Polynym

Decayed
Mallius Odium
Immemorial
Ageless
OG 2020
Vampire Scholar
Old World
Harbinger
Apr 22, 2020
4
5
43
I was thinking about intelligent weapons and armor. What makes them different from normal equipment? Well they are intelligent, but wouldn't they also then have desires?
So What if the item required you to perform certain activities on a regular / semi regular basis, and if you did not the item would then withhold it's abilities from you or in some cases work against you.

These activities could be anything:
Ability Activation costs such as providing a portion of your essence to activate the buff/ability.
Buffs/Abilities that only take effect under certain circumstances.
Daily ritual of kill 10 rats, or pick so many flowers to keep the item appeased.
Overarching larger quest lines to fulfill the items goals and/or possibly leading to stronger or different abilities.

Rituals / Daily / Weekly / Monthly quests could possibly be set up to pull from a pool of quests so that it wouldn't all be the same thing all the time, but would want some way to keep them in line with the "personality" of the item.

As an aside it would be awesome if some items could whisper you, or time and money permitting have VO lines, including praising, taunting and mocking the player their allies and or enemies.
 
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throwback to a blooddrinker weapon where it requires you to kill an innocent to gain its power for the day?

i had actually asked something in the stream today torwards the end because it had been brought up that there are plans for not just weapons but armor as well... which made me think.... what if different items had different "goals" or "alignments" that opposed each other - and how would that play out... i think that would also fit under this category / question.
 
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It would be neat if fulfilling these quests/prerequisites would also unlock greater powers as it is done regularly (like daily rewards where you get more as you do so over multiple days in a row) and those unlocks regressing back within the items when ignored.
 
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It might be fun if you have items that require you to play a certain way that is far from optimal. For example - a sword that wants you to get hurt continuously in order to be happy or armor that wants you to walk through flames otherwise it won't protect you. Or perhaps a dagger that would occasionally warn the enemy you sneak toward to back-stab because it finds it dishonorable.
 
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It might be fun if you have items that require you to play a certain way that is far from optimal. For example - a sword that wants you to get hurt continuously in order to be happy or armor that wants you to walk through flames otherwise it won't protect you. Or perhaps a dagger that would occasionally warn the enemy you sneak toward to back-stab because it finds it dishonorable.
that would fit very well with the idea i tossed out there, them having their own agendas that may not mesh with other items... and if one doesn't like what the other one wants - or you favor it more it may just try to get you in harms way. (y)
 
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I wonder if modifying/upgrading these objects could alter that alignment and what it desires of its bearer.

I'm also curious about this alignment aspect, not necessarily good or evil but instead something along the lines of violent and peaceful with something of a grey area in between them or something entirely different like Gluttonous and Disciplined. Gluttonous alignments could require something like letting the item momentarily possess you once a day as you drink a bladder of wine to indulge their taste for it and Disciplined possibly requiring that you abstaine from it as the item has a temperance mindset.
 
It seems to me that having a weapon that requires you to do something constantly to satisfy it would do more to derail gameplay than enhance it. I would suggest that sentient weapons could have a short questline, that once complete, unlocks that weapon's power.

I like the idea of different weapons/armours that synergize (or not) based on their disposition, though. That would be fun. It could be like a set bonus. Full set of chaotic gear? +X to random stat at a random time. An evil sword and the helmet of a saint? +X to damage -X to damage. LOL
 
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