Sentient Weapons

well, with his cool black sword, martial prowess and fucked up life Turin qualifies for Champion Eternal incarnation.
Especially since Turin is gonna kill Morgoth in the final battle.

Which is ironic, knowing how Moorcock dislikes Tolkien.

Would a sentient weapon as BBEG be an interesting twist? You kill a boss, deliver his famous sword as proof to the questgiver, later questgiver gets his ass killed and you fight his suddenly powerful and evil killer, or the questgiver himself suddenly becomes evil, and so it repeats until the players realize it's the sword that must be destroyed

Yeah, or at least he claims to.
I like Moorcock's works most of the time (Particulary the Hawkoon and Corum books) and but when he decides to get preachy he's bloody insufferable.

nah, they are a separate story, imho

Sentient weapons are never a good thing. They usually curse the wielder on unwittingly do their bidding, either whisoering in their minds or giving them visions of glory and/or slaughter.

Weapons are made to kill, so sentient weapons want nothing but to kill, eventually turning a brave knight into a delusional murderer

Imagine what it must be like to be the telepathic, sentient weapon of an adventurer who dies. This is followed by the party members remains getting looted by bandits.

Ukko's broadsword, used by Kullervo to avenge the death of his family and eventually to take his own life, which was the basis for both Túrin Turambar´s and Elric's swords.

it was like this in Wolfhound books
there was a sword, real masterwork, forged by a one of the best smiths in the land, but young warrior it went to died young and the sword was buried with him.
then due to graverobbery it went to a bandit lord, and was forced to kill innocent and stuff
so when bandit lord ran into title character one day, he lost the sword and a few fingers. sure, title character is superb swordsman, but the sword may have helped itself
since title character was a hounourable man and of same clan as sword's maker, he could speak with sword's spirit, though only in dreams, IIRC

but yeah, sword was very much not happy to end up in bandit's hands.

title character later gave up the sword to a corrupt merchant to buy a slave out, which basically made sword so pissed that title character's patron god almost drowned the merchant's ship, manifested himself and told the merchant to take the sword back ASAP.

I was thinking of it more from a feels standpoint, but whatever.

>What do they do?
Usually talk or otherwise make some influence over their owner. I like them better without the talk thing; those are far more interesting,I guess.

>What are the cool sentient weapons you ran into in games, books, movies, etc?

I've never run into a sentient weapon in any game,at least that I'm aware off (I suspect a friend of mine put one in a Deadlands game about two years ago,but I'm not sure).
Cool ones I've seen? Marvin the Carver,from KotDT comics, or both Gotrek's axe and Felix's sword from the Warhammer novels (those don't speak,but it's kinda hinted they do have a sort of personality).
Also Rubilax,from Wakfu.

>I even heard of someone playing AS a sentient sword in tabletop RPG. Wonder how that's possible.

Some time ago one of my player's character died in a Warhammer campaign and,because he liked his character, I got him to play as his soul trapped inside a Chaos sorcerer's ring. He could still see around, maybe try to knock off items in a poltergeist-like fashion. I want to incorporate that character as a NPC for an upcoming campaign.

but isn't it boring to be a sentient item as a player?

Sure. He never told me,but it was evident he wasn't pleased with my experiment,though in my defense I gotta say I wanted to make it as fun as I could. That's why I want to incorporate the ring to the next campaign as a homage to him.

I personally would like to try and play a sentient weapon, even if it was just for a bunch of sessions. Yeah,passive as Hell, but you got to take a new point of view of the game. Also,you're fuckin' magic! Must get some kind of power to spice the experience up.

I have intention of handing sentient sword to my players next session.

Certain wizard/general killed in ancient battle agains orc, has been stabed by his own sword and left to die. After his death, his hate and thirst for revenge, soaked into sword.

Sword is lawful, it will want to defend its home realm. Its also evil and it hates orcs with passion. At start, it would be common +1 sword, but when players encounter some orcs, it will steer them to massaccre green skins. Probably going to buff them for that purpose.

If things go right, the sword might urge players to rebel agains current ruler, for he is unworthy. (Current emperor is of clan the sword really dont like.)

hmm, i once thought of DMing a campaign for a part of sentient weapons capable of rather strong telepathic feedback, wielded by not particularly strong-willed NPCs

That sounds fun.

Sounds good. A LE magic sword fuelled by hate can make for an interesting trope,honestly.

The idea sounds great,but maybe the games would stretch too much to having to check on what both the NPCs and the weapon characters due,unless they have total or major control over their wielder.

I've had a waifu as a sword before. When she finally got a body, she decided to fuck another PC on the grounds that while we were soulmates, we weren't lovers, so to speak. She liked me, but didn't romantically LIKE me.

