My current game has a sentient sword called The Mayor. It's the Mayor of a town. And it's a really good leader, in it's own way - very hard to make a sword be politically corrupt, it can't be bribed as it basically has no physical needs the money can help with. And seducing a sword is an interesting challenge. It doesn't sleep, so it's always thinking about how to improve it's town. And as it's currently jammed into an anvil in the middle of the town square (by it's own choice), it's very easy for the townsfolk to talk to their leader and have their issues heard. All the players know for sure is that it can cast mage hand (it's got to sign official documents somehow!). I really like The Mayor, it definitely caught my players off guard!
In a campaign I'm in we have a magic longbow named silverglow, is does extra damage against dragons. It has the soul of a warlock inside and is generally biased against the race of the user (he has called our tiefling a demon spawn and our half-elf a "filthy half-breed") So we have dubbed it "the racist bow"
Well, to be honest, imagine your Soul is trapped in a stupid Bow, just because you exidentally worshipped a god and now you are constantly used without your consent... Though to be honest I don't think Demon Spawn is really bad, I mean the Warlock made a deal with one... Well, maybe but you get what I mean.
I think the idea of a "young" magic item is also really good. Maybe a spirit that's very recently inhabited a book, sword, etc. These items don't need to be ancient and wise, they can be reckless and even insecure.
A sentient helm of warning. It can cast all of the "locate" spells, but only when she wants too and only gives the information she thinks you need. I'm thinking of Cortana talking into master chiefs ear during the halo games.
I've home-brewed a lot of magic items, sentient or otherwise. Generally, these items will scale with the players, making them relevant at all levels. The greatest of these was Shatterfell. Shatterfell was based on an image from an old Dragon Magazine featuring Gruumsh and the other gods of the Orcs. Within, there was an image showing Gruumsh slamming his spear into the ground, creating an explosion. So, I asked myself if this broke pieces off the spear. Since he thrust his weapon into different terrain types , where all orcs would appear afterward, there is one such "splinter" in every terrain type. Shatterfell is the spear that grew within the woodlands. I wrote an entire "Out of the Box Encounter" around this spear, and the ritual required to take possession. It's a perfect encounter for Orc or Half-Orc PCs, and I used it as a solo encounter to help the Half-Orc character that missed a few sessions to catch up tot he rest of the party. Shatterfell is sentient, and has opinions on everything. Winning it completely altered the PCs life path. He went from a follower to a leader. He chose to re-unite with his Orc life. He showed less apprehension about decision making. This is 100% the player deciding to do this, all based on his relationship with the spear. As Kumosh (the character) leveled, new powers would unlock from the spear. Kumiosh carried Shatterfell to the end of the campaign. After the campaign, I gave all the players a Coville-like epilogue. For Kumosh's epilogue, he chose to return to the Iron League (Orc homeland) to pursue the throne after the death of the old Kor (their warlord). Shatterfell would critique his choices when it disagreed, cheer when he succeeded, and was key to a massive RP moment that still raises the hairs on my arm to this day. That moment occurred when Kumosh faced his final rival for the Throne, an NPC controlled by another friend of mine. Shatterfell praised the accomplishments of his rival. This infuriated Kumosh. When Shatterfell asked Kumosh "How many eyes does he have" (a reference to Gruumsh, and his one eye), Kumosh said "Two". "And how many does Kumosh have?" replied Shatterfell. Kumosh ripped off his helmet, and in one motion, yelled "One", and gouged out his own left eye. INSTANT inspiration. I STILL brag about that player. What a champ. Sentient items can be funny, dramatic, tragic, problematic, antagonistic and inspiring, just like regular NPCs. If you have the chance, take advantage, especially if you're DMing a smaller group (or even a solo player game). They provide a foil and ally to the owner, while perhaps unlocking further content. You don't have to be Elric to wield a cool sentient item. You just have to have a dM who's willing to take a chance.
This is giving me the idea of a sentient weapon that is giving to the party once they gain a certain level of notoriety under the pretense of a gift but it conceals its sentience and other abilities as it’s really a scrying anchor for a group of antagonist that wants to keep tabs on noteworthy adventurers that might upset their plans
How about a Sentient Gold Coin? That eats one Gold Coin a Day (if you want to be evil). That constantly tells the Party to not give him away since it's a vessel of a Djinn or something... And if they do give the coin away it screams at the new owner until that one gives the coin back 😂
Now this, I like. This is devious in the best way. But you gotta hint at its sentience and abilities in some way. Strange happenings, things that might make the party guess.
@@BrianWalker93 I plan for it to have the flaw where it *MUST* know any and all secrets. So whenever it notices the hint of one, the jewel in its cross guard, blade, or head begins to look like an eye that follows the source of said secret
My Hexblade/Paladin's spear is a semi sentient cursed item that he got by making a wish to an Arch Fey to become the most famous hero in the world. The spear makes him perform heroic acts. My PC is a mix of Gilfaroy Lockhart, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, and Prince Charming from Shrek. When my PC rolls initiative I have to roll a wisdom saving throw to see if the spear takes control. If the PC is in control he hangs back and spams eldritch blast so he doesn't get hurt. If the spear takes control, it pulls him into melee and rag dolls him around. He is completely terrified the entire time. I've used it to do some character development too. One time, my player was in control and his best friend got eaten by a Remorhaz so he ran up on his own and unloaded all his smites to kill it and save his friend. Since then, the spear has unlocked other powers when my PC and the spear are working together. We also use it a lot for comedy. If I roll badly on a stealth check we say it's the spear trying to pull me towards danger. When I cast fly I ride the spear like a broom etc.
I raise you, the sentient weapon player character, a sentient warhammer wielded by a barbarian. The barbarian intelligence is so low that they cant speak and is more like an animal. The hammer is fairly average intelligence but has trained the barbarian. The warhammer is also Scottish. *barbarian trying to figure out how to open a door* "Nae ye daft bairn, ye cannae open it tha way. Turn the handle, the handle ya melt. just pick me up and smash it"
I created this sentient blade called Retribution for my first ever time DMing for a campaign. Originally it was supposed to be this chained up blade the PCs could communicate with in the tomb they were exploring and just give them exposition. However because of the circumstances and the players rolls it decided it was best to join them to retrieve a missing artifact (non-sentient) that was stolen. The player that got it really liked it because it did have this amorphous quality and took on the shape of weapons that the wielder needed (it took alot out of it doing stuff like this were it would just kinda go to sleep but since the ranger kept it instead of the fighter or paladin I had to work with it). Retribution was fun because it let me have this very serious NPC with a strong moral compass but was utterly inept when it came to social interactions. All in all was a cool thing I was proud of for my first DMing experience.
I had a sentient tricorne named "Captain shore" in my pirate campaign. It could transform into a cutlass-flametongue. He was the classical pirate in personality, but with the Twist that He was a very polite person. He didn't want to curse at all costs, but only swearing from him activates his flametounge-ability. His last ability was his Bad jokes. When you crit with Captain shore, he tells a joke and instantly casts vicious mockery as part of the attack. But the attacker AND Target where targetet. The journeys where hilarious.
I just got done DMing Witchlight. The sentient weapon was, by far, everyone's favorite NPC in the campaign. It's because I gave the weapon a ridiculous voice and used the weapon's suggested motivations in the description. The sentient weapon is NPC that comes along for the ride but doesn't get in the way or ever outshine the PCs.
Only if I can give the sword a Chad from Bleach style speech about being proud of his heritage and sometimes needing violence to save others from further violence. Then ask him if he's found the resolve to attack.
Not one of my creations, but it's my favorite sentient weapon. Nightblood is a sword from Brandon Sanderson's novels, which became sentient with the singular purpose: Destroy Evil. The fun thing is, since it's a sword, it doesn't know what evil is, but it really wants to destroy it. Also the audiobooks portray it with a haughty english accent, which is hilarious.
If you want a good/funny inspiration, Jack/The Sword of Summer from the Magnus Chase series by Rick Riordan is a good choice. It's a sentient sword that can fight on its own(but drain the user like they themselves fought) and flirts with other weapons.
When Kelly mentioned doubling down and the staff of healing, I instantly thought of a staff of healing that wants to just heal every little minor injury. Like some kind of super overprotective, doting mother.
The cavalier in my party I run for has a Yoshi as a mount, long story. And it has similar mechanics. It needs to eat half its weight in food each day or lizard brain takes over and it may try to eat the party.
I love for my plus one long sword that gets discarded after low level to have a personality so it can feel the pain of rejection as the character throws it aside for a plus two weapon that has no sentience
Hey Monty and Kelly what do you think of the idea of using the spell awaken on a magic item that has the ability to transform with a command word like the staff of the python or staff of the woodlands to make them into a sentient item?
As for the sentient Staff of Healing, I'm kind of drawn to the Doctor from Star Trek Voyager. An automaton, yet somehow snarky. "Hello, what is the nature of your medical emergency?" "The bard is down! You have to get her back on her feet!" "Again? {eye-roll} Have you even read the safety protocols that I sent you after last time? Why I even bother..." {gets down to business}
Always wanted to introduce a rope of climbing that was sentient but didn't speak. Pantomimes everything like a Disney sidekick. Makes a knot that looks kinda like a face.
This was very well-timed, Dudes! Thanks. I'm running a Drakkenheim campaign and one tiefling warlock PC's personal quest is to retrieve a family heirloom from the ruins. The player wants it to be magical, but didn't want to make any suggestions and I've really been struggling to come up with a good idea that'll be fun, useful and not overpowered. A sentient item with a fun personality is just what the doctor ordered!
