strap lances to themselves because only unicorns can execute a proper knightly charge! They can run on all fours aim with the lance by telekinesis, then unstrap it and unsneath another weapon. As for phalanx, I mean that is quite static after entering the fight, so ponies might hold their pikes with one hoof and have a strap for support because pikes are long and heavy. Three legs on the ground are more stable than two which is also important there along with lowering the center of mass. On march a second strap can be used for mouth grip, collar or whatever.

But there's unicorns and then there's unicorns, so I do love the idea of champions who can wade headlong into combat with spear and shield, or use a weapon, and their telekinetic grab to unbalance opponents in a very dirty display of pragmatic combat.

Yes! Talented unicorns can be reality-warping disasters like Twilight and Starlight while untalented (or untrained) are losers like Trixie who resorted to fake victory speculation to the point that reveal ruined her whole career. Also, consider using canonical all-unicorns-are-noble image with adding fancy one-pony-army knights to it.

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I just don't get that three-legged running thing tbh. It just looks so awkward. But I suppose canonically it does work. Hmm...

They can run on all fours aim with the lance by telekinesis

Oh! That's what you meant! I thought you meant a lance permanently affixed in a couched position. My bad! I agree with you 100% then! Unicorn chargers are a go!

As for phalanx, I mean that is quite static after entering the fight, so ponies might hold their pikes with one hoof and have a strap for support because pikes are long and heavy. Three legs on the ground are more stable than two which is also important there along with lowering the center of mass. On march a second strap can be used for mouth grip, collar or whatever.

Hmm... this is all very true. Earth pony heavy infantry formations are looking more and more viable if we take all this into account. It even works nicely into my setting, too. Since EP's haven't developed the tech to make use of phalanx tactics, I don't need to rework any of my worldbuilding. They can just smoothly transition into phalanxes later in the timeline.

Also, consider using canonical all-unicorns-are-noble image with adding fancy one-pony-army knights to it.

Oh, you know it! Unicorns are their own faction in my setting, and they're a feudal society, so Unicorn knights are totes a thing. Since they train for war since a young age, even the least powerful among the nobility are adept at handling a weapon telekinetically. More powerful unicorns are definitely in the Champion category!

I like low-magic settings tho, so I've got this 'Starswirl was never a thing', so 'theoretical magic' wasn't discovered, and it'll take them well into their Industrial Revolution analogue for magic as shown in the show to be a thing. So, essentially, telekinesis and some minor spells (not really sure which tho) are the only thing they've got access to.