Always liked the War of Powers by Varademan and Milan - The hero found a pot containing the spirit of a long dead Philosopher. The spirit had been unable to experience sensations himself for thousands of years, so spent all his time now encouraging his carrier to have rampant sex, abuse drugs, torture, maim and kill at every opportunity, so that he could experience these things second hand. Was hilarious. Could easily imagine a sentiant sword being like this after being left in a tomb for a few milenia.

You know this gives me the funniest thought process.

The Weapons think their being graceful and elegant...but it's really the case that they're dragging a rag-dolling peasant around after them.

could work in comedy game, maybe

>"Guk want talk to nice orc gurl."
>"Gun wants to go fight enemy tribe."
>"Guk want go... talk to nice orc gurl."
>"Guk wants to go fight, you blithering idiot!"
>"Gun want to talk to nice orc idiot..."
>"What Guk call me? *SLAP* Gubba not be friends with Guk!"
>"Guk angry! Guk go to war!"
>"Grrrreat."

>friendzoned by your own sword
sucks to be you

I saw an idea on this board once, of a sentient sword possessed by spirit of ancient not!samurai. The sword would only lend its aid to the one who acts like a proper samurai - honourable, brave, etc.
Which also includes adhering to ages-old traditions and customs, which are completely out of place in the adventure's time.

It would be the oddest case of the Odd Couple trope.

...How odd.

Oh damn

The GM has a knack for making players feel bad. Like, it was a magical weapon I'd bonded with but she didn't think I'd ever shown any romantic interest in her.

> good girl female character
> intelligent horseman's mace
> girl dm plays weapon's persona as a very bad girl
> weapon can vibrate
> yep
after about 3 minutes of dialog, game breaks up as all the participants mutter in unison "i'll be in my bunk"

One of my characters inadvertently married his sword. It was weird.

provided it's advanced enough, I'd say

mostly just talk

sauce? I was 90% sure it was a dude

Depends. It doesn't count,if it lacks any personality trait,self-consciousness or any kind of independent will (like the car from Knight Rider,but in sword form). Otherwise it's just a clever tool.

>A wise, peaceful monk travels the land
>Wherever he goes, he teaches his message of self-love and self-discipline
>Eventually he discovers a small village along a dirt road no one has walked in years
>An evil warlock rules this town, allegience pledged to a dark, loathing, hedonistic demon capable of powerful magic
>The Monk, as before, starts preaching to the self-hating, gluttonous, selfish crowd about the wonders of his philosophy
>As before, the people listen. They imagine the great things they can do once they recognise the greatness within themselves and start striving to attain it
>The Monk is pleased.
>The Warlock is not.
>As the monk delivers his biggest, most inspiring speech yet, the Warlock manifests in the middle of the crowd in a ripple of shadow and fires a bolt of black lightning at the Monk
>The Monk is struck, and almost defeated
>"If it was a fight you wanted sir, you shall leave disappointed. I am a man of peace, If that means my death, then I welcome death like a dear lover."
>The Warlock draws a cruel sword, jagged and crooked as he, points it at the Monk and...
>Laughs
>"You think me stupid or foolish, Monk? I know you do not fear your own demise. It is the demise of others you fear. Your soft heart and soft heart could never hurt a soul. But never has a pure heart, nor any caring hands, been enough to stop a blade of steel"
>The Warlock places the tip of the sword into the Monk's chest, just enough to draw blood
>The sword glows green with foul magic as the Monk's very soul is drained into the sword itself

>As the physical frame that once held the Monk's soul crumbles to dust, the Warlock laughs again
>"If it is death you wish to embrace, Monk, it will come at the cost of another. Only the blood of an innocent will free your soul to rest."
>The Warlock vanishes, his deed done, leaving the Sword on the cold, now lifeless ground.
>Many tried, either by slashing at loved ones or their own throats, but none could free the Monk. For he would not let them, for while his soul inhabited the blade, he could shield it from the flesh of men
>To this day, the villagers hold this sword in high regard, turning the yearly attempt at freeing the Monk into a joyous carnival, as none know when the Monk will eventually yield

Give it buff and debuff spells and maybe even a few damaging curses. That's better than not doing anything. The item can't physically intervene in combat, but can influence the outcome of a battle with its magic

A sentient set of arrows who can communicate with one another. Their quiver is a community of sorts.

Terror breaks out when their purpose is revealed after Jerry gets shot into an orc.

I think Crona is a guy in the anime, but a girl in the manga

You sure it wasn't a staff?
weird coincidence if it wasn't

Arrow Party

I'm actually working on a sentient blade as an instructor of magic. Essentially he was a powerful wizard in life and used the blade as a pseudo phylactery to elongate his life span with the only magic he had ever truly been skilled with. Not to mention he wasn't evil.

If anyone wants more details I'd love to share.

We once had a sentient Axe that never ever stopped talking. We ended storing it in the bag of holding and used it as a way to torture prisioners into cooperating.

Sex Pistols?

Night blood from Brandon Sandersons warbreaker is pretty badass

keep goin

+ 4 Defender greatsword
Intelligent, alignment: Neutral
speaks telepathically and audibly; knows several languages.
disintegrate (as spell, beam) 1/day
heal (as spell, by touch) 1/day

Occasionally could summon a "guardian angel" who didn't do a lot besides complain about how I wasn't behaving up to my deity's standards, or job to a minion in order to scare the party shitless. Also, the spirit of the sword could, under poorly-explained circumstances, separate from the weapon, appearing as a grey man of medium height, weight, etc. Grey eyes, hair, skin, clothes, blahblahblah. While separate the sword has no powers -- they reside within the Grey Man; he can use them in an unlimited fashion...if he chooses to.

Dick.

Is a dick; catchphrases: "Oboy, I've always wanted to be part of a dragon's treasure!" "I thought you were smarter than that" **after doing something stupid == not before, mind you, when it might have helped).

Dick.

A very long time ago, I used to have sentient weapons as a playable race.

Basically, they gave a bonus to their wielder if they were used as a held item, but they could also shift to human form and transform certain parts of their bodies into their weapon form if they wanted to.

Essentially, they were based off of the demon weapons from Soul Eater and I'm considering adding them back in at some point in the future.

They always want something, and that something will make them greater in power. Classic desire is to be reunited with its creator, and it will manipulate the wielder to make that happen. Another desire could be to dominate the wielder and become human. Another to serve their god.

I mean, I'm sure it's been done before. Usually magic evil swords happen, presumably possessing whoever grabs it and usually transforming them Cronenberg style into something fucking weird and monstrous.

But you could probably do something cool with it, like BBEG being a Staff with an Elder God within that wants to consume the sun, or a powerful vilainess' mummified tit causing all who touch it to fall into a Cenobite-like endless lust to dole out pleasure and pain.

Also, side idea, I really like the idea of a consumable item that is a BBEG.

>The ashes of a dead god
>If the ashes touch natural earth they completely remake reality as the ashes' wielder sees fit
>In secret the ashes also make other, more insidious changes to reality bending it to its own will
>It goads the wielder into using the ashes as often as possible

This leads me to two different possibilities. Either

>when the ashes are all used the god rises from death and rules the world with a brutal, eternal tyranny till the end of time

or >when all the ashes are used reality will be permanently rent asunder, all existence being unmade in an instant

or really whatever. I invite Veeky Forums to add to my premise if they want.

Ah, I see it is time for the saga of Raf Frostbrand.
You see, Raf was a desert carvaner. He went out into the world for new products to sell, got caught up in adventure. He was also a stonch pacifist. Then, deep in the first dungeon, he met Frostbrand.
Frostbrand was a sentient sword (obviously) with the mission to destroy all undead and those who use them. RAF used the sword to distract a minotaur and a few more things before the group hit the end boss, a group of spectres under the control of a young necromancer. During the fight RAF excepted Frostbrand and they became linked.
In the next two years of game play RAF becomes a vengeful killer of undead and those effected by them,along with a cult building up around him.

Then I take Frostborn away.

The player rolled a double one (house rule) and looses sync with Frostbrand, at which time the warlock snatches it up and eventually sacrificing the blade to her tentacly pact master.

Now free of Frostbrand's influence, the suddenly pacifist Raf has to deal with his reputation, the violence he caused and a pissed off cult. I love my job.

Dammit. The swords name is Frostbrand. I have no idea where Frostborn coimes from

Probably frm Frostmourne, the blade of emofaggot edgelord the Lich King.

Three sentient weapons I remember. One was the Sword of Kaz in AD&D. Found it as a bunch of level 2-5 assholes and the fighter who picked it up immediately was possessed by the blade and murdered the entire rest of the party as they slept.
Second was in 3.5. It was a 10' pole we'd sharpened for vampire hunting. After killing a couple dozen vamps with it over the course of about a month, it became sentient due to DM fiat and hilarity. It was christened the "10' pole of vamp-boning." It met it's end with the rest of the party in Asmodeus' throne room after a badly worded wish spell.
Third is in current 5e campaign. My barbarian's maul became sentient after I used it to squish a high-level necromancer's skull. Communicates telepathically via emotions. Not sure where the DM is going to go with it yet but I'm excited. Overall I think sentient weapons can add a lot of flavor to the game.

Standardise the powerlevels a little, and I would go for a Bleach-style take on this.

Say what you will about the show/manga, the talking swords were a part that was done well.

i like it...but is the winner of the festival the one that gets beheaded?

I feel like he missed something and it was implied that the knife will not willingly shed any innocent blood even though it's sharp.

So beheading is hardly a possibility.

>It was christened the "10' pole of vamp-boning."