Hello my fellow masters of the dungeons 👋. One of my pcs (a paladin) has been on a short quest to find a holy sword which was previously owned by an angel of his god, the god of caring for those in need and honour, and this angel "died" fighting a devil of the god of pain.

I was thinking that this sword could be sentient. By that I mean that the angel could be living in the sword. I was thinking that he could be permanently stuck there for hundreds of years and maybe be a bit grumpy and untrusting because of it, contrary to the legends the pc is familiar with. Maybe he created his own small world in his head to stop him from being bored. These are just ideas.

The pc has currently been made unconscious after unsheating the sword. And I was thinking that his conscious would be inside the sword temporarily where he can talk to the angel.

I was planning on this sword npc being a long term npc that the pc can look to for guidance so want to make sure he's done well but am a bit unsure how he should be as a character as well as how to handle his first encounter with the pc.

All help would be greatly appreciated and thanks to all those who respond. 

Jamie

I always think of this bit when sentient weapons come up.

https://youtu.be/XM96lCbhC3o?t=283

Yeah, that's a really cool sounding sword... but its a +1, and I got this +2 over here. So, yeah if you want it to be a major char arc thing, you'll have to make there be some sort of achievable milestones that upgrade the sword to keep it relevant.

And if you want it to be part of the char arc where he uses it thought the campaign as a source of RP, to get guidance...well you need player buy in. Is the player looking for that kind of arc? is that something they'll want? Just be per-pared for it to go into a bag of holding, and be ignored. But if they do find it as a major source of RP then could be fun. Certainly a challenge to provide  that as an interesting aspect for the party and not just a 1 on 1 interaction that repeatedly takes the game into watch Player A RP with the DM for a while.

Of course it could all work, those are just my fears of what would go wrong with it. So, I'd say GL HF, but be prepared for it to be a passing moment int he campaign if the party isn't biting hard on it.

Quote from Leech2220 >>

I always think of this bit when sentient weapons come up.

https://youtu.be/XM96lCbhC3o?t=283

 

Yeah, that's a really cool sounding sword... but its a +1, and I got this +2 over here. So, yeah if you want it to be a major char arc thing, you'll have to make there be some sort of achievable milestones that upgrade the sword to keep it relevant.

And if you want it to be part of the char arc where he uses it thought the campaign as a source of RP, to get guidance...well you need player buy in. Is the player looking for that kind of arc? is that something they'll want? Just be per-pared for it to go into a bag of holding, and be ignored. But if they do find it as a major source of RP then could be fun. Certainly a challenge to provide  that as an interesting aspect for the party and not just a 1 on 1 interaction that repeatedly takes the game into watch Player A RP with the DM for a while.

Of course it could all work, those are just my fears of what would go wrong with it. So, I'd say GL HF, but be prepared for it to be a passing moment int he campaign if the party isn't biting hard on it.

 

 Thanks for the suggestions. Also, video gave me a good laugh.

I'd say, firstly, keep the reveal slowwwww. Keeping a secret is one of the hardest things to do in storytelling, but it makes the payoff much more worth it. In this case for example, why would the angel just start chatting up some random person who happened to pick up the sword it lives in.  Sure, the guy's a paladin, but that doesn't mean he's particularly good at being a paladin. The angel will want to feel him out first, see what he's like, see if he's worthy. During this unconsciousness part, that was the angel taking a minute to read the character's thoughts and see if they even want to give the guy a chance. The character just wakes up, and finds nothing has changed.

Then you start with the sword just being empathic. The character gets a feeling that the sword likes or doesn't like what he's doing. Eventually, it works up to make some telepathy. Just one-way at first, it will tell him things, but not answer his questions. Then on to telepathic conversations before finally maybe actually talking out loud so everyone can hear. And just do it based on your gut, don't make bookkeeping for yourself and take notes about how many times he slays a villain or saves an orphan. Just have a feel for when he's done enough good, and then spring it on him at a good story moment. Make the character earn each step and it will be far more satisfying than if you just give it all away in one go. The side bonus is you don't have to have a fully fleshed out personality yet. You can see how things go, as they go, and let the angel's personality evolve into one that fits the story. then, by the time its ready to start talking, you're ready to know what its going to say. That can also give you time to refine the angel's tragic backstory, which it will eventually reveal to the party, and surprise, surprise, it ties in very nicely to either the main plot or a character's (not necessarily the pally) sub plot. 

And I'd make the sword get better as he shows himself worthy. Right now, its a +1 sword. Eventually, in its final form, it graduates to being a Holy Avenger. If you go this route, I'd suggest checking out the Vestiges of Divergence in Critical Role (the wildemount sourcebook), they give good guidelines on an item powering up along with its user. Also, there's dragon horde items in fizbans. And the artifacts in Theros, which get more powerful based on the character's piety score can be another source.

Quote from Xalthu >>

I'd say, firstly, keep the reveal slowwwww. Keeping a secret is one of the hardest things to do in storytelling, but it makes the payoff much more worth it. In this case for example, why would the angel just start chatting up some random person who happened to pick up the sword it lives in.  Sure, the guy's a paladin, but that doesn't mean he's particularly good at being a paladin. The angel will want to feel him out first, see what he's like, see if he's worthy. During this unconsciousness part, that was the angel taking a minute to read the character's thoughts and see if they even want to give the guy a chance. The character just wakes up, and finds nothing has changed.

Then you start with the sword just being empathic. The character gets a feeling that the sword likes or doesn't like what he's doing. Eventually, it works up to make some telepathy. Just one-way at first, it will tell him things, but not answer his questions. Then on to telepathic conversations before finally maybe actually talking out loud so everyone can hear. And just do it based on your gut, don't make bookkeeping for yourself and take notes about how many times he slays a villain or saves an orphan. Just have a feel for when he's done enough good, and then spring it on him at a good story moment. Make the character earn each step and it will be far more satisfying than if you just give it all away in one go. The side bonus is you don't have to have a fully fleshed out personality yet. You can see how things go, as they go, and let the angel's personality evolve into one that fits the story. then, by the time its ready to start talking, you're ready to know what its going to say. That can also give you time to refine the angel's tragic backstory, which it will eventually reveal to the party, and surprise, surprise, it ties in very nicely to either the main plot or a character's (not necessarily the pally) sub plot. 

And I'd make the sword get better as he shows himself worthy. Right now, its a +1 sword. Eventually, in its final form, it graduates to being a Holy Avenger. If you go this route, I'd suggest checking out the Vestiges of Divergence in Critical Role (the wildemount sourcebook), they give good guidelines on an item powering up along with its user. Also, there's dragon horde items in fizbans. And the artifacts in Theros, which get more powerful based on the character's piety score can be another source.

 Thanks for the help.

I raise this thread from its crypt! serve me in my undead thread army!

also this is a cool idea. I made a sword that level up with you, and gets more powerful. maybe something like that?

necromancy aside, take a look at the vestiges of divergence for ideas or a template for magic items that scale with the character's growth.