One of the players in my 1e campaign has acquired an intelligent magic sword and I often overlook "playing" it in game. What tricks do you have for using a sword's personality in-game?I got a lot of feedback, and have been putting it into play (pardon the pun.) Here are four takeaways that stick out to me:
- Make it more visible. Ideas included: put it into your initiative rolls, hang a picture or quick reference card (QRC) from your GM screen
- Flesh it out. Give it more than a name and a purpose. What are its likes, dislikes, and fears? Build a reaction table (or simple AI) for it. Give it some knowledge that could help the party (or misinformation/outdated information that might not help.)
- Plan for it to act. Consider some things that it might do or say in a given situation, record these on its QRC.
- (Unrelated, but worthwhile) Put together some lore. Think about what players might learn about the magic item from a sage, Legend Lore spell, or similar.
I've put together a format that I'm using for magic items going forward. I'm currently working on some items for my patreon, and having a template makes it so much better. Here's what it looks like:
Name:
Description:
Special Purpose:
5e Specific:
Sentience:
Abilities:
1e Specific:
Alignment
Int: Ego: Personality:
Special Abilities:
Speaks: Common, Orcish, & Ogrish.
Personality:
Mannerisms:
Lore:
Notes:
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