| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Can an Intelligent Holy Avenger level up as a paladin?
Can an Intelligent Blessed Book level up as a wizard?
Can an Intelligent Dagger of Venom level up as a rogue and then as an assassin?
Can an Intelligent Beaststrike Club level up as a druid?
Can an Intelligent Staff of Power level as a sorcerer?
Can Intelligent Pipes of Sounding level up as a bard?
Can an Intelligent Marble Elephant Figurine of Wondrous Power level up as a barbarian?
Last time I've checked, you only need to be intelligent enough to level up in a class, like having Int 3. If an Intelligent Magic Item has a sufficiently high enough Intelligent score, could it level up? If it gets the flying ability, could it travel around the world, or even serve as an antagonist, passing as a possessed weapon or possessing wielders with Ego checks?
Could I get an Intelligent Dagger of Venom with rogue and assassin levels flying around at night, killing targets, or have it possess average joes with Ego checks to cover its scheme?
Up to the GM. Would make a cool story, if done right.
Up to the GM. Would make a cool story, if done right.
Well, yeah, that would be up to the GM since that they would serve better as NPCs... unless you pull one sick joke on a player with a faulty Resurrection or Raise Dead spell. However, is it a legit thing to do by having an Intelligent Magic Item with levels?
Awakened animals can take levels in classes, that has been addressed in Animal Archive and a booklet about factions in Golarion (the name escapes me, but one faction has an Awakened gorilla as a member), but what about Intelligent Magic