Shin Okada
Explorer
Intelligent items have their own sentience and DMG/SRD says " these items think and feel the same way characters do and should be treated as NPCs".
Well, how you fellow DMs actually run intelligent items?
1) Do you roll initiative separately from the user?
Do you let the item actually act as an NPC with it's on initiative order? Or do you just let the item take it's action within the turn of the user?
.
2) Do you allow the PC to notice something which the intelligent item has noticed?
For example, an item with higher mental ability scores has 120 ft. blindsense ability. Someone with blindsense ability usually just notice creatures within range, without Listen or Spot checks. That means, a creature with blindsense is not surprised unless suddenly attacked out o it's blindsense range.
Do you simply assume that the owner of the item simply cannot be surprised if the enemy or enemies start the attack within 120 ft. from him? Or do you treat the item and the PC as different character and let the situation like, say, "the item is not surprised but the user is surprised" happen?
Well, how you fellow DMs actually run intelligent items?
1) Do you roll initiative separately from the user?
Do you let the item actually act as an NPC with it's on initiative order? Or do you just let the item take it's action within the turn of the user?
.
2) Do you allow the PC to notice something which the intelligent item has noticed?
For example, an item with higher mental ability scores has 120 ft. blindsense ability. Someone with blindsense ability usually just notice creatures within range, without Listen or Spot checks. That means, a creature with blindsense is not surprised unless suddenly attacked out o it's blindsense range.
Do you simply assume that the owner of the item simply cannot be surprised if the enemy or enemies start the attack within 120 ft. from him? Or do you treat the item and the PC as different character and let the situation like, say, "the item is not surprised but the user is surprised" happen?