Question about bound blade magus who completes his quest

[Liam Warner]

I was looking at this recently and it got me thinking that while you could always go with ye old "Slay yon type of beastie" or "prevent ye old one's return" mission that would be ongoing if you designated a specific goal such as kill the dark mage Quagmire or restore the rightful ruler to this throne then the magus could actually complete it. Now normallyy this wont be a big problem since you can designate a specific goal that will only occur at the end of the campaign. However I'm curious what people think happens next.

1) The blade dissapears "hey where's my sword-cane?".
2) The blade aquires a new goal "Umm you killed him . . . lets hit the pub."
3) The blade just becomes a "normal" intelligent item with no specific goal.
4) The blade consumes the magus wiping them from existence to fuel its dark masters real goal.
5) Something else?

[Liam Warner]

No one?

[Brendan Missio]

I would assume that the blade would become quite content.

Depending on the relationship between the blade and the Magus weilding it, in my mind, the blade would either choose to continue to work with the Magus or, if they aren't particularly chummy, the blade would leave the Magus.

This is my interpretation though...

[SycoSurfer]

Are you familiar with anime? I always think of the blade bound and his swords relationship kinda like the characters from bleach and their zanpakto. The higher lvl you get the stronger the blade gets. Your goal and your blades goal are to be über powerful warriors protecting friends, family, world etc. To obtain that goal you have mini challenges to complete and once you beat that one you perfect that ability before a new challenge pops up and you are forced to learn a more powerful ability to beat this goal/bad guy.

So if your blade bound does happen to complete his goal I would suggest have another goal pop up just to keep the character and blade striving for perfection and never having that feeling of completing it all and have no challenges out there.

[Liam Warner]

SycoSurfer wrote:

Are you familiar with anime? I always think of the blade bound and his swords relationship kinda like the characters from bleach and their zanpakto. The higher lvl you get the stronger the blade gets. Your goal and your blades goal are to be über powerful warriors protecting friends, family, world etc. To obtain that goal you have mini challenges to complete and once you beat that one you perfect that ability before a new challenge pops up and you are forced to learn a more powerful ability to beat this goal/bad guy.

So if your blade bound does happen to complete his goal I would suggest have another goal pop up just to keep the character and blade striving for perfection and never having that feeling of completing it all and have no challenges out there.

That could also work for "protect family, land, etc" general goals still we have one vote for becomes a generic intelligent item and one for it gets a new goal, anyone else?

[Mirrel the Marvelous]

The mandate could be extended. BBEG is dead, ensure that BBEG never returns, take down it's associates minions allies, family race etc. There should always be more to do.

[devil.in.mexico13]

It would probably be a good idea to check out the general intelligent item purposes here. Typically, intelligent items do not have specific goals (slay x person, find y treasure, rescue q person), but more general goals (defend the followers of Desna, kill orcs, kill arcane/devine spellcasters). These goals should not be, strictly speaking, completable.

[Benchak the Nightstalker]

I think it should be the sword's goal to be passed on to a worthy successor.

The magus could either quest to find such a person, or perhaps they could find an apprentice to train (and eventually bequeath the sword to them).

Or, go Arthurian and leave the sword somewhere (or with someone) where only a worthy successor can retrieve it (e.g. in a stone)

[Liam Warner]

Hmmm maybe I should just have the blade of anyone who takes that archetype to posses the goal of kill everyone but me.

[Banatine]

Well, i don't know if it helps, but my own black blades goal was the destruction of another specific black blade that it had a grudge with (which in itself is pretty much asking to destroy an artifact).

The black blades goal shouldn't really be something so small and simple that it can be completed before 'the endgame', as it were. i imagine it is a similar way to "what would Bahamut do if Tiamat truly was destroyed forever?". How can we understand the will of such immortals as Gods and Devils and the Black Blades?

[LazarX]

For me... it depends on a few things..

But for me as DM it kind of goes on like this..

"This story has ended.... another begins."

In short, just when you thought the blade was done.... it wasn't. Elric hung Stormbringer in a cave for a couple of years and he thought he was done with the blade and going to settle down a nice quiet kingdom with his new bride.

[blackbloodtroll]

The never-ending story...

[FuelDrop]

all storys end some time. you just need a nova bomb to destroy all reality.