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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AuraSeer" data-source="post: 1744498" data-attributes="member: 1331">I've heard the same argument about the Leadership feat. "What's the good of having a cohort character or monster, designed/raised/trained to my exact specs, if he's going to be constantly arguing with me and refusing to attack what I order him to?"The answer, in either case, is that it's a lot of good in almost all situations. There are just some limitations on it. A cohort won't follow an order that conflicts with his alignment, and neither will an intelligent weapon-- especially one that has "strong opinions on morals."An intelligent item is not just an extension of its creator. It is an independent being with its own mind, motivation, and view of the world. Vere is likely to see things the same way Robyn does-- as a child learns her worldview from her parents-- but it's not a sure thing. And remember, some of the most bitter arguments in the world are those between family members.Considering that the item is chaotic rather than lawful, it's almost certain to be open to an "ethical dialogue." However, you also keep using the phrase "situational ethics," which has a different connotation. It usually implies a willingness to perform an evil act to effect a Good outcome. In my campaign world, that would imply a CN aligmnent rather than CG. (The gods in my world don't believe that the ends justify the means.) But in your campaign world, it depends on your DM's interpretation of the alignment system.The interpretation of Vere herself. The bow has her own mind, she makes her own decisions.Again this is up to the DM, but were you in my campaign, Vere would at least start out with a healthy respect for her creator. That means she wouldn't be likely to try and exert control over Robyn-- she'd have faith that he would do the right thing, or at least that she could talk him into it without using force.However, if Robyn abused that respect (constantly doing things of which the bow disapproved), or failed to maintain the close relationship (ignoring her input and treating her as just another magical item), Vere would stop being so nice. If she couldn't be heard any other way, she'd eventually exert control just to try and get her wielder's attention.Long story short: If the item is your friend, personality conflict should be less frequent, but you still don't get a numerical bonus on the check.How often? That depends on whether the character and item have compatible goals, and agree on how to attain those goals. Also, any personal idiosyncracies of the item will come into play. If you're drifting out of Good alignment and you sneak around hiding all the time (which conflicts with her special purpose) and you forget to change her bowstring after it's gotten wet, expect a conflict almost every day.As for your chances of winning the conflict... it doesn't look good. You're creating an item that is smarter than yourself and has more willpower. Be nice to her and try to keep her in a good mood. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></blockquote>

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