Skills and Feats for Intelligent Items

[Hypersmurf]

Intelligent items have Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Some can speak languages, read, and even read magic.

Why not give them skills and feats as well?

Skill points - 2+Int bonus / level seems fair.
Feats - as a character, one at first level, one at third, one at sixth.

If we count the semi-empathic item as level 1, and each category on table 8-31 as one level higher, this means the Semi-empathic and Empathic items get one feat, the Speaking items get two, and the Telepathic items get three. (Works out nicely )

"Class" Skills : Appraise, Bluff, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Innuendo (receive only), Intimidate, Intuit Direction, Knowledge (any knowledge skill), Listen, Perform (vocal perform skills only), Read Lips, Search, Sense Motive, Speak Language (including Literacy), Spellcraft, Spot. Maybe some Profession skills in a purely academic fashion, although Knowledge probably covers this.

Obviously, a non-speaking sword that takes the Speak Language skill gains the ability to understand but not speak the language.

Some of these skills might be better as "Cross-Class" - I'm not sure.

Available Feats : Alertness. Skill Focus. Iron Will (boosts Ego checks, for a start...) Toughness (increased resistance to Sunder attempts)

For items with Extraordinary or Special Purpose Powers - Spell Focus. Spell Penetration.

For Dancing or Animated items, any number of feats become available - a dancing longsword with Weapon Focus? With Cleave? Feats that are dormant while the weapon is weilded by its owner, but come into play when it fights by itself...

Now, if we take this a step further, we can start considering an intelligent item as a cohort, that can gain experience - and develop into a more powerful item, gaining primary or extraordinary powers, increasing mental attributes, increasing Ego. Possibly even the opportunity to develop a Special Purpose.

And who knows... once an item reaches the pinnacle of its standard development (8th level - telepathic, 4 primary and 2 extraordinary powers), it can start to multiclass... Intelligent Item 8/Paladin 1, for example.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

-Hyp.

 

[Cabral]

I gave an intelligent item with a class to a PC, but I cheated a bit. The PC had the Leadership feat so the sword is now her cohort.

 

[MythandLore]

Intelligent Items are kinda really strong already, but I gues it could work.

The magic sword cohort idea was kinda neat too.

 

[pontus]

Of course, magical Constructs do not normally get skills or feats.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Of course, magical Constructs do not normally get skills or feats.

This is true. However, of the five constructs listed in the Monster Manual, golems, shield guardians, animated objects, and retrievers all have Intelligence of 0.

The homunculus with its Int of 10 does weaken this argument, but I'll ignore that and hope nobody notices

"Any creature that can think, learn, or remember has at least 1 point of Intelligence. A creature with no Intelligence score is an automaton, operating on simple instincts or programmed instructions."

The Intelligent Items - by definition - have an Intelligence greater than 0. To me this suggests the ability to think, learn and remember (though I'm aware the wording of the above quote doesn't guarantee this ability), and that in turn suggests that they have at least the capacity to gain Skill Ranks.

There's a reason this is in the House Rules forum, after all

-Hyp.

 

[Cabral]

Well, plants don't normally have skills either. You could always model this exception after the Treant. Otherwise you could say that there are two entities to be considered: The constructs (the animated body) and the animating intelect. I'm not exactly certain how that would work, but for non-animated weapons, I'm not certain that the construct type is even appropriate. If you trap someone in an item, their type does not suddenly changed to construct ...