need help with intelligent maigic item

guardianfallenangel · Sep 16, 2007

How could I make an intelligent magic item, that can steal souls and take over peoples bodies? I've got a couple ideas (trap the soul, magic jar) but i'm not entirely sure. Also, if I create an intelligent magic item that can then act on it's own accord, would it be possible to play that magic item as a character?? I find it an interesting idea.

any advice you guys could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thondor · Sep 16, 2007

First of all any Intelligent item is of the Artifact level so you can let it do essentially whatever you want. You just have to come up with the DC to save against the Possesion and how often it can attempt it/what happens to the poor fools soul and how completely it dominates.

Yeah it could almost play as a character, It'd make a great reaccurring villain -- with a different host everytime. The first time the Characters wouldn't even know they wear fighting and item!

Just invent a backround and Character for the item. But remember the Character should be somewhat alien. If not destroyed the item is immortal. How does an object think anyway?

guardianfallenangel · Sep 17, 2007

the thoughts of items have always confused me a little, how advanced really are their motivations, emotions, that kind of thing. sure, special purpose items definately have a motivation for their actions, but what about other ones....

you bring up some good points.

anyway else have any suggestions, comments, anything?

shdwrnr · Sep 17, 2007

There was a really good intelligent magic item like this in an issue of Dragon a while ago. It was an intelligent Mirror of Opposition. It would use the clones created by the mirror to subdue and imprison the original and then replace that person. The mirror's goal was to work his way higher and higher, using the clone to give the mirror as a gift to more and more powerful people.

eamon · Sep 17, 2007

Thondor said:
First of all any Intelligent item is of the Artifact level so you can let it do essentially whatever you want. You just have to come up with the DC to save against the Possesion and how often it can attempt it/what happens to the poor fools soul and how completely it dominates.

That makes sense somewhere, but where does it say that intelligent items need to be that high-magic? As far as I can see rule-technically, such a limitation doesn't exist. Not that I think "minor" intelligent items work very well or make much sense, mind you.

Anguish · Sep 18, 2007

I recommend, for poops and giggles, the psionic power known as Mind Switch. What could be more fun than an intelligent magic item literally taking over your body for a couple hours at a time?

Slapzilla · Sep 19, 2007

Magic Jar or Mind Switch would both be good ways to go if you want the item to take over. The DMG has a setup for creating Intelligemt items so it should be a quick game mechanics exercise away!

Planeswalker Maloran · Sep 20, 2007

Magic Jar or Mind Switch would both work pretty well here, though I think Magic Jar fits slightly closer. The item itself is the jar, and when it takes over someone's body, their soul resides in the item. This is just a step or two up from the effects of any intelligent item with a high Ego score; it can't possess you, but it can make demands of you if you fail your Will save. As far as how often it can possess someone, how about letting it use Magic Jar on anyone who has failed their Will save against it's Ego score? And the possession could last 24 hours, at which point the character is making a new save for dominance. Up to you whether Magic Jar allows its own save, or is an automatic effect of anyone who fails the save for dominance. It depends on how powerful you want to make the item.