Hand of the Mage- What can Mage Hand do?

[RUMBLETiGER]

I'm trying to figure out what The Hand of the Mage amulet can do for a handless character as it applies to skills.

Consider a Beholder with levels in Rogue. So many skills require possessing hands- Slight of Hand, Open Lock, Disable Device, Forgery, etc... All require fine motor control.

And so, the text of Mage Hand reads, in part:
"You point your finger at an object and can lift it and move it at will from a distance."

It's the "Move it" part I'm trying to figure out. Can lockpick tools be used with the finesse needed to pop a lock? Can a pen be weilded to make an exact forgery?

In short, my question is this: can skills be used through the Mage Hand effect of a Hand of the Mage?

 

[anest1s]

No. (Check Arcane Trickster)

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

No. (Check Arcane Trickster)

Hm... Ok, I see how Ranged Legerdemain (does that word appear to have a lot more letters than it should need?) indirectly but very clearly answers my question.
How disappointing.

 

[Binho]

What? Mages can not shake hands?

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

What? Mages can not shake hands?

clearly not! That would suggest Diplomacy, which is a skill and we've established that skills cannot be done through Mage Hand.

=Þ

 

[DrunkonDuty]

It can get your face slapped, if used correctly.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

It can get your face slapped, if used correctly.

Is that an Intimidate check? Surely that cannot be done!

Besides, a 5lb face slap isn't likely to sting that badly.
not that I'm willing to test this, mind you. I'll leave that to Mythbusters.