I have a player who wants to use a sentient weapon for his character and I have no experience creating or running a session with one. They are starting at level 3. Outside of just having him roll the features and characteristics like in the DMG what are some good guidelines to stick to in terms of combat and RP? I love the flavor and what it could bring to the story, but I don't want it too be OP (or too squishy so it's no fun for him to use).Thank you!
weapon sentience is barely touched on in the rules. It's intentionally very vague. Talk with your player and figure out what kind of personality and intelligence they imagine the weapon having. Also, just because a weapon is sentient, it doesn't necessarily mean it has any particular powers so it isn't overpowered unless you make it overpowered. As for advice, I would suggest getting a good feel for the personality of the weapon. Maybe even pick a character from pop culture for the sword's personality to resemble and that could help you role play the way the weapon interacts with the character.
Definitely make sure it is something you are able to RP consistently. If the player wants it to have a personality that you struggle with when RPing it, it has the potential to not be all that fun for you or for the player.
If you don't want to use any sort of homebrew then I would suggest that you say this sentient weapon has somehow found itself a living body to inhabit, either through possession or pure manifestation. A Hexblade warlock with the Pact of the Blade is a class an subclass that are sufficiently anchored to a weapon that would emphasize this, I think.
What is the weapon, by the way? What's its back story?
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I am not too sure to be honest. I think he just likes the idea of having a sentient weapon. He also wants it to be a floating weapon (thinking he got some inspiration from Castlevania's Alucard). In terms of backstory I don't know if he thought that through, but I imagine he wants a Jarvis/Alfred like demeanor/personality. Formal in etiquette and loyal in relationship.
Hmm, ok. Well if you don't mind this character having a very rare magic item from the start you can give them a Dancing Sword of some sort, probably a rapier, given the personality they want. Might be unbalancing compared to the other player characters, though.
For amusement, here's how someone else built Alucard:
I have a player who wants to use a sentient weapon for his character and I have no experience creating or running a session with one. They are starting at level 3. Outside of just having him roll the features and characteristics like in the DMG what are some good guidelines to stick to in terms of combat and RP? I love the flavor and what it could bring to the story, but I don't want it too be OP (or too squishy so it's no fun for him to use).Thank you!
weapon sentience is barely touched on in the rules. It's intentionally very vague. Talk with your player and figure out what kind of personality and intelligence they imagine the weapon having. Also, just because a weapon is sentient, it doesn't necessarily mean it has any particular powers so it isn't overpowered unless you make it overpowered. As for advice, I would suggest getting a good feel for the personality of the weapon. Maybe even pick a character from pop culture for the sword's personality to resemble and that could help you role play the way the weapon interacts with the character.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Definitely make sure it is something you are able to RP consistently. If the player wants it to have a personality that you struggle with when RPing it, it has the potential to not be all that fun for you or for the player.
If you don't want to use any sort of homebrew then I would suggest that you say this sentient weapon has somehow found itself a living body to inhabit, either through possession or pure manifestation. A Hexblade warlock with the Pact of the Blade is a class an subclass that are sufficiently anchored to a weapon that would emphasize this, I think.
What is the weapon, by the way? What's its back story?
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I am not too sure to be honest. I think he just likes the idea of having a sentient weapon. He also wants it to be a floating weapon (thinking he got some inspiration from Castlevania's Alucard). In terms of backstory I don't know if he thought that through, but I imagine he wants a Jarvis/Alfred like demeanor/personality. Formal in etiquette and loyal in relationship.
Hmm, ok. Well if you don't mind this character having a very rare magic item from the start you can give them a Dancing Sword of some sort, probably a rapier, given the personality they want. Might be unbalancing compared to the other player characters, though.
For amusement, here's how someone else built Alucard:
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!