fatal

Chapter 13: Magical Items
Weapons, Sentient
Sentient weapons are weapons that some
argue are living. While sentient weapons are
genderless and have no skills unrelated to their type
of weapon, they have abilities, disposition, temperament,
and more. First, the type of weapon must be
determined. Roll 1d100 and consult the table below:
Roll
01-70
71-75
76-99
100
Result
Roll on the table under Melee Weapons as
magical items.
Roll on the table under Miscellaneous
Weapons as magical items.
Roll on the table under Missile Weapons as
magical items.
Roll on the table under Siege Weapons as
magical items.
Abilities for sentient weapons use the same
tables as those listed in Chapter 3: Abilities for characters.
However, the ability scores are determined
differently by rolling 2d100. All sentient weapons
have the following sub-abilities: Strength, Hand-Eye
Coordination, Agility, Reaction Speed, Math, Analytic,
Spatial, Drive, Intuition, Common Sense, and
Reflection. When figuring the abilities based on the
sub-abilities, if a sub-ability is absent, consider it a
score of 0.
Amazingly, 30% of sentient weapons are capable
of speech. If so, they also have the sub-abilities
of Vocal, Rhetorical, Enunciation, and Language.
Further, sentient weapons capable of speech know
a random number of languages as delimited by their
Language Intelligence sub-ability.
Next, the disposition of the weapon must
be determined. Roll 1d100 and consult the table
below:
Roll
Disposition
01
Ethical Moral
02-13
Ethical Neutral
14
Ethical Immora l
15-16
Neutral Moral
17-76
Neutral Neutral
77-91
Neutral Immora l
92
Unethical Moral
93-95
Unethical Neutral
96-100
Unethical Immora l
The more the weapon’s disposition differs
with that of its wielder, the more the sword is likely
to reject or be uncooperative with the wielder. For
each gradation of difference between both ethics
and morals, there is a 20% chance of rejection upon
touching the weapon for the first time. For example,
an Ethical Moral weapon has an 80% chance of rejecting
an Unethical Immoral wielder, or only a 40%
chance of rejecting an Ethical Immoral wielder.
Now, determine the Temperament of the
weapon, just as with a character. The more the
weapon’s temperament differs with that of its
wielder, the more the sword is likely to reject or be
uncooperative with the wielder. Take the numeric
difference of each of the 4 temperaments, add them
together and divide the total by 4 to represent the
average difference in Temperament. This is the
chance of the weapon rejecting the wielder.
Finally, the sentient weapon may have magical
abilities. Roll 1d100 to determine if the weapon
has Extraordinary Properties. If the result is 50 or
greater, then the weapon has at least 1 property.
Consult the tables for the appropriate type of
weapon to determine if it has a prefix, suffix, or
both. Thereafter, determine each specific property.
Sentient weapons may have the following
effects: they may intentionally or inadvertently cause
a mental illness to develop after prolonged use. After
engaging in combat with 1d100 characters or creatures,
the wielder of the particular sentient weapon
has a (1d100)% chance of acquiring a Random Mental
Illness (see Chap. 5: Mind).
778