Kennypngn's page

You can do that. But regardless of the story attached to it and how cool the GM or even the players think it is, the game mechanics push you to upgrade.

You're not going to keep using that +1 goblin longsword when you can replace it with a +3 Furious longsword. Even if it doesn't have a cool story.
Gear needs to upgrade with the characters. There are multiple ways to do that - the simplest of which is the default: Find or buy better gear.

The game has rules for upgrading magic weapons, if you have the time and money to do so. (Granted the goblin example would've only worked in the first book of that module) In fact most of the pathfinder modules that I've run, specifically tell you to give players time for stuff like that.

But even if you don't have the time/money and have to upgrade, it could still be used for the next magic weapon, armor, or item you find. (so not just limited to melee) A good example was a wizard in another game we played took an ice wand from a named winter witch, and even after it ran out of spells, kept it tied to her belt. This drew ire both from people that didn't know she wasn't a winter witch, and from the enemy that knew she wasn't. Yet at the same time helped in bluff checks to pass as one

Granted all of these are very circumstantial, and you never want to overdo it (lest it lose it's 'magic' or alter the game too much) but it adds flavor to the game and can have a strong impact on how your PCs interact with the world around them. Save from the, detect magic, throw it in the bag, sell, divide, repeat.

Problem is that all this magical garbage heavily interferes with all kinds of interesting storys that are not the standard D&D/Pathfinder story. I mean, just think about all those stories included in Appendix N which actually translate very badly into an D&D3.5/Pathfinder kind of play.

There are times in Pathfinder that you find weapons with stories. Take the Goblin Hero that wielded the magic longsword he took from a human. He was known by the other goblins for that weapon. Now a PC might look at it and think ooh bonus to attack and damage. But if you turned around and made it so that other goblins from that tribe, or that knew that hero, recognized the sword, the story can suddenly add little bonuses here and there without you having to alter the campaign set in front of you. Just as GM make the occasional goblin shaken for a round or two upon seeing that sword.