Speaking of Bed Knobs and Broomsticks which was on of my childhood favs.....I always thought it was funny that the big spell that Angela Lansbury was trying to cast to stop the Nazis was prestidigitation....all through the movie she claims that she's not a good witch and knowing that the big spell that she thinks will save the day is a cantrip in D&D makes her whole shtick believable lol
For that Sentient magic weapon that gains attributes of previous wielders Roll on the table at the beginning of your turn. You may choose to use the ability at some point in your turn. 1. Reckless attack 2. Battle Master maneuver (choose one or 2 ahead of time) 3. Small smite (1d8, 2d8 as you level?) 4. Superior critical (crit on a 19) Feel free to add more to the table as it looses users.
There is a cursed magic item the bard in my campaign is weilding called the synthescyther. The keys for the weapon are along the blade. Once the user attunes to it the more the weilder uses the blade the stronger the connection with it becomes until reaching its magnum opus, a grand display of power for a short time before the weapon consumes the soul. The voice of the weapon is a legion of past weilders that are trying to assist the player in finding a way to stop the curse of the blade before he resonates too high with it and ends up just like them.
For that weapon that has seen too much battle consider the phrase: I have slain more men than you've met (will meet) in your lifetime. I would also recomend giving it proficiency in medicine. As it has slain enough opponents to know exactly how peoples insides work. This really doubles down on its experience. (It might even develop its own version of lay on hands, but that's next level stuff tbh. Or have its own fighting style.)
when you guys mentioned Strange's Cloak of Levitation, my mind immediately jumped to the idea a a sentient cape that can change it's appearance (length, style, color, etc). maybe sometimes it's a coat, or a cloak, or a cape, a robe, a vest, a scarf. idk what conflict youd give it, or really what purpose it would hold mechanically, but that sounds good for a Bard or a Rogue as a flavor item if nothing else.
The first time I made a sentient magic item it was actually as an afterthought when one of the players inadvertently questioned something too hard.. It was initially a non-sentient magic item, a flail which could combust into flame to do fire damage.. One player wanted to use it as an impromptu bonfire and just curl it up on the ground and leave it there, but it went out... When they asked why it went out I just said the first thing which came into my head which was "It gets bored." ... And their eyes lit up in wonder at discovering that it had emotions and they thought it was the best idea ever.
I've been a big fan of putting in a sentient map that leads to "Great Treasure", and mainly is used as an annoyance until the party heads to said area with the "Great Treasure" (think map from Dora and you've basically got the mentality and mindset of this item)
There are times I try to avoid having dmpc's. They can help move the story along, but I would actually prefer not to have an extra body on the field. This is actually a great idea and I think in my next campaign will have a crystal ball with a skull inside that has the potential to cast many spells, but can't cast them on their own without someone to attune to. At the same time it can be extremely helpful, but often finds helping the party a chore so they may have to convince it to aid them.
I once made a sentient sword that was +1 against everything but +5 against Goblinoids and was constantly hounding the player to go hunting for Goblins. There was a hilarious exchange when the player accused the sword of being racist. "You're kinda racist dude." - Player "No I'm not." - Sword "Yes you are." - Player "How am I racist?" - Sword "You hate people because of their race!" - Player "Goblins aren't people." - Sword
As a DM I've been playing with the idea of a sentient spell book that can cast spells on its own, kind of a toolbox of skills that can be used independently of the party for their benefit.
My hombrew sentient weapon is Fireball Maul a +1 maul with a fireball gem set in the head in the shape of an eye. Once per turn as an action the weilder can perform a melee attack on hit the maul sets off a fire ball centered on the target. The player rolls a 1d6 that will decide the fireballs intensity from 3rd to 9th level. The maul has 3 charges of fireball that recharges 1 charge per long rest. Should all the charges be used the Maul falls asleep and snores loudly until it regains a charge. It is important to note the player is not immune from the fireballs effect. The Maul is constantly trying to convince the party to use this affect. The Maul is never to concerned about the player that weilds it and it is very obvious he is addicted to exploding. The Maul has advantage on any arcana/history checks for magic but will often not give this information unless the players swear ro use its abilities in the next combat encounter. The maul constantly makes firball based puns and jokes. Its a lot of fun to give this to a low to mid level party where no one has immunity to fire damage and watch the players weigh the odds of using this item versus how much damage it could do to them.
How about having a Flame Tongue Dagger that wants to burn things and a Staff of Healing that wants to help everyone annoyed the former owner with their bantering that they switched the places. And now we have a Flame Tongue that always tries to stop you and tries to convince you to heal your enemy. And a Staff of Healing that tells you to burn things to the ground and that the best healing is the kind in which you burn the injured...
One of my best sentient weapon stories was a magical sword with the raven queen’s soul inside. It talked in her voice, and was able to do some extraplanar/feywild stuff. But it was kinda totally cursed. The condition was that either the bonded person follows instructions from the raven queen, or have their soul eaten. Later they found a warforged being without a power source, so they ended up animating it with a wish awaken spell(think Pinocchio). The robot started using the sword bc the artificer didn’t want to be controlled or die. So the sword became a hexblade warlock, and we jokingly named the robot raven.
I made a sentient item that was the scotsman sword from samurai Jack, which the scotsman would rant off insults at the wielder and it reduced the likelihood to attack, but had a good damage bonus when it did deal damage. Sadly I haven't got the chance to use it fully in a campaign yet.
This has inspired a fantastic boss idea - A demon with a collection of armaments that now house the souls that once wielded them. If the fight goes badly, I'll trap a PC in their weapon/shield/armour and take a session or two for the party to restore them
All six PCs in my game have an item with a metallic dragon spirit in it: - Monk has the Silverscale Sigil, a "living tattoo" on his chest that gives him natural armor and combat powers. - Sorcerer has the Golden Ring of the Sorcerer-King, which boosts his Charisma and gives him extra spell slots. - Druid has the Bronze Scale Shield, with various protective and lightning-based powers. - Rogue has the Copperscale Cloak, which gives saving throw bonuses and various stealth and mobility powers. - Young brass dragon PC has the Amulet of the Brass Trumpet, which boosts her breath weapon. - Cleric has the Platinum Armor of the Eternal Grand Dragon (containing an aspect of Bahamut) with protective abilities. But the primary villains have similar items with evil dragon spirits: - Frost Folk ninja has the Icicle Blade, a short sword with various ice powers. - Hag sorcerer has the Black Staff of Curses. - Yuan-ti Soulknife has the Green Coiled Tattoo, similar to the monk's tattoo but with different powers. - Dao fighter/sorcerer has the Shimmering Scimitar, with powers of lightning and illusion. - (redacted) barbarian has the Axe of Fury, with various fire based powers. - Beholder cleric of Tiamat wears the Crown of the Dragon Queen, which has five dragon heads on it, each of which has channels for two eyestalks to pass through the neck and emerge where the dragon's eyes would be.
I haven’t created any yet (tempted to steal Puffin Forest’s broken sword of warning idea just for fun), though I ran into some trouble in my Curse of Strahd campaign. I loved playing that one, my players all had a ton of fun, but, that being said, I ran the Sun Sword as being able to speak, it’s desires were to kill Strahd, but it was also afraid of him. It got through that with a lot of false bravado. Strahd kept trying to take the Sun Sword and hide it (destroying it would go against the prophecy), and so if his charm captured someone, the sword would cause conflict when he inevitably asked the wielder to hand it over. Do you think that was a good use of its internal conflict mechanic?
The best Sentient magic item I ever made was a few years ago. A -2 Cursed Monster Attractor Scimitar. It was named "Desert Sands" or something and sand got in your eyes hurting your attacks while using it.. It teleported to your hands whenever any attacks were used. It also had a "Bravado" personality always telling you how great you were doing attacking with it.. Even though you usually missed.. The "Monster Attractor" curse gave a will sv in a aoe to any enemies to always attack the wielder. It was so .. mean I eventually let the sword "unlock' the curses after the wielder tracked down the and learned the tragic fate of the Warrior "Desert Sands". Whose soul had been trapped into his blade by Calimshite Mages. Unlocking the true power of the blade, a real +2 sentient blade.
I’m going to start dming a campaign soon (maybe) and I was thinking of giving the players a magic book that allows them to cast augury and legend lore once per day, so they can basically prompt me to give some lore dumps or ask me the dm in character what I think they should do. I think I might want to make it sentient now.
I've just remembered that in my other campaign there is a githyanki ranger with a ring that protects from reading wielder's mind. Uncommon ring from DMG. But it has a trapped soul inside because it is one of the properties of that ring. So it was kinda funny to create a past for this soul.
One thing I really like is using the concept of the Tsukumogami from Japanese folklore. The concept that mundane magic items that, left alone for over 100 years, could one day gain a soul and become sentient creatures. A lot of time this can turn them into Yokai/demons, but also just letting them be possessed by a soul but still can just stay as a magic item is can be really fun. I want to add the sentient umbrella, the Kasa-obake, into a game one day as its probably the most famous of these kinds of spirits.
These ideas aren't limited to DMs. I worked with a DM and made a PC who was a sentient shield. They possessed whoever wielded the shield until the wielder passed away. It was super fun for roleplaying!
Did that for a Hexblade Warlock, I was technically my own patron. The Half-Elf guy that wielded the blade, had been mortally wounded while dungeon diving to finance his father's medical care, he'd died, but made a pact with the sword to take care of his father in exchange for his life. So the sword made good on the pact and now is an adventurer supporting his "father".
1st If you're missing their game I found them playing here. ua-cam.com/video/rFA-kSl-1gA/v-deo.html The conversation between Grog & Cravens Edge was great. Also Pluto's sword was great 👍.
I had a genie whose soul was broken up and bound into 5 different items. She got more aware and more powerful as her component pieces were collected until the last few sessions where she was freed and became a full npc.
I just recently introduced a sentient magic item into my campaign, although it's pretty much just a joke item. It's a +1 dagger sold by a shady merchant that costed 1 gp that constantly emits the Find Traps spell, it has a big green eye on the hilt and talks like the Adventure Core from Portal, always boasting about how dangerous and perceptive he is and the great beasts he's slain, all the while paranoid and warning the party of "TRAPS!" and telling them "I smell a TRAP!" that he can't actually locate. The only way to shut him up is to sheathe him, which reduces his voice to muffled screaming
I was fooling around with the ruined tower of Zenopas. Using the ring of mind shielding as described I realize you can make any dead NPC active again. As a soul within the ring. Potentially ironic to have a way of shielding your thoughts but it comes with a sentient personality who can chatter away while you wear the ring.
For my Warlock I created a magic sword that has the trapped soul of an ancient ancestor and, the PC's mission is to find a way to set the soul free. I based the mechanics behind it from the "Vestiges of Divergence" from Critical Role where the sword will essentially level up with the player and helps guide some of his actions in sticky situations. It also serves as his patron for his Hex-blade Warlock. So far it has been super cool and the PC loves his relationship with the sword that helps guide his morality.
On the tangent of the staff of healing, you could have a similar enchantment to the dog doctor from Treasure Planet when he's asked to patch up the captain "blast it Jim, I'm a doctor but not that kind of doctor. I have a doctorate but I just sit there useless" etc. Could be a fun dynamic
a long time ago, in the late 80s, while playing 1st edition a friend of mine made a sentient sword, made it have multiple personalities, 1 for each of the alignments and the owner had to roll everyday to see which personality showed up each time. sometimes when it was an alignment that was far from the owner's it was a problem. the chart the DM came up with had the sword be more likely to be compatible with the owner than not
I created a sentient magic item on dndbeyond called “Sister Deline Dathmire, Hammer of Perpetual Pain”. It’s a complex and stern item for clerics (think Catholic nun), however the one thing of note with this weapon is that whenever it is swung in battle, damage will be dealt. Either the target on a successful attack or the wielder as a penance for missing. And a crit/crat could be devastating.
I always wanted to put a potion of intelligence in a game. You’d find it in some wizard’s lab. It’s a consumable that has some appropriate effect, but it’ll go “Wait, WAIT! Do NOT drink me!”
My current project The Frogsword Pale mottled Blade Decorative Golden Crossguard, Jade Frog Pommel Sentient Magic Longsword -5 Runes on weapon -each rune activates after 20 kills and lights up with an otherworldly glow Rune 1- +1 weapon Rune 2-Can cast jump/water breathing 1/day (Bodiless voice from blade hints at enemies vulnerability/imunnities) Rune 3- +2 weapon (Blade encourages chaotic interactions similarly to a warlock patron, rewards player with one use/rest smite from level 2 spell slot) Rune 4- Can cast Haste 1/day Rune 5- Unleash the Beast (Trapped Death Slaad Ubuluthaxx the Redeemer is freed from within) Calamity ensues
Personalities that contrasts powers sounds like it could be a fun quirk, but also frustrating for the player. Perhaps something silly is better for roleplay. Also, I like the emphasis on "any magic item can be sentient". More opportunities that way.
I gave my PC (Hexblade Warlock) evolving sentient leather armor. He believes it's an emissary of the Raven Queen, helping him become worthy of her reception upon death, slowly making him stronger (every ~6 lvls or after a lofty quest is completed) by offering random power buffs. ie. +1 -> +2 AC, learn Darkness, resist specific damage type, etc.
My sentient weapon's flaw is that it is RACIST. My Oathbreaker Paladin, former Oath of the Crown who's been betrayed by the Empress whom he'd have died for, wields a Hellfire spear named Viṣāda (basically "Despair" in Sanskrit). It has been created to send the Drows souls to hell, so everytime it sees a drow, it wants my character to kill it. The problem is my character has a very strong morale code (he's LE, obviously) and refuses to kill humanoids with it, unless they serve the Empress. And the Empire is mostly about human supremacy, so he only kills humans with it, which infuriates Viṣāda, who spends their time insulting the paladin in Infernal, which he doesn't understand (though the two Tieflings he travels with do, and they always have a good laugh). And when a Drow is seen, if my character insists on not killing it, Viṣāda tends to try and possess him. It came up a couple times already (in a 3 year campaign) and it always has been a lot of fun, and trouble for the party !
The bit about magic items refusing to work made me think of an April Fools issue of Dragon Magazine which had useless magic items. One of them was the Staff of Striking: When activated, a sign appears at the end of the staff reading "ON STRIKE for better pay and conditions! PCs unfair to magic items!"
Sometimes I wonder….why these need “how to, guides”. That is, haven’t DMs been doing this since 1970? Just kidding, just being a condescending old school gamer, that look down on new players. Seriously: Some of the best sentient items, are just regular weapons (cursed even). My favorite was once we made a sentient Bag of Holding (seriously was the best comic relief ever…it even had hidden things that it would spit out inappropriately or opportunity).
Lillacor from balders gate 2. You need to gather 20k gold to get a party member busted out of a prison, you asked the 2 handed sword for advice and get, "find someone rich, then kill them. Then find someone richer and kill them too! Hack and slash your way to fortune WOOHOO!" Amazing weapon.
So far, the only Sentient Weapon I have is for my NPC Celestial that answers to him and a very select few; name Yuni (nickname for a certain family member) a double blade battle axe, can fly on its own and when called back by the NPC flies to him, emits a frost beam (God of War type attack),deals radiant damage,obviously..Yuni is considered clever and at times a dork lol hope to use him more in a few upcoming homebrew campaigns!!
My yet to actually be played Hexblade's pact will be with a shield inset with a heartstone, that reacted with the curse the hag put on the character's Clan as she died. Because the curse actually caused a lot of chaos in the Clan that allowed a revolution of slaves and slavery-objecters, and the side effects of the curse allows the survivors to get along incredibly well, the hag is now a revered as a local deity/saint. All of that combined serves as the start of the Hexblade Pact, with the hag only agreeing to go along with it under the condition that the Orc character proves that he, as someone raised in that Clan, is better than his ancestors. By sometimes brutally murdering somebody about to kidnap a person. Or reporting the cruel caretaker of the local orphanage to the proper authorities. Also, that stray kitten, we keep it, it reminds the hag of the one her family had. Did I mention that the hag wasn't even fully turned yet? The curse was literally the first and last hag-like thing whe ever did. So going to a local carnival to see some fun things are absutely mandatory. Otherwise the contract dictates that the hag gets full control over the Orcs' body, with the implication it will be used to wipe out his Clan once and for all. So, yeah, sentient shield with a child's mind, that is also a vengeful hag. And it's my Hexblade patron, and my character thinks of her as a saint.
My personal favourite is Aluneth, from World of Warcraft. Arcane Mages wielded this staff for an expansion, and it contains an entity of pure magic that would comment on your actions. If you conjured food, created portals or otherwise provided utility for your party, Aluneth would snidely remark what a waste of your (and his) immense power that is. He chastises you and complains when you run yourself out of mana in combat. Meanwhile, when you siphon magic to empower yourself out in the world, he gets really excited. When stealing magical effects from others or turning yourself invisible, he'd compliment your strategic thinking. Despite the obvious rigidity of scripted dialogue compared to a dnd campaign, Aluneth managed to feel like a companion with a strong (al-beit 1-dimensional) personality with just the two traits of "you're better than all your peers" and "mana good." I feel as if this is the perfect expression of sentient magic items. Personality traits that are easy to identify and capable of both clashing and harmonizing with the personality and actions of its wielder. And of course, he came bundled with ancient exposition, and a condescending view of mages other than you, occassionally speaking when you enter new locations or meet certain characters. (Being voiced by Matt Mercer also helps.)
A block of wood, roughly 4 inches by 2 inches by 2 inches with 4 circle-shaped holes that on touch, are only depressed slightly. However, when a platinum is placed in the first hole, it disappears into a pocket dimension (exactly like a bag of holding), and the same with the other basic coin types in decending order. It offers unsolicited advice on any purchases, and will resist dispensing coins if it disagrees with what they're for, but must ultimately obey the bearer. It can be role-played as greedy, benevolent, penny-pinching, or really any applicable traits you think would add to the climate. Having the communication be psychic or out loud, and if several people can use it are other ways to flavor it. With enough time, you can easily clean out that dragon's hoard, and you never have to deal with the odd concept of having 14000 coins on your person, which I find smooth for immersion purposes. Any other flavor ideas would be hugely welcome.
About that "hive mind" cursed item I already have one... simply Called "THE BLADE" this weapon takes form of a black longsword. It cannot speak normally but can communicate telepathically... it is also a warlock patron (Hexblade) tho the downside is that each of the previous holders literally joins "The Voices" in the weapon... and they do not speak one at a time and on the same topic... Immagine a chaotic twitch chat... here are your voices and they sometimes may demand "Blood for the blood god" due to some of the previous wielders being cultists... but there is always a wisdom save for that. and to be honest any blood will do to appease the blade... (character who has it in my sessions is an alcoholic cuz of it and has actually infinite flask)
In my first campaign as a DM I had the High King of a united medieval norse realm gift my players a stone of good luck, a gem of brightness, a decanter of endless water and a bag of holding as they set out on the quest to discover why the local northern dwarf Lord did not attend the celebration of the princess' 18th birthday banquet (the King's daughter and heir). Turned out when they finally arrived in the dwarven halls in the mountain it was a total ruin, eerily quiet with no prior signs of disaster such as a diaspora or anything, and it ended up becoming a dungeon survival horror (rip off of Moria/Erebor). In the players' time of need the bag of holding became a sentient magic item, and gifted them more magic items, kind of like the sorting hat from Harry Potter. Adamantine chain mail (for the tank), the wand of the war mage (for the spellcaster), a rapier+1 (for the dex fighter), and a potion of fire resistance and potion of diminution (for the rogue, though at one point i did allow the entire party to all drink from the potion of diminution but it meant the potion's effect lasted 1/4 the normal time). I can imagine experienced DMs possibly wincing at me gifting out such items so freely but honestly in my 6 years of player experience (which admittedly isn't that much but it's context), minor bonuses such as a +1 to hit or a simple resistance to fire damage isn't overpowered in the slightest. In fact it barely matters. +1 to a roll sounds a lot more impressive than +5% chance to hit but that's all it really is, plus the items made the campaign way more interesting for the players as they felt they suddenly had these cool additional abilities to make use of (especially the players without spellcasting). They get to feel badass and as DM I can always up the ante if need be. Truth be told I don't think the items provided actually mattered at all to the outcome of their quest, but there's always good potential for a magic item in a campaign to have a sentience of some sort. If you're running a less serious and a more comical campaign, then there's even some potential for some fun to be had ;) in this case that I just rambled about, it genuinely provided myself and the players a good memorable moment which I think is what DnD is all about
I was thinking: Immovable Rod with the sentience of a young child. Perfectly adorable in most situations, but throws a tantrum "stamps it's foot" style whenever activated.
