I love sentient weapons, in my long running 5E campaign, we had all three of them from white plume mountain and they were awesome. In my current world every single sword is sentient as they hold the soul of an elf. Most of them just show intelligence through empathy , but occasionally you get a talking one, like “the beheader” that our elf has. Always asking for the heads of the enemy. Fun stuff.
We had so much fun with sentient weapons as lore sources in the past. Then came the "magic crafting" period of D&D, where magic items were common place and sentient weapons artifacts.
Sentient items never worked for me. It’s fun for a short amount of time. But after a while it becomes stale. And it takes up time. Time that is needed to showcase other things and npc. It’s hard to pull of long term. In a campaign I GMed three times already there are a bunch of sentient items. It’s hard. Really hard ^^
I had a long sword wedged in between rocks under water in a cave. The Druid in the form of an octopus successfully pulled it out of the stones! (Nat 20). The sword could “see” who was drawing it and began to lament because it was haughty. Eventually it went to the warrior who could use it but it was hilarious.
Really good video KR. A lot of useful thoughts about items on a whole, especially around the way the 'level' of sentiance impacts much of the lore. I'll use that tip in a number of places in my campaign, not just items.
sir ive gotta say for a random click on youtube you have been the most helpful dnd idea guy ive found in a while thanks for putting in the mental leg work for me my players will love the stuff ive thought up thanks to you.
Glad I could help! I've been at this a long, long time, and I've thought about all this stuff since I was drawing dungeons in algebra class! So hopefully I can give something back for all that time I spent and almost flunking algebra!
I love sentient weapons, in my long running 5E campaign, we had all three of them from white plume mountain and they were awesome. In my current world every single sword is sentient as they hold the soul of an elf. Most of them just show intelligence through empathy , but occasionally you get a talking one, like “the beheader” that our elf has. Always asking for the heads of the enemy. Fun stuff.
We had so much fun with sentient weapons as lore sources in the past. Then came the "magic crafting" period of D&D, where magic items were common place and sentient weapons artifacts.
If "the beheader" gets bored does it ask for the weilder's head? 🤔 haha
@@sgtbigballs666 Vorpal revenge!
Sentient items never worked for me. It’s fun for a short amount of time. But after a while it becomes stale. And it takes up time. Time that is needed to showcase other things and npc. It’s hard to pull of long term. In a campaign I GMed three times already there are a bunch of sentient items. It’s hard. Really hard ^^
I feel your pain Frederic. That's why limit their sentience. A little goes a long way!
@@DDHomebrew that’s oh so true ☺️
I had a long sword wedged in between rocks under water in a cave. The Druid in the form of an octopus successfully pulled it out of the stones! (Nat 20). The sword could “see” who was drawing it and began to lament because it was haughty. Eventually it went to the warrior who could use it but it was hilarious.
It's great when players use creativity to outsmart you!
Really good video KR. A lot of useful thoughts about items on a whole, especially around the way the 'level' of sentiance impacts much of the lore. I'll use that tip in a number of places in my campaign, not just items.
Glad it was helpful. I always try to use real world examples to lend verisimilitude to the fantasy world of D&D.
sir ive gotta say for a random click on youtube you have been the most helpful dnd idea guy ive found in a while thanks for putting in the mental leg work for me my players will love the stuff ive thought up thanks to you.
Glad I could help! I've been at this a long, long time, and I've thought about all this stuff since I was drawing dungeons in algebra class! So hopefully I can give something back for all that time I spent and almost flunking algebra!
Realizing I've missed a lot of fun opportunities by not using sentient items more. I've enjoyed the ones I've used every time.
Then add a bit of "personality" to your campaign. Heh heh.
I meant to say "They add a bit of "personality" to your campaign." Typing on my phone.
I'm glad you brought up cursed items haha, they're the best
It definitely keeps your players guessing.
@@DDHomebrew and there's nothing better than "the unknown" to make things interesting, in my opinion
@@sgtbigballs666 Exactly.