Samhaine said:
Whenever you attune a memory weapon and/or use it long enough that your memories/bonuses get impressed upon it, it serves as a sympathetic connection to you. It's unwise to pass it on before your death, as wizards that wish you harm may use it to cast spells on you at great range. This may just be an adventurer superstition, or there may be rituals to use the attuned weapons against their owners, but either way it should cut down on constantly powering up new weapons to award to henchmen.
The orange text was a problem I was aware of, but hadn't found a solution for. I like yours, so you may consider it yoinked. I'll probably adapt it a bit, but the theme of not leaving your Memory Items just lying around is a good one.
Samhaine said:
Pre-owned memory weapons may require unearthing the deeds of their owners and living up to their legacy to reward their full powers. That +5 Radiant Holy Avenger of the epic paladin wielded by the 1st level paladin may be slightly better than a normal weapon appropriate to his level, and gains its powers back as she finds his writings in tombs and proves through trials that she is following his path. This re-acquisition of powers should be faster than getting a fresh sword and impressing new powers into it.
I understand the sentiment, especially from a game balance point of view. I would say that Memory Items have a potential level equal to the level of the bearer that created him, but that the realized level cannot exceed the current bearer's level by more than 3. So, if a 25th level Paladin dies and leaves her sword behind, it's potentially a 25th level item. In the hands of a 6th level Paladin though it only displays 9th level abilities. This is still better than a "blank" memory item which always equals your level.
And now for some
Pure Fluff:
The Immortality of Emperor Tsang.
It is known by all that the land of Porren is ruled by the thoroughly evil Emperor Tsang, the Tyrant of the West, and has been for nearly 600 years. The nature of his long life has been a closely guarded secret, but new details describing a dark ritual known only to the Asmodean High Templars provides a clue as to how he may have achieved it. This ritual is called the Entombed Mind.
The ritual requires five High Templars, at least two items of Memory with Sentience imprinted by the same person, a willing subject, and a year of time (from one Longest Night to the next). The subject is clad in the Sentient items and then entombed alive. For one year he remains in the tomb, sustained by magic, while the High Templars pray at the entrance. Over the course of the year the Sentience of the items slowly consume his mind until almost nothing of the original personality remains, only memory. On the anniversary of his entombment the seals on the tomb are broken and the Bearer of the Items emerges with the memory of centuries and his full power.
GM Knowledge: Emperor Tsang is a 27th level Cleric of Asmodeus. Like the King of England in the good old days he is the head of both the state and the church. He has three items of memory: his warhammer, his shield and his helm. They are all 27th level sentient items. He only needs two of them to reincarnate, but he of course guards all three of them ferociously. He also once had a suit of plate armor, which is a 25th level sentient suit of armor, but it has been lost for almost three centuries now and he cannot find it with any magic. He secretly fears the power of whatever being could successfully hide it from him for so long, as well as their plans for keeping it (see Samhaine's idea above).
Tsang is assisted in running church and state with the help of 12 High Templars of Asmodeus (clerics of at least 11th level). The Rite which creates a High Templar is overseen by Tsang himself, and while it grants certain benefits it also extracts a price. Upon Tsang's death the souls of the High Templars are immediately sucked out of them and hidden away in a magical preserve known only to Tsang. Tsang has assured his minions that the preserve is somewhere in the Abyss, and that the magic protecting it from being raided by demons must be renewed every three years or so. This assures a prompt reincarnation, as they only get their souls back when he emerges from the Tomb.
Tsang is guarded by a hand-picked guard of the 50 most fanatically loyal members of the Sajdukar, his elite Legion. Upon Tsangs death they contest among themselves (sometimes lethally) for the honor of being made the next Tsang.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