I've made a sword based on the talking sword in warbreaker/ the stormlight archives. I can't wait to hand it out. It's based on the bones of the flametongue but with necrotic damage instead of fire.
I would like some feedback please. A shield with a Copper Dragon embossed on it, except the dragon is alive. He’ll slowly reveal himself to the player, if the player wins his trust. A little dream intrusion and then small hints over time. Finally when the dragon trusts the player in a dire moment he’ll leap off the shield enlarging into an adult copper and make 1-2 actions then has to return to the shield to rest for some time. Backstory is he was tricked by a wizard and has spent over a milinea trapped. (side quest potential to free him) The shield grants resistances but not thinking OP, like +1 and acid resistance. (A copper dragon ally for 1-2 actions is OP enough).
I made a CURSED magic ring known as the Ring of Eternal Shadow. It’s item is permanently attached to my character, by the name of Solomon Bright’hand. The rings backstory is that long ago, this ring was created with an enchanted black pearl. (Created by the first shadow sorcerer) This ring was eventually cursed, it’s curse causes every wearer’s soul is eternally trapped inside this ring when they perish. Giving it more power as time goes on, but at the cost of an unstable hive-mind that is insane. It’s curse causes you to lose control in the darkness and when it becomes a New Moon, or in other words stay in the light. While under the rings control, you have to roll a will save battle against the ring, and your magic will be much more powerful. ( I made this item before watching this video. But I never realized I followed all the steps to make a sentient item. )
In this campaign I was DMing, I gave the party a sentient Bag of Holding, that was thrown down a well by the wizard that created it because it kept talking and annoying him, so he considered it to have a fabrication malfunction and to be not working as intended. The party found it and named it Ted. It was annoying, chatty and always made impropriate jokes. It also complained when the party stored too many itens inside it: “Come on man, I’m pretty full, ate too much!” Or said something like “Oh that’s a good one! Excelent taste!” when the party stored something of value inside it. It was so much fun!
All home brewed magic items I design are somehow flawed. Magic should be weird and ancient, sourced from dragons, hags, Fey, fiends and otherworldly beings beyond understanding. Therefore, any magic items they make that lay forgotten until found should be equally weird. A sentient weapon made by one of these should be a mix of good and bad. It should be a complicated relationship. If it has a benefit in battle, give it a flaw in social settings. If it has a utility that handy, give it a cost. For example, another weapon was Ambition. Ambition is a sword which CAN have up to a +3 to hit or damage, but for every "+" you add to either the attack or damage, your max hit points drop by that amount. This loss cannot be abated, but does return upon the next dawn. Essentially, how bad do you want to hit or damage, and what are you willing to do to get it? This is also in "Out of the Box Encounters".
In my campiagn I made a sentient magic neckless based off of the Ship A.I., Ordis, from Warframe. It could cats tounge, message, and comprehend laungue and was the timid voice of hesitation in a group of rowdy and pushy adventures
In a campaign I was in once we had the Lady Sword that dealt great radiant damage and was amazing in combat but could also heal people (like paladins lay on hands but with a sword). The sword HATED fighting and loved receiving compliments for doing a good job, my pacifist Life cleric was best friends with the Lady Sword that didn't want to harm anyone.
My last one was WOP (weapon of power), and it was vengeance seeking, re-skined staff of power. He acted as the brains for my dwarf/monkey barbarian/ warlock.
The players in one of my games found a bag of holding in a chest in the middle of a forest. They had been asking for one for ages. Didn’t question it. Thought I was being a generous DM. Wizard puts it on because he’s always the furthest from combat and thus the most likely to survive with the loot (their logic, not mine lol). Wizard attaches the bag. A couple of sessions later and the bag starts speaking to the wizard. Enter Dugal, a dwarf who pissed off a forest hag and was cursed into a bag of holding. He likes to “hiccup” out coins every so often to annoy the players and swear profusely to the wizard lol
I've been contemplating an Archipelago setting and thought that a sentient ship would be fun there. Either it can summon an unseen crew to work the rigging, sails, & cannons or maybe it can animate all of those parts to do it themselves. Just, stuff that makes it possible for a small group to crew a larger vessel with only a couple of NPCs needed. Idea: The sentient ship "Yetim" and its crew fought against pirates, though Yetim was able to eventually sink the pirates' ship it was not before they boarded it and slaughtered/ captured its crew. Yetim, not wanting to be destroyed pretended to only be a boat and waited to come across a passing ship that will hopefully help. When Yetim sees your party, it ceases all movement & won't fire its cannons. If you board their ship (even to help) they will attack and try to commandeer your vessel. Fight them off and congratulations you just upgraded your ride, plus a few freed prisoners might stick around as thanks and to help keep Yetim happy & healthy.
The best way to include a sentient weapon in a game is to give a really nice weapon (stat wise, worpal sword or armor of invulnerability, rod of lordly might, etc.) and give it really nasty personality, so the players want to get rid of it since it is a nasty bully with potty mouth that constantly berates its wielder or is condesending prick which just passively-aggressively comments on every bad roll of the player, but due to the great stats the players cant bring themselves to do it and have to either content with it or find a way to minimize its usage. The best story of this kind is the Seth Skorkowsky's Bonesaw story which equal parts hilarious and educational. Examples from fiction is Excalibur from the Soul Eater or Skippy from CP 2077.
In our campaign we have a sentient stone XD it started in a dungeon, we all got caught and my Husband, the rogue, opend the handcuffs whith a stone (nat20) and He kept the stone and nearly always Rolled nat20s when opening something with it and now it's a Sentient stone! A pice of a Statitued of a legendary Rogue, you need to persuate him to open Things, if you fail you stay there and polish the stone because He don't likes to be shoved into dirty locks XD it's hilarious. Some PCs are New in the Party and they think my Bard is insane because I talk to a stone XD... And the fact that I also talk to my Hexblade doesn't help
Im DMing a campaing based on MoTheros and what I did was create artifacts (technically sentient items) that have part of the essence/spirit of older gods, from another time (like Hermes, Odin, Zeus, Athena, Revanta, Eset, etc.) that judge whoever tries to Sync with them and based on it, they can give a certain amount of power or punish (cursed item). While the campaign goes on, depending on their actions, the item can upgrade itself, as in the Deity inside allows the player to use more of its power. Also, only one player thought about trying to talk with the Deity inside, so that can also be fun. Technically a sentient item right?
We had a dmpc for my first campaign. Life cleric. Once we had learned the ropes of the game, the DM killed the cleric off rather mercilessly to help provide motivation for our party to avenge them. Like Trask in KOTOR.
I made a rapier for one of my campaigns called The Vicious Dueling Sword. It auto cast vicious mockery when it hit an enemy (at the lowest level only). It was arrogant and constantly mocked the fighting ability of everyone it hit. Much fun was had.
For a backstory of my Hexlock I took an Dark Shard Amulet and put the soul of an old wizard into it. 'cause I need to talk with my DM, making the amulet less powerfull like it can only be used as a focus and lost the other skill for the cantrip part. ^^" Not realy sentient but well. ^^
My current game has a sentient sword called The Mayor.
It's the Mayor of a town.
And it's a really good leader, in it's own way - very hard to make a sword be politically corrupt, it can't be bribed as it basically has no physical needs the money can help with. And seducing a sword is an interesting challenge.
It doesn't sleep, so it's always thinking about how to improve it's town.
And as it's currently jammed into an anvil in the middle of the town square (by it's own choice), it's very easy for the townsfolk to talk to their leader and have their issues heard.
All the players know for sure is that it can cast mage hand (it's got to sign official documents somehow!).
I really like The Mayor, it definitely caught my players off guard!
Do you mind if I use this, that's brilliant
Do you mind if i «steal» this?
The mayor of a town near where I live in Alaska is a cat. A sentient cat, Mr. Stubbs.
What if it was bribed with a whetstone by a skilled blacksmith?
@@cianthompson2626 Certainly, The Mayor can be demensionally transcendental and appear in as many stories as needed!
In a campaign I'm in we have a magic longbow named silverglow, is does extra damage against dragons. It has the soul of a warlock inside and is generally biased against the race of the user (he has called our tiefling a demon spawn and our half-elf a "filthy half-breed") So we have dubbed it "the racist bow"
I guess ur pc's can't handle the truth :p
why dose that bow sound so much like Umbridge from Harry Potter?
Well, to be honest, imagine your Soul is trapped in a stupid Bow, just because you exidentally worshipped a god and now you are constantly used without your consent...
Though to be honest I don't think Demon Spawn is really bad, I mean the Warlock made a deal with one... Well, maybe but you get what I mean.
I think the idea of a "young" magic item is also really good. Maybe a spirit that's very recently inhabited a book, sword, etc. These items don't need to be ancient and wise, they can be reckless and even insecure.
A sentient helm of warning. It can cast all of the "locate" spells, but only when she wants too and only gives the information she thinks you need. I'm thinking of Cortana talking into master chiefs ear during the halo games.
🤣
This is brilliant and I'm absolutely stealing this!
I've home-brewed a lot of magic items, sentient or otherwise. Generally, these items will scale with the players, making them relevant at all levels.
The greatest of these was Shatterfell. Shatterfell was based on an image from an old Dragon Magazine featuring Gruumsh and the other gods of the Orcs. Within, there was an image showing Gruumsh slamming his spear into the ground, creating an explosion.
So, I asked myself if this broke pieces off the spear. Since he thrust his weapon into different terrain types , where all orcs would appear afterward, there is one such "splinter" in every terrain type. Shatterfell is the spear that grew within the woodlands.
I wrote an entire "Out of the Box Encounter" around this spear, and the ritual required to take possession. It's a perfect encounter for Orc or Half-Orc PCs, and I used it as a solo encounter to help the Half-Orc character that missed a few sessions to catch up tot he rest of the party.
Shatterfell is sentient, and has opinions on everything. Winning it completely altered the PCs life path. He went from a follower to a leader. He chose to re-unite with his Orc life. He showed less apprehension about decision making. This is 100% the player deciding to do this, all based on his relationship with the spear. As Kumosh (the character) leveled, new powers would unlock from the spear.
Kumiosh carried Shatterfell to the end of the campaign. After the campaign, I gave all the players a Coville-like epilogue. For Kumosh's epilogue, he chose to return to the Iron League (Orc homeland) to pursue the throne after the death of the old Kor (their warlord). Shatterfell would critique his choices when it disagreed, cheer when he succeeded, and was key to a massive RP moment that still raises the hairs on my arm to this day.
That moment occurred when Kumosh faced his final rival for the Throne, an NPC controlled by another friend of mine. Shatterfell praised the accomplishments of his rival. This infuriated Kumosh. When Shatterfell asked Kumosh "How many eyes does he have" (a reference to Gruumsh, and his one eye), Kumosh said "Two". "And how many does Kumosh have?" replied Shatterfell. Kumosh ripped off his helmet, and in one motion, yelled "One", and gouged out his own left eye. INSTANT inspiration. I STILL brag about that player. What a champ.
Sentient items can be funny, dramatic, tragic, problematic, antagonistic and inspiring, just like regular NPCs. If you have the chance, take advantage, especially if you're DMing a smaller group (or even a solo player game). They provide a foil and ally to the owner, while perhaps unlocking further content.
You don't have to be Elric to wield a cool sentient item. You just have to have a dM who's willing to take a chance.
This is giving me the idea of a sentient weapon that is giving to the party once they gain a certain level of notoriety under the pretense of a gift but it conceals its sentience and other abilities as it’s really a scrying anchor for a group of antagonist that wants to keep tabs on noteworthy adventurers that might upset their plans
How about a Sentient Gold Coin?
That eats one Gold Coin a Day (if you want to be evil).
That constantly tells the Party to not give him away since it's a vessel of a Djinn or something...
And if they do give the coin away it screams at the new owner until that one gives the coin back 😂
Now this, I like. This is devious in the best way. But you gotta hint at its sentience and abilities in some way. Strange happenings, things that might make the party guess.
@@BrianWalker93 I plan for it to have the flaw where it *MUST* know any and all secrets. So whenever it notices the hint of one, the jewel in its cross guard, blade, or head begins to look like an eye that follows the source of said secret
Think outside the box. Make a sentient shirt that criticizes your hygiene. Or a sentient potion that keeps lying about what kind of potion it is
I love that potion idea, I'm stealing it
@@leoskoble it's not stealing if I'm glad to share it! ;)
@@Calebgoblin if that’s the case I don’t want it anymore. lol
@@Known-Cheater not for you! Just for them. You still have to steal it ;)
@@Calebgoblin thank you. 🤣
Edit: I mean, it’s mine now, sucker.
My Hexblade/Paladin's spear is a semi sentient cursed item that he got by making a wish to an Arch Fey to become the most famous hero in the world. The spear makes him perform heroic acts. My PC is a mix of Gilfaroy Lockhart, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, and Prince Charming from Shrek.
When my PC rolls initiative I have to roll a wisdom saving throw to see if the spear takes control. If the PC is in control he hangs back and spams eldritch blast so he doesn't get hurt. If the spear takes control, it pulls him into melee and rag dolls him around. He is completely terrified the entire time.
I've used it to do some character development too. One time, my player was in control and his best friend got eaten by a Remorhaz so he ran up on his own and unloaded all his smites to kill it and save his friend. Since then, the spear has unlocked other powers when my PC and the spear are working together.
We also use it a lot for comedy. If I roll badly on a stealth check we say it's the spear trying to pull me towards danger. When I cast fly I ride the spear like a broom etc.
I'm stealing this
I raise you, the sentient weapon player character, a sentient warhammer wielded by a barbarian. The barbarian intelligence is so low that they cant speak and is more like an animal. The hammer is fairly average intelligence but has trained the barbarian. The warhammer is also Scottish.
*barbarian trying to figure out how to open a door*
"Nae ye daft bairn, ye cannae open it tha way. Turn the handle, the handle ya melt. just pick me up and smash it"
I created this sentient blade called Retribution for my first ever time DMing for a campaign. Originally it was supposed to be this chained up blade the PCs could communicate with in the tomb they were exploring and just give them exposition. However because of the circumstances and the players rolls it decided it was best to join them to retrieve a missing artifact (non-sentient) that was stolen. The player that got it really liked it because it did have this amorphous quality and took on the shape of weapons that the wielder needed (it took alot out of it doing stuff like this were it would just kinda go to sleep but since the ranger kept it instead of the fighter or paladin I had to work with it). Retribution was fun because it let me have this very serious NPC with a strong moral compass but was utterly inept when it came to social interactions. All in all was a cool thing I was proud of for my first DMing experience.
I had a sentient tricorne named "Captain shore" in my pirate campaign. It could transform into a cutlass-flametongue.
He was the classical pirate in personality, but with the Twist that He was a very polite person. He didn't want to curse at all costs, but only swearing from him activates his flametounge-ability.
His last ability was his Bad jokes. When you crit with Captain shore, he tells a joke and instantly casts vicious mockery as part of the attack. But the attacker AND Target where targetet.
The journeys where hilarious.
I just got done DMing Witchlight. The sentient weapon was, by far, everyone's favorite NPC in the campaign. It's because I gave the weapon a ridiculous voice and used the weapon's suggested motivations in the description.
The sentient weapon is NPC that comes along for the ride but doesn't get in the way or ever outshine the PCs.
curse magic items that are cursed for the item, like a pacifist sword, or a hat that is afraid of heights
Only if I can give the sword a Chad from Bleach style speech about being proud of his heritage and sometimes needing violence to save others from further violence. Then ask him if he's found the resolve to attack.
@@LupineShadowOmega that would be a great moment of character development, the gohan of swords
Not one of my creations, but it's my favorite sentient weapon. Nightblood is a sword from Brandon Sanderson's novels, which became sentient with the singular purpose: Destroy Evil. The fun thing is, since it's a sword, it doesn't know what evil is, but it really wants to destroy it. Also the audiobooks portray it with a haughty english accent, which is hilarious.
If you want a good/funny inspiration, Jack/The Sword of Summer from the Magnus Chase series by Rick Riordan is a good choice. It's a sentient sword that can fight on its own(but drain the user like they themselves fought) and flirts with other weapons.
Jack was one of my favorite characters
When Kelly mentioned doubling down and the staff of healing, I instantly thought of a staff of healing that wants to just heal every little minor injury. Like some kind of super overprotective, doting mother.
Judt a sprout white mage that thinks any damage to the tank is fatal
I homebrewed a "pet mimic" that can turn into a weapon but if he goes too long without being fed he turns hostile
The cavalier in my party I run for has a Yoshi as a mount, long story. And it has similar mechanics. It needs to eat half its weight in food each day or lizard brain takes over and it may try to eat the party.
I love for my plus one long sword that gets discarded after low level to have a personality so it can feel the pain of rejection as the character throws it aside for a plus two weapon that has no sentience
Hey Monty and Kelly what do you think of the idea of using the spell awaken on a magic item that has the ability to transform with a command word like the staff of the python or staff of the woodlands to make them into a sentient item?
As for the sentient Staff of Healing, I'm kind of drawn to the Doctor from Star Trek Voyager. An automaton, yet somehow snarky.
"Hello, what is the nature of your medical emergency?" "The bard is down! You have to get her back on her feet!" "Again? {eye-roll} Have you even read the safety protocols that I sent you after last time? Why I even bother..." {gets down to business}
Always wanted to introduce a rope of climbing that was sentient but didn't speak. Pantomimes everything like a Disney sidekick. Makes a knot that looks kinda like a face.
This was very well-timed, Dudes! Thanks. I'm running a Drakkenheim campaign and one tiefling warlock PC's personal quest is to retrieve a family heirloom from the ruins. The player wants it to be magical, but didn't want to make any suggestions and I've really been struggling to come up with a good idea that'll be fun, useful and not overpowered. A sentient item with a fun personality is just what the doctor ordered!
Speaking of Bed Knobs and Broomsticks which was on of my childhood favs.....I always thought it was funny that the big spell that Angela Lansbury was trying to cast to stop the Nazis was prestidigitation....all through the movie she claims that she's not a good witch and knowing that the big spell that she thinks will save the day is a cantrip in D&D makes her whole shtick believable lol
For that Sentient magic weapon that gains attributes of previous wielders
Roll on the table at the beginning of your turn.
You may choose to use the ability at some point in your turn.
1. Reckless attack
2. Battle Master maneuver (choose one or 2 ahead of time)
3. Small smite (1d8, 2d8 as you level?)
4. Superior critical (crit on a 19)
Feel free to add more to the table as it looses users.
The -BEST- sentient magic item for me will ALWAYS be the Luggage from the Discworld.
There is a cursed magic item the bard in my campaign is weilding called the synthescyther. The keys for the weapon are along the blade. Once the user attunes to it the more the weilder uses the blade the stronger the connection with it becomes until reaching its magnum opus, a grand display of power for a short time before the weapon consumes the soul. The voice of the weapon is a legion of past weilders that are trying to assist the player in finding a way to stop the curse of the blade before he resonates too high with it and ends up just like them.
For that weapon that has seen too much battle consider the phrase:
I have slain more men than you've met (will meet) in your lifetime.
I would also recomend giving it proficiency in medicine. As it has slain enough opponents to know exactly how peoples insides work.
This really doubles down on its experience.
(It might even develop its own version of lay on hands, but that's next level stuff tbh. Or have its own fighting style.)
when you guys mentioned Strange's Cloak of Levitation, my mind immediately jumped to the idea a a sentient cape that can change it's appearance (length, style, color, etc). maybe sometimes it's a coat, or a cloak, or a cape, a robe, a vest, a scarf. idk what conflict youd give it, or really what purpose it would hold mechanically, but that sounds good for a Bard or a Rogue as a flavor item if nothing else.
Uh...the Cloak Of Many Fashions already exists?
The first time I made a sentient magic item it was actually as an afterthought when one of the players inadvertently questioned something too hard..
It was initially a non-sentient magic item, a flail which could combust into flame to do fire damage.. One player wanted to use it as an impromptu bonfire and just curl it up on the ground and leave it there, but it went out... When they asked why it went out I just said the first thing which came into my head which was "It gets bored."
... And their eyes lit up in wonder at discovering that it had emotions and they thought it was the best idea ever.
I've been a big fan of putting in a sentient map that leads to "Great Treasure", and mainly is used as an annoyance until the party heads to said area with the "Great Treasure" (think map from Dora and you've basically got the mentality and mindset of this item)
I love Kelly's shirt so much
There are times I try to avoid having dmpc's. They can help move the story along, but I would actually prefer not to have an extra body on the field. This is actually a great idea and I think in my next campaign will have a crystal ball with a skull inside that has the potential to cast many spells, but can't cast them on their own without someone to attune to. At the same time it can be extremely helpful, but often finds helping the party a chore so they may have to convince it to aid them.
Give them a Sentient potion, no added value and it's Sentience ends when you drink it. "please don't drink me" it begs as you go to drink it.
and then it turns out it was a good aligned potion mimic
the best example of a sentient magic item that i can think of its night blood from the breath of the gods from brandon sanderson, really recommend it.
I once made a sentient sword that was +1 against everything but +5 against Goblinoids and was constantly hounding the player to go hunting for Goblins.
There was a hilarious exchange when the player accused the sword of being racist.
"You're kinda racist dude." - Player
"No I'm not." - Sword
"Yes you are." - Player
"How am I racist?" - Sword
"You hate people because of their race!" - Player
"Goblins aren't people." - Sword
As a DM I've been playing with the idea of a sentient spell book that can cast spells on its own, kind of a toolbox of skills that can be used independently of the party for their benefit.
Cantrips and ritual spells for dayz.
Give it to a party of Martials and your set.
That's the basic idea, with some real powerhouse utilities that unlock as the party progresses.
My hombrew sentient weapon is Fireball Maul a +1 maul with a fireball gem set in the head in the shape of an eye. Once per turn as an action the weilder can perform a melee attack on hit the maul sets off a fire ball centered on the target. The player rolls a 1d6 that will decide the fireballs intensity from 3rd to 9th level. The maul has 3 charges of fireball that recharges 1 charge per long rest. Should all the charges be used the Maul falls asleep and snores loudly until it regains a charge. It is important to note the player is not immune from the fireballs effect. The Maul is constantly trying to convince the party to use this affect. The Maul is never to concerned about the player that weilds it and it is very obvious he is addicted to exploding. The Maul has advantage on any arcana/history checks for magic but will often not give this information unless the players swear ro use its abilities in the next combat encounter. The maul constantly makes firball based puns and jokes. Its a lot of fun to give this to a low to mid level party where no one has immunity to fire damage and watch the players weigh the odds of using this item versus how much damage it could do to them.
How about having a Flame Tongue Dagger that wants to burn things and a Staff of Healing that wants to help everyone annoyed the former owner with their bantering that they switched the places.
And now we have a Flame Tongue that always tries to stop you and tries to convince you to heal your enemy.
And a Staff of Healing that tells you to burn things to the ground and that the best healing is the kind in which you burn the injured...
One of my best sentient weapon stories was a magical sword with the raven queen’s soul inside. It talked in her voice, and was able to do some extraplanar/feywild stuff. But it was kinda totally cursed. The condition was that either the bonded person follows instructions from the raven queen, or have their soul eaten. Later they found a warforged being without a power source, so they ended up animating it with a wish awaken spell(think Pinocchio). The robot started using the sword bc the artificer didn’t want to be controlled or die. So the sword became a hexblade warlock, and we jokingly named the robot raven.
I made a sentient item that was the scotsman sword from samurai Jack, which the scotsman would rant off insults at the wielder and it reduced the likelihood to attack, but had a good damage bonus when it did deal damage. Sadly I haven't got the chance to use it fully in a campaign yet.
A funny gag sentient magic item: A sentient Broom of Flying that's afraid of heights.
“There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s get into it.”?
What happened to “…let’s get rolling.”?
Yayyyy, my idea for a town doctor but was really a charlatan with a staff of healing isn’t such a dumb idea!
I should make a sentient item that just wants to go on adventures, and complains whenever the party does downtime.
This has inspired a fantastic boss idea - A demon with a collection of armaments that now house the souls that once wielded them. If the fight goes badly, I'll trap a PC in their weapon/shield/armour and take a session or two for the party to restore them
All six PCs in my game have an item with a metallic dragon spirit in it:
- Monk has the Silverscale Sigil, a "living tattoo" on his chest that gives him natural armor and combat powers.
- Sorcerer has the Golden Ring of the Sorcerer-King, which boosts his Charisma and gives him extra spell slots.
- Druid has the Bronze Scale Shield, with various protective and lightning-based powers.
- Rogue has the Copperscale Cloak, which gives saving throw bonuses and various stealth and mobility powers.
- Young brass dragon PC has the Amulet of the Brass Trumpet, which boosts her breath weapon.
- Cleric has the Platinum Armor of the Eternal Grand Dragon (containing an aspect of Bahamut) with protective abilities.
But the primary villains have similar items with evil dragon spirits:
- Frost Folk ninja has the Icicle Blade, a short sword with various ice powers.
- Hag sorcerer has the Black Staff of Curses.
- Yuan-ti Soulknife has the Green Coiled Tattoo, similar to the monk's tattoo but with different powers.
- Dao fighter/sorcerer has the Shimmering Scimitar, with powers of lightning and illusion.
- (redacted) barbarian has the Axe of Fury, with various fire based powers.
- Beholder cleric of Tiamat wears the Crown of the Dragon Queen, which has five dragon heads on it, each of which has channels for two eyestalks to pass through the neck and emerge where the dragon's eyes would be.
My party's bard wanted a sentient saxophone, she named it Herbert, and yes, he is a pervert
I haven’t created any yet (tempted to steal Puffin Forest’s broken sword of warning idea just for fun), though I ran into some trouble in my Curse of Strahd campaign. I loved playing that one, my players all had a ton of fun, but, that being said, I ran the Sun Sword as being able to speak, it’s desires were to kill Strahd, but it was also afraid of him. It got through that with a lot of false bravado. Strahd kept trying to take the Sun Sword and hide it (destroying it would go against the prophecy), and so if his charm captured someone, the sword would cause conflict when he inevitably asked the wielder to hand it over. Do you think that was a good use of its internal conflict mechanic?
The best Sentient magic item I ever made was a few years ago. A -2 Cursed Monster Attractor Scimitar. It was named "Desert Sands" or something and sand got in your eyes hurting your attacks while using it.. It teleported to your hands whenever any attacks were used. It also had a "Bravado" personality always telling you how great you were doing attacking with it.. Even though you usually missed.. The "Monster Attractor" curse gave a will sv in a aoe to any enemies to always attack the wielder. It was so .. mean I eventually let the sword "unlock' the curses after the wielder tracked down the and learned the tragic fate of the Warrior "Desert Sands". Whose soul had been trapped into his blade by Calimshite Mages. Unlocking the true power of the blade, a real +2 sentient blade.
I’m going to start dming a campaign soon (maybe) and I was thinking of giving the players a magic book that allows them to cast augury and legend lore once per day, so they can basically prompt me to give some lore dumps or ask me the dm in character what I think they should do. I think I might want to make it sentient now.
I've just remembered that in my other campaign there is a githyanki ranger with a ring that protects from reading wielder's mind. Uncommon ring from DMG. But it has a trapped soul inside because it is one of the properties of that ring. So it was kinda funny to create a past for this soul.
Ah yes the Ring of Mind Shielding. It's one of my favorite items.
One thing I really like is using the concept of the Tsukumogami from Japanese folklore. The concept that mundane magic items that, left alone for over 100 years, could one day gain a soul and become sentient creatures. A lot of time this can turn them into Yokai/demons, but also just letting them be possessed by a soul but still can just stay as a magic item is can be really fun. I want to add the sentient umbrella, the Kasa-obake, into a game one day as its probably the most famous of these kinds of spirits.
These ideas aren't limited to DMs. I worked with a DM and made a PC who was a sentient shield. They possessed whoever wielded the shield until the wielder passed away. It was super fun for roleplaying!
Did that for a Hexblade Warlock, I was technically my own patron. The Half-Elf guy that wielded the blade, had been mortally wounded while dungeon diving to finance his father's medical care, he'd died, but made a pact with the sword to take care of his father in exchange for his life. So the sword made good on the pact and now is an adventurer supporting his "father".
1st
If you're missing their game I found them playing here.
ua-cam.com/video/rFA-kSl-1gA/v-deo.html
The conversation between Grog & Cravens Edge was great. Also Pluto's sword was great 👍.
I had a genie whose soul was broken up and bound into 5 different items. She got more aware and more powerful as her component pieces were collected until the last few sessions where she was freed and became a full npc.
I just recently introduced a sentient magic item into my campaign, although it's pretty much just a joke item. It's a +1 dagger sold by a shady merchant that costed 1 gp that constantly emits the Find Traps spell, it has a big green eye on the hilt and talks like the Adventure Core from Portal, always boasting about how dangerous and perceptive he is and the great beasts he's slain, all the while paranoid and warning the party of "TRAPS!" and telling them "I smell a TRAP!" that he can't actually locate. The only way to shut him up is to sheathe him, which reduces his voice to muffled screaming
I was fooling around with the ruined tower of Zenopas. Using the ring of mind shielding as described I realize you can make any dead NPC active again. As a soul within the ring. Potentially ironic to have a way of shielding your thoughts but it comes with a sentient personality who can chatter away while you wear the ring.
For my Warlock I created a magic sword that has the trapped soul of an ancient ancestor and, the PC's mission is to find a way to set the soul free. I based the mechanics behind it from the "Vestiges of Divergence" from Critical Role where the sword will essentially level up with the player and helps guide some of his actions in sticky situations. It also serves as his patron for his Hex-blade Warlock. So far it has been super cool and the PC loves his relationship with the sword that helps guide his morality.
On the tangent of the staff of healing, you could have a similar enchantment to the dog doctor from Treasure Planet when he's asked to patch up the captain "blast it Jim, I'm a doctor but not that kind of doctor. I have a doctorate but I just sit there useless" etc. Could be a fun dynamic
a long time ago, in the late 80s, while playing 1st edition a friend of mine made a sentient sword, made it have multiple personalities, 1 for each of the alignments and the owner had to roll everyday to see which personality showed up each time.
sometimes when it was an alignment that was far from the owner's it was a problem. the chart the DM came up with had the sword be more likely to be compatible with the owner than not
Check out Seth Skorkowski's "The Bonesaw". Wonderful and annoying item!
ua-cam.com/video/epM1GJN4kog/v-deo.html
I created a sentient magic item on dndbeyond called “Sister Deline Dathmire, Hammer of Perpetual Pain”. It’s a complex and stern item for clerics (think Catholic nun), however the one thing of note with this weapon is that whenever it is swung in battle, damage will be dealt. Either the target on a successful attack or the wielder as a penance for missing. And a crit/crat could be devastating.
On a miss, a spectral ruler appears and raps the wielder on the knuckles for 1 bludgeoning damage.
I always wanted to put a potion of intelligence in a game. You’d find it in some wizard’s lab. It’s a consumable that has some appropriate effect, but it’ll go “Wait, WAIT! Do NOT drink me!”
What's up with the low energy intro lol, where's my "GREETINGS!" and "THE DUNGEON DUDES!"
My current project
The Frogsword
Pale mottled Blade Decorative Golden Crossguard, Jade Frog Pommel
Sentient Magic Longsword
-5 Runes on weapon
-each rune activates after 20 kills and lights up with an otherworldly glow
Rune 1- +1 weapon
Rune 2-Can cast jump/water breathing 1/day
(Bodiless voice from blade hints at enemies vulnerability/imunnities)
Rune 3- +2 weapon
(Blade encourages chaotic interactions similarly to a warlock patron, rewards player with one use/rest smite from level 2 spell slot)
Rune 4- Can cast Haste 1/day
Rune 5- Unleash the Beast (Trapped Death Slaad Ubuluthaxx the Redeemer is freed from within)
Calamity ensues
Personalities that contrasts powers sounds like it could be a fun quirk, but also frustrating for the player. Perhaps something silly is better for roleplay.
Also, I like the emphasis on "any magic item can be sentient". More opportunities that way.
Inspiration: Lilarcor, the Sentient Sword. From Baldur's Gate 2. Wants to kill everything but is benign and beneficial otherwise.
I gave my PC (Hexblade Warlock) evolving sentient leather armor. He believes it's an emissary of the Raven Queen, helping him become worthy of her reception upon death, slowly making him stronger (every ~6 lvls or after a lofty quest is completed) by offering random power buffs. ie. +1 -> +2 AC, learn Darkness, resist specific damage type, etc.
My sentient weapon's flaw is that it is RACIST.
My Oathbreaker Paladin, former Oath of the Crown who's been betrayed by the Empress whom he'd have died for, wields a Hellfire spear named Viṣāda (basically "Despair" in Sanskrit). It has been created to send the Drows souls to hell, so everytime it sees a drow, it wants my character to kill it.
The problem is my character has a very strong morale code (he's LE, obviously) and refuses to kill humanoids with it, unless they serve the Empress. And the Empire is mostly about human supremacy, so he only kills humans with it, which infuriates Viṣāda, who spends their time insulting the paladin in Infernal, which he doesn't understand (though the two Tieflings he travels with do, and they always have a good laugh). And when a Drow is seen, if my character insists on not killing it, Viṣāda tends to try and possess him.
It came up a couple times already (in a 3 year campaign) and it always has been a lot of fun, and trouble for the party !
The bit about magic items refusing to work made me think of an April Fools issue of Dragon Magazine which had useless magic items. One of them was the Staff of Striking: When activated, a sign appears at the end of the staff reading "ON STRIKE for better pay and conditions! PCs unfair to magic items!"
Sometimes I wonder….why these need “how to, guides”. That is, haven’t DMs been doing this since 1970?
Just kidding, just being a condescending old school gamer, that look down on new players.
Seriously:
Some of the best sentient items, are just regular weapons (cursed even). My favorite was once we made a sentient Bag of Holding (seriously was the best comic relief ever…it even had hidden things that it would spit out inappropriately or opportunity).
Lillacor from balders gate 2. You need to gather 20k gold to get a party member busted out of a prison, you asked the 2 handed sword for advice and get, "find someone rich, then kill them. Then find someone richer and kill them too! Hack and slash your way to fortune WOOHOO!" Amazing weapon.
I refer you to Seth Skorkowsky and the infamous Bonesaw. The only +3 Vorpal Sword you'll be GLAD not to get.
So far, the only Sentient Weapon I have is for my NPC Celestial that answers to him and a very select few; name Yuni (nickname for a certain family member) a double blade battle axe, can fly on its own and when called back by the NPC flies to him, emits a frost beam (God of War type attack),deals radiant damage,obviously..Yuni is considered clever and at times a dork lol hope to use him more in a few upcoming homebrew campaigns!!
Matt Mercer’s sentient battleaxe in the Red Nose Day 2022 stream with Steven Colbert was freaking glorious
My yet to actually be played Hexblade's pact will be with a shield inset with a heartstone, that reacted with the curse the hag put on the character's Clan as she died.
Because the curse actually caused a lot of chaos in the Clan that allowed a revolution of slaves and slavery-objecters, and the side effects of the curse allows the survivors to get along incredibly well, the hag is now a revered as a local deity/saint.
All of that combined serves as the start of the Hexblade Pact, with the hag only agreeing to go along with it under the condition that the Orc character proves that he, as someone raised in that Clan, is better than his ancestors. By sometimes brutally murdering somebody about to kidnap a person. Or reporting the cruel caretaker of the local orphanage to the proper authorities. Also, that stray kitten, we keep it, it reminds the hag of the one her family had.
Did I mention that the hag wasn't even fully turned yet? The curse was literally the first and last hag-like thing whe ever did.
So going to a local carnival to see some fun things are absutely mandatory.
Otherwise the contract dictates that the hag gets full control over the Orcs' body, with the implication it will be used to wipe out his Clan once and for all.
So, yeah, sentient shield with a child's mind, that is also a vengeful hag.
And it's my Hexblade patron, and my character thinks of her as a saint.
Pc's treat objects like people and people like objects (on the whole). PC's will never respect a dm-npc. But they will respect a talking magical item.
My personal favourite is Aluneth, from World of Warcraft.
Arcane Mages wielded this staff for an expansion, and it contains an entity of pure magic that would comment on your actions. If you conjured food, created portals or otherwise provided utility for your party, Aluneth would snidely remark what a waste of your (and his) immense power that is.
He chastises you and complains when you run yourself out of mana in combat.
Meanwhile, when you siphon magic to empower yourself out in the world, he gets really excited.
When stealing magical effects from others or turning yourself invisible, he'd compliment your strategic thinking.
Despite the obvious rigidity of scripted dialogue compared to a dnd campaign, Aluneth managed to feel like a companion with a strong (al-beit 1-dimensional) personality with just the two traits of "you're better than all your peers" and "mana good."
I feel as if this is the perfect expression of sentient magic items. Personality traits that are easy to identify and capable of both clashing and harmonizing with the personality and actions of its wielder.
And of course, he came bundled with ancient exposition, and a condescending view of mages other than you, occassionally speaking when you enter new locations or meet certain characters.
(Being voiced by Matt Mercer also helps.)
A block of wood, roughly 4 inches by 2 inches by 2 inches with 4 circle-shaped holes that on touch, are only depressed slightly. However, when a platinum is placed in the first hole, it disappears into a pocket dimension (exactly like a bag of holding), and the same with the other basic coin types in decending order.
It offers unsolicited advice on any purchases, and will resist dispensing coins if it disagrees with what they're for, but must ultimately obey the bearer. It can be role-played as greedy, benevolent, penny-pinching, or really any applicable traits you think would add to the climate. Having the communication be psychic or out loud, and if several people can use it are other ways to flavor it.
With enough time, you can easily clean out that dragon's hoard, and you never have to deal with the odd concept of having 14000 coins on your person, which I find smooth for immersion purposes. Any other flavor ideas would be hugely welcome.
About that "hive mind" cursed item I already have one... simply Called "THE BLADE" this weapon takes form of a black longsword. It cannot speak normally but can communicate telepathically... it is also a warlock patron (Hexblade)
tho the downside is that each of the previous holders literally joins "The Voices" in the weapon... and they do not speak one at a time and on the same topic... Immagine a chaotic twitch chat... here are your voices
and they sometimes may demand "Blood for the blood god" due to some of the previous wielders being cultists... but there is always a wisdom save for that. and to be honest any blood will do to appease the blade...
(character who has it in my sessions is an alcoholic cuz of it and has actually infinite flask)
In my first campaign as a DM I had the High King of a united medieval norse realm gift my players a stone of good luck, a gem of brightness, a decanter of endless water and a bag of holding as they set out on the quest to discover why the local northern dwarf Lord did not attend the celebration of the princess' 18th birthday banquet (the King's daughter and heir).
Turned out when they finally arrived in the dwarven halls in the mountain it was a total ruin, eerily quiet with no prior signs of disaster such as a diaspora or anything, and it ended up becoming a dungeon survival horror (rip off of Moria/Erebor). In the players' time of need the bag of holding became a sentient magic item, and gifted them more magic items, kind of like the sorting hat from Harry Potter. Adamantine chain mail (for the tank), the wand of the war mage (for the spellcaster), a rapier+1 (for the dex fighter), and a potion of fire resistance and potion of diminution (for the rogue, though at one point i did allow the entire party to all drink from the potion of diminution but it meant the potion's effect lasted 1/4 the normal time).
I can imagine experienced DMs possibly wincing at me gifting out such items so freely but honestly in my 6 years of player experience (which admittedly isn't that much but it's context), minor bonuses such as a +1 to hit or a simple resistance to fire damage isn't overpowered in the slightest. In fact it barely matters. +1 to a roll sounds a lot more impressive than +5% chance to hit but that's all it really is, plus the items made the campaign way more interesting for the players as they felt they suddenly had these cool additional abilities to make use of (especially the players without spellcasting). They get to feel badass and as DM I can always up the ante if need be.
Truth be told I don't think the items provided actually mattered at all to the outcome of their quest, but there's always good potential for a magic item in a campaign to have a sentience of some sort. If you're running a less serious and a more comical campaign, then there's even some potential for some fun to be had ;) in this case that I just rambled about, it genuinely provided myself and the players a good memorable moment which I think is what DnD is all about
I was thinking: Immovable Rod with the sentience of a young child. Perfectly adorable in most situations, but throws a tantrum "stamps it's foot" style whenever activated.
I've made a sword based on the talking sword in warbreaker/ the stormlight archives. I can't wait to hand it out. It's based on the bones of the flametongue but with necrotic damage instead of fire.
Rogue: Can you please pick this?
Sentient lockpick: (Zelenka voice) I am trying do prdele. :D
I would like some feedback please. A shield with a Copper Dragon embossed on it, except the dragon is alive. He’ll slowly reveal himself to the player, if the player wins his trust. A little dream intrusion and then small hints over time. Finally when the dragon trusts the player in a dire moment he’ll leap off the shield enlarging into an adult copper and make 1-2 actions then has to return to the shield to rest for some time. Backstory is he was tricked by a wizard and has spent over a milinea trapped. (side quest potential to free him) The shield grants resistances but not thinking OP, like +1 and acid resistance. (A copper dragon ally for 1-2 actions is OP enough).
I made a CURSED magic ring known as the Ring of Eternal Shadow. It’s item is permanently attached to my character, by the name of Solomon Bright’hand. The rings backstory is that long ago, this ring was created with an enchanted black pearl. (Created by the first shadow sorcerer) This ring was eventually cursed, it’s curse causes every wearer’s soul is eternally trapped inside this ring when they perish. Giving it more power as time goes on, but at the cost of an unstable hive-mind that is insane. It’s curse causes you to lose control in the darkness and when it becomes a New Moon, or in other words stay in the light. While under the rings control, you have to roll a will save battle against the ring, and your magic will be much more powerful.
( I made this item before watching this video. But I never realized I followed all the steps to make a sentient item. )
In this campaign I was DMing, I gave the party a sentient Bag of Holding, that was thrown down a well by the wizard that created it because it kept talking and annoying him, so he considered it to have a fabrication malfunction and to be not working as intended. The party found it and named it Ted. It was annoying, chatty and always made impropriate jokes. It also complained when the party stored too many itens inside it: “Come on man, I’m pretty full, ate too much!” Or said something like “Oh that’s a good one! Excelent taste!” when the party stored something of value inside it.
It was so much fun!
All home brewed magic items I design are somehow flawed. Magic should be weird and ancient, sourced from dragons, hags, Fey, fiends and otherworldly beings beyond understanding.
Therefore, any magic items they make that lay forgotten until found should be equally weird. A sentient weapon made by one of these should be a mix of good and bad. It should be a complicated relationship.
If it has a benefit in battle, give it a flaw in social settings. If it has a utility that handy, give it a cost.
For example, another weapon was Ambition. Ambition is a sword which CAN have up to a +3 to hit or damage, but for every "+" you add to either the attack or damage, your max hit points drop by that amount. This loss cannot be abated, but does return upon the next dawn. Essentially, how bad do you want to hit or damage, and what are you willing to do to get it? This is also in "Out of the Box Encounters".
In my campiagn I made a sentient magic neckless based off of the Ship A.I., Ordis, from Warframe. It could cats tounge, message, and comprehend laungue and was the timid voice of hesitation in a group of rowdy and pushy adventures
In a campaign I was in once we had the Lady Sword that dealt great radiant damage and was amazing in combat but could also heal people (like paladins lay on hands but with a sword). The sword HATED fighting and loved receiving compliments for doing a good job, my pacifist Life cleric was best friends with the Lady Sword that didn't want to harm anyone.
My last one was WOP (weapon of power), and it was vengeance seeking, re-skined staff of power. He acted as the brains for my dwarf/monkey barbarian/ warlock.
The players in one of my games found a bag of holding in a chest in the middle of a forest. They had been asking for one for ages. Didn’t question it. Thought I was being a generous DM. Wizard puts it on because he’s always the furthest from combat and thus the most likely to survive with the loot (their logic, not mine lol). Wizard attaches the bag. A couple of sessions later and the bag starts speaking to the wizard. Enter Dugal, a dwarf who pissed off a forest hag and was cursed into a bag of holding. He likes to “hiccup” out coins every so often to annoy the players and swear profusely to the wizard lol
I was literally just thinking of Bob the Skull right before you mentioned him lol. Love the Dresden Files!
I've been contemplating an Archipelago setting and thought that a sentient ship would be fun there. Either it can summon an unseen crew to work the rigging, sails, & cannons or maybe it can animate all of those parts to do it themselves. Just, stuff that makes it possible for a small group to crew a larger vessel with only a couple of NPCs needed.
Idea: The sentient ship "Yetim" and its crew fought against pirates, though Yetim was able to eventually sink the pirates' ship it was not before they boarded it and slaughtered/ captured its crew. Yetim, not wanting to be destroyed pretended to only be a boat and waited to come across a passing ship that will hopefully help. When Yetim sees your party, it ceases all movement & won't fire its cannons. If you board their ship (even to help) they will attack and try to commandeer your vessel. Fight them off and congratulations you just upgraded your ride, plus a few freed prisoners might stick around as thanks and to help keep Yetim happy & healthy.
The best way to include a sentient weapon in a game is to give a really nice weapon (stat wise, worpal sword or armor of invulnerability, rod of lordly might, etc.) and give it really nasty personality, so the players want to get rid of it since it is a nasty bully with potty mouth that constantly berates its wielder or is condesending prick which just passively-aggressively comments on every bad roll of the player, but due to the great stats the players cant bring themselves to do it and have to either content with it or find a way to minimize its usage. The best story of this kind is the Seth Skorkowsky's Bonesaw story which equal parts hilarious and educational. Examples from fiction is Excalibur from the Soul Eater or Skippy from CP 2077.
In our campaign we have a sentient stone XD it started in a dungeon, we all got caught and my Husband, the rogue, opend the handcuffs whith a stone (nat20) and He kept the stone and nearly always Rolled nat20s when opening something with it and now it's a Sentient stone! A pice of a Statitued of a legendary Rogue, you need to persuate him to open Things, if you fail you stay there and polish the stone because He don't likes to be shoved into dirty locks XD it's hilarious. Some PCs are New in the Party and they think my Bard is insane because I talk to a stone XD... And the fact that I also talk to my Hexblade doesn't help
Im DMing a campaing based on MoTheros and what I did was create artifacts (technically sentient items) that have part of the essence/spirit of older gods, from another time (like Hermes, Odin, Zeus, Athena, Revanta, Eset, etc.) that judge whoever tries to Sync with them and based on it, they can give a certain amount of power or punish (cursed item). While the campaign goes on, depending on their actions, the item can upgrade itself, as in the Deity inside allows the player to use more of its power. Also, only one player thought about trying to talk with the Deity inside, so that can also be fun. Technically a sentient item right?
We had a dmpc for my first campaign. Life cleric. Once we had learned the ropes of the game, the DM killed the cleric off rather mercilessly to help provide motivation for our party to avenge them. Like Trask in KOTOR.
I made a rapier for one of my campaigns called The Vicious Dueling Sword. It auto cast vicious mockery when it hit an enemy (at the lowest level only). It was arrogant and constantly mocked the fighting ability of everyone it hit. Much fun was had.
For a backstory of my Hexlock I took an Dark Shard Amulet and put the soul of an old wizard into it.
'cause I need to talk with my DM, making the amulet less powerfull like it can only be used as a focus and lost the other skill for the cantrip part. ^^"
Not realy sentient but well. ^^