Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Sentient Items and the Spirits That Inhabit Them

Several years back, I wrote - at length - about sentient items, to include a few examples.

In a way, this post is both summation and refinement of that post. 

A sentient amulet named The Mouth of Mimulus, from the book Return to Brookmere

-----

d10 Possible Spirits Providing Sentience

1 - a bound Celestial, willingly there to ensure a greater goal is achieved

2 - a bound Devil, tries to force bargains before using abilities

3 - a bound Demon, finding brief pleasure in monkeypawing the wielder's intents

4 - a Fey Spirit, determined to the make the most of its condition

5 - a Dragon, benevolent if metallic, maleficent if chromatic

6 - a bound Elemental, most likely a Djinn or Ifrit

7 - a normal animal, acting on instinct

8 - a Sphinx, speaks in riddles but knows much

9 - a ghost, perhaps of the first person slain by the item, its first wielder, or its creator

10 - a PC class, deliberately slain in the crafting process to inhabit the device


d10 Agendas Items Pursue Especially When Dominating Wielder

1 - Freedom - either through trading places, destruction of the item, or merely traveling extensively

2 - Vengeance - against a place, a cause, a faith, a family, or an individual

3 - Chaos - death and destruction for its own sake - the more grand, the better

4 - Self-Preservation - survival first, which may involve cowardice or acting in extremis

5 - Genocide - including forced suicide if a member of the race it hates tries to wield it

6 - Assist - it wants to help a place, person, cause, or faith and ensures they are helped

7 - Guide - the item leads (or drives) wielders to a specific place or conclusion

8 - Rule - the item wants to rule, and will do so through the wielder

9 - New Experiences - lives vicariously through its wielders, and after several centuries, is quite jaded

10 - Wealth - either in decorations for itself or donations to a cause or faith

-----

Share your favorite sentient item stories in the comments, please.

No comments: