Intelligent Item: Help with Skill checks & Blindsense?

[Uchiha_Arthas]

Hi guys, first time posting here and I have a question:

I recently got back into D&D and was interested in having an Intelligent item (a Weapon of Legacy actually but schematics.) but the actual question is can an intelligent item which has Telepathy & Speech etc help with skill checks made by the player?

For instance the Soul inside the weapon had some ranks in Diplomacy and Intimidate. The wielder is facing two different situations:

1) Courtroom/Trial:
First does the weapon get to make an aid other skill check to help the character using Diplomacy? It would probably be by Telepathy but could be (unlikely) through Speech as well.

Second could the weapon actually make the check instead of the player? This would almost definitely be done Telepathically in secret either instructing him in what to say and how to act or perhaps some form of (voluntary) mind control?

2) Battle:
First does the weapon get to make an aid other skill check to help the character using Intimidate? Speech or Telepathy could both be used, (Imagine the weapon screaming "Blood for the Blood God!!!" against Goblins) or would it make an entirely different skill check from the character?

3) Abilities such as Blindsense:
Sunficently powerful Intelligent Weapons get Blindsense. Now am I correct in assuming that this fundamentally means the same as the Player having Blindsense as the weapon could Telepathically direct him where to attack/defend as a free action? I realise that there might be occasions where the DM could Roleplay the weapon as not wanting to warn the player about something but that is another story.

 

[jefgorbach]

Personally I have no qualms with either request.

IMO your second courtroom example would be more akin to having someone whispering what to say via an ear-pierce/spell than "mind control".

 

[Jhaelen]

can an intelligent item which has Telepathy & Speech etc help with skill checks made by the player?

Definitely! I usually ask the player what he'd like the intelligent item to do as a default:
- Aid the pc when doing skill checks, or
- Make it's own skill checks.

 

[Gilladian]

I would stick with the "aid another" roll because of just ONE factor - player fun.

What's more fun - "the sword whispers 'remind him that he's about to incriminate himself' to the player, or "the sword's speech to the witness is so amazing that he confesses to the crime..."?

Never make an NPC that will totally outshine the players. THEY are the center of the story, not the NPC. The concept of the "Mary Sue" NPC is loathed world-around...

Never take volition away from your players. After all, if the PC is the one who falls into the trap of the villain, he has only himself to blame. If an NPC leads him there by the hand, he can reasonably be angry. The same with blazes of glory.

 

[radmod]

You might want to take this with a grain of salt because I make my PCs make a minimal effort at Dip/Intim and provide a circumstance modifier to their roll.

The easiest (and so obvious you may not have thought of it) is to give the PC a plus to the checks rather than have to do an aid other. I've always considered Intim to be more like an intimidating aura. I mean, really, how intimidating is a gnome with +25 intimidate?

Another idea is to have the item give a suggestion (not suggestion) as to what the PC could say/do. If the PC decided to say/do it then he lives with the circumstances (and the modifier to the check). That's roleplaying, IMO.
Item: "Psst, tell him you like his suit."
PC: "Um, your honor, sir, I have to say that you fill out that suit really well."
Judge: "Oh, great, one of THOSE. Lock him up!"

Also, if the item can overpower the PC or the PC allows the item to control him (because the item has a better skill check) you can have a lot of fun adding words to the PC's mouth. Or even if it can speak on it's own.
PC: "Yes, your honor. I was not anywhere near there."
Item (adding): "and your mother can vouch for that!"

3) That's the way I generally do it. More like the player gets the Blindsense feat but the item might turn it off.

 

[Jhaelen]

What's more fun - "the sword whispers 'remind him that he's about to incriminate himself' to the player, or "the sword's speech to the witness is so amazing that he confesses to the crime..."?

The latter option can also be fun - if the intelligent item has an agenda that is somewhat different from the party's (as it should be):
Most of the time the item will act in the best interest of the party, but at certain decisive moments, it may decide on a different course of action...

Basically, it's a means to place a(n initially) hidden villain in the party.