mccolm@ucla-cs.UUCP (05/25/85)
<This line acts weird, and the editor adjusts it funny>
In my campaigns (historically speaking) I always come up with a history
for any speaking, spell-using, intelligent, talkative, or generally
obnoxous magic item. I usually don't bother with histories for +1 knives
or other such forgettable items (there's enough magic around to call the
little ones marginal) but I have been known to dream up multi-page
histories for some of the more major items. For the REAL MONGO items,
I don't bother. They've been too many places.
Probably my favorite histories for items were two swords that appeared in
campaigns not long ago. The first spoke Medusian, and did I ever have a
time explaining how that had happened! The second was *old*. Like it
had been known throughout the Cosmos for ten thousand years. The problem
was that it had been unusually busy in that time. I think the most fun
of making up the sword was that the history had left "footprints" in the
swords behavior.
EXAMPLE: Eduard the Greatsword (it sounds more impressive in Fire Giant)
was involved in the Siege of Hearthworld and Rain of Godsfire, which caused
the blade to glow a light blue, and the runes on the blade glowed a deep
red. The blade in motion left an aurora of pure white in its path. But
when the sword was taken on the Invasion of Hellworld (somewhere in the
Abyss) the aurora took on many colors, in a (you guessed it) chaotic
pattern. It was also afraid of the dark.
This is an extreme example, but at least one intelligent battleaxe now
hates Elves, anyone with a mace, and sour wine, but that's another story.
(somewhere in a vintners: "Hey! Let Go!" <trip> <splash> "Ohhh, gee....")
--fini--
Eric McColm
UCLA (oo' - kluh) Funny Farm for the Criminally Harmless
UUCP: ...!{ihnp4,trwspp,cepu,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!mccolm
ARPA: (still) mccolm@UCLA-CS.ARPA (someday) mccolm@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
"Scrabble is Peace; Link-Sausage is Slavery; UNIX is Strength."barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold) (05/27/85)
One interesting item I saw evolve over the years was a Magic Sword, dedicated to destroying Evil, found in the den of an evil wizard who had been in the process of attempting to break or brainwash its spirit. Feeling its resolution faltering, it had turned itelf Cursed, determined to do the least it could to help him. So when the players found it, it was a -2 sword that Slowed Evil creatures on a Critical Hit. If used by a Good/Lawful wielder, at the end of a year's time it would go to -1 and Slow Evil on any hit; in another year to normal potency and Paralyze Evil on Critical/Slow on normal; in another year to +1, Paralyze Evil on Critical (and Undead any time)/Slow Evil otherwie; and finally in another year's time to +2, Paralyze Evil on any hit. (Those weren't game years but real time years.) It had Ego 12, Intelligence 12 but was picked up by a Dwarf. (The local campaign interpreted the line about dwarves saving as 4 levels higher to also apply to saes against weapon domination. Only reasonable when you consider who creates most of the magic weapons. They ended up being reasonably friendly though it never told her its "true name" until she had carried it for five years.)