Intelligent Magic Swords? (2e AD&D)

[James Gasik]

So I was doing some research the other day and came upon a bit in the DMG where it claimed 25% of all magic swords have some sort of Intelligence.

Woah! One out of four of those generic +1 longswords cluttering up my campaigns were supposed to have extra powers? I don't recall this being that common with weapons found as treasure in published adventures; is this something that the game designers and most DM's either overlooked or chose to ignore?

 

[GuyBoy]

Didn’t play much 2E but 1E had a system for magic swords, setting their ego against player characters with a view to controlling them. I’m guessing it was based on a combination of Sauron’s ring and Elric’s Stormbringer.
Just an aside, but I remember a superb adventure in an early Dragon (something set in a mountain pass), where the ogre chief had an evil, intelligent magic Warhammer called Casrac, that controlled him and would betray him to access a powerful wielded. The aforementioned Casrac became a key entity in my campaign.

 

[Dioltach]

I played and DM'd 2nd edition for more than 20 years, and never came across any intelligent weapons.

But maybe they were just smart enough to play dumb.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Huh. I briefly ran 2E and don't remember that stat. That said, intelligent magic items are a lot of fun. I'm guessing they goosed the number so that more of them would show up in games.

As a DM, though, I think a group only needs one most of the time -- maybe two if they don't get along and your players are OK with watching you roleplay bickering magic items regularly.

 

[James Gasik]

Well after playing around with the dice a bit, I found most intelligent weapons have fairly low Ego scores. For example, the highest one I've generated was a Giant Slayer (+2, +3 vs. Giants),
Intelligence 16, Ego 15. NG.
Communicates by speech, can read non-magical languages and maps. Speaks: 6 languages.
Detects invisible objects in a 10' radius; detects gems, kind, and number in a 5' radius.
X-Ray Vision, 40 yard range, 1 turn duration, 2/day.

According to the DMG, players have a Personality score of Intelligence + Charisma + Level, which is reduced by damage you take (the example is a 7th level Fighter who loses 1 point of Personality for every 8 points of damage they take), and while the sword can demand concessions in case of a conflict, only if their Ego exceeds the character's Personality score can they wrest control.

But I wasn't really asking if these things are too powerful or how to handle them; it's more that, by the rules, it seems they should be very common, and that hasn't been my experience, and I was wondering how common they are in other people's games.

 

[Dioltach]

"Intelligent? Well, it's not the sharpest blade in the drawer..."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

But I wasn't really asking if these things are too powerful or how to handle them; it's more that, by the rules, it seems they should be very common, and that hasn't been my experience, and I was wondering how common they are in other people's games.

I have been planning introducing my first intelligent weapon in my ongoing play by post game for years. (Soon now, oh yes, my precious ...)

So, not common, although I'm really looking forward to this one making its debut.

 

[niklinna]

So I was doing some research the other day and came upon a bit in the DMG where it claimed 25% of all magic swords have some sort of Intelligence.

Woah! One out of four of those generic +1 longswords cluttering up my campaigns were supposed to have extra powers? I don't recall this being that common with weapons found as treasure in published adventures; is this something that the game designers and most DM's either overlooked or chose to ignore?

In 1e magic swords had a 25% chance of being intelligent, but the table was sequestered in its own section, so unless you actually read that whole section of the book, you'd totally miss it.

 

[James Gasik]

In 1e magic swords had a 25% chance of being intelligent, but the table was sequestered in its own section, so unless you actually read that whole section of the book, you'd totally miss it.

That might explain it. It's an odd thing; on the one hand, intelligent swords were basically patches for the Fighter, to help him compete with spellcasters. On the other hand, a high intelligence/high ego sword is more trouble than it's worth, and having a party cluttered with them would become a pain.

I'm reminded of one of the later Myth books where there's a whole collection of sentient artifacts, the Golden Hoard, who constantly bicker with one another.

 

[niklinna]

That might explain it. It's an odd thing; on the one hand, intelligent swords were basically patches for the Fighter, to help him compete with spellcasters. On the other hand, a high intelligence/high ego sword is more trouble than it's worth, and having a party cluttered with them would become a pain.

I'm reminded of one of the later Myth books where there's a whole collection of sentient artifacts, the Golden Hoard, who constantly bicker with one another.

And in 13th Age, all magic items have at least a rudimentary intelligence and personality.