Comments on: Intelligent Magic Items

By: Chad

Chad — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:08:22 +0000

I like this article. I plan to come back to it for my campaign in the future.
I exactly don’t have a party member with an intelligent magic item, but last week one of my players used the Orb of Chaos and turned his vast collection of bones (taken from skeletons) into a single hive-mind entity. It should be interesting to see how this plays out.

By: 7 Adventure Hooks for Making the Loot Part of the Plot: RPG Blog Carnival — Dungeon's Master

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:33:02 +0000

[...] Intelligent Magic Items [...]

By: Greatest Hits 2009: What’s a +1 Sword? — Dungeon's Master

Greatest Hits 2009: What’s a +1 Sword? — Dungeon's Master — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:02:04 +0000

[...] we ran another article about magic items. The follow-up explored the pros and cons of introducing Intelligent Magic Items into your campaign. So whether your sword got a name because you named it or because it already [...]

By: Ameron

Ameron — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:09:27 +0000

@Matthew Lane
Sure enough in Dragon Magazine Online #367 (September 2008) there is an excellent article by Logan Bonner called Intelligent Items (pages 22-30). So our question about what intelligent items in 4e D&D might look like has already been answered.
Here is the link that will allow you to download the complete issue.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drtoc/367
(A subscription to DDI is required).
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Matthew.

By: Matthew Lane

Matthew Lane — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:52:23 +0000

I am going to enjoy saying this… “YOU ARE WRONG.” I’m not a huge 4E D&D fan; to be honest i bearly count it as D&D, but i was willing to give it a shot when it first came out. Thats how i know that issue 367 of Dragon Magazine, has an article called “Intelligent Items” in which you are shown how to make a magical item that is intelligent: Including weapons.

-M

By: Ameron

Ameron — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:50:37 +0000

@Hungry
I’m in the same boat as you. I want to use them in every campaign which seems to minimize their special nature. I suspect that the AV2 will have more rules and guidelines about intelligent items. Giving a Paladin/Rogue an intelligent item with a conscience was a stroke of genius.

@Wyatt
Depending on how the DM and PCs handle intelligent items you’re absolutely right that it may just end up becoming a guy with a talking sword. I had this happen once. Rust Monster to the rescue, no more talking sword. That PC was angry for a long time after that encounter.

@cynicaloptimist
I really liked the concept of item-enhancement introduced in the Weapons of Legacy. I agree that this approach to artifacts (or even just regular powerful items like a Holy Avenger) is an excellent way to make the item useful and balanced regardless of the PC’s level.

As far as special rules, I’m thinking back to previous editions of D&D where there were a bunch of tables that you could roll on to give intelligent items special powers and a specific purpose. If I’m going to create an intelligent item I want it to do more than talk and be the voice of the DM, otherwise what’s the point?

@Rook
I think you’ve nailed it. The intelligent items need to be treated like any other NPC and shouldn’t just be a funny voice coming out of your sword. Thank for your comment.

By: Rook

Rook — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:34:42 +0000

Ahhh… the memories. Long ago I was playing in a low level campaign when my rogue character acquired a +2 longsword named “Monty”. The blade was a pampas, snooty thing with a British accent and a cleanliness fetish. While “he” was a pain in the ass, no one else in the group had a more powerful weapon, so I put up with a lot. It got to the point that the only way I could force him to shut up and comply was to threaten him with sticking him in the mud or refusing to clean the blood off him after a battle. So remember, intelligent weapons are “people” too. They are NPCs with full blown personalities, ethics and morals, for better or worse. .-= Rook´s last blog ..My Foray into 4E: My Iconic Character(s) =-.

By: cynicaloptimist

cynicaloptimist — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:33:52 +0000

The artifact rules in 4e ARE the intelligent magic item rules. Considering the tone WoTC has taken regarding this, they probably will not make separate rules for non-artifact intelligent items. There’s a few reasons for this, though- while artifacts used to be very powerful, very high level items, the current artifacts are available at all tiers of play. They also took cues from Weapons of Legacy to implement an interesting item-advancement mechanic. I like Wyatt’s remark regarding “metal sidekick.” To remedy that problem: by making all intelligent items into important, potentially plot-integral items, the system actually gives intelligent items a useful role in a campaign.

I can see where you’re coming from if you want a general, non-impressive but otherwise talkative sword. But why would you want that, or why would you need special rules beyond “it talks”?

By: Wyatt

Wyatt — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:47:05 +0000

I never really used intelligent items because to me there is really no sense of mystery or wonder to it. To me the subtle wiles of fate and power within an artifact (as they are in their 4e incarnation), which has a will that does not speak but makes itself known nonetheless – now that's cool. Intelligent swords just make me think "metal sidekick, voiced by Danny Devito." .-= Wyatt´s last blog ..A Punishment Ill Fit (III) =-.

By: Hungry

Hungry — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:53:49 +0000

I’ve always loved intelligent magic items, but I have to refrain from throwing them out in EVERY game to avoid diluting the specialness of the items. They are great for keeping PCs on track with gentle nudges.

I do miss the rules about intelligent items in 4e, and I hope WotC rectifies this situation without forcing everything to brew their own house rules that are disparate and hard to follow.

The best intelligent item I ever handed out was to a human rogue who had become a paladin after a change of heart. However, he still wanted to use some of his thief skills. The sword would sing loud ballads of courage and bravery any time it detected the thief being sneaky. It was a hoot!
.-= Hungry´s last blog ..Adventure Hook Thursday: Portals =-.