So I have recently been reading through the section of the DMG on sentient magic items, and one sentence in particular caught my eye. "Any activated property of the item is under the item's control, not the wielder's" (DMG, pg. 214). This line got me thinking. There are an awful lot of magic items that have activated abilities, and then the ideas started coming.

- A flame tongue that only catches fire when it thinks it would be funny.

- Wings of flying that are afraid of heights and will turn off if you go more than 10 feet off the ground.

- A sun blade that allows you to evoke its blade with a command word but randomly changes the command word.

- A dancing sword that attacks whoever it wants to... including you.

- Sending stones with different personalities in each stone that won't work some days because the stone are fighting.

Then I read further into the sections on communication and senses, and I started laughing.

- A dragon slayer sword that never talks to you but is constantly yelling telepathic warnings to any dragons within 120 feet.

I know that telepathic communication with creatures not carrying the items is not on the list of options, but I love the idea. What magic items do you think it would be interesting to give sentience to, or what non-standard sentient items have you used in your games?

A very arrogant Necklace of fireballs.

Quote from Wragged >>

- Sending stones with different personalities in each stone that won't work some days because the stone are fighting.

 Why not a pair of sending stones that always insist on para-phrasing the original message; to get it a sense of worth, since merely repeating something word-for-word just isn't worth its mental capacity.

Any item of protection that acts like a stereotypical mother. 

"Watch out, that bridge has no hand guard.  Someone should really fix that.  What were they thinking?"

"HOBGOBLIN WITH A KNIFE!  HOBGOBLIN WITH A KNIFE!"

I gave my players an Animated Shield that required a DC 10 persuasion check to work. They would also have to stifle it if they were being sneaky or trying to persuade others because he was a loud dick who would give away their position or tell npcs when they were lying. Also it was cursed and wouldnt leave them alone.

I have a Human Artificer who was raised/taught by Elves. DM game me Sentient Armor made by a Dwarven Master Smith. It complains about my crafting style not being what a Dwarf would make or that it isn't as good as Dwarven craftsmanship. It tries to take over and do it their way if I don't listen to them. I now have a Longsword that looks like 2 different people made it. For a character that is all about crafting it is the funniest thing he could have done. 

A crystalline dragon slayer great sword that doesn't just possess the personality of an ancient spell casting dragon but is in fact the phylactery of a dis-incorporated dracolich. The sword is only really good at killing dragons because the dracolich spirit wants a new body.

One of the best magic items to give a personality to is the Broom of Flying.  Normally a somewhat inconvenient version of Winged Boots, the moment you decide that the Broom of Flying has dog-level intelligence and a personality, it becomes an entirely new item.  I recall someone suggesting doing this, complete with making the player trying to ride the Broom roll Animal Handling to see if they could convince it to behave.  Roll poorly, or treat the broom badly, and it'd be rebellious, difficult to control, and likely to spill you at inopportune moments.  

Treat it well, however?  Make an effort to really bond with your flying doggo stick?  Not only will the broom happily obey your directives, it'll try and catch you if you fall or even exert itself in ways that it otherwise might not be willing to, such as carrying more of a load or gaining brief bursts of speed.

Another one I've done is my Bag of Animated Bearings, which isn't really sentient but is still animated in a way that amuses me.  Bearings that do their best to trip things and who trip you if you're a jerk to them tickles my fancy.

One could also introduce items such as a Staff of Power, every spellcaster's dream...with the downside that the staff is inhabited by the spirit of an ancient archmage who declares itself the user's new magical tutor, and restricts the use of the staff's abilities until and unless the user properly completes/complies with their studies.  Or similar cases of "I had all this power when I was alive.  I'll lend it to you, but only if you work diligently towards obtaining it yourself, like a Proper Adventurer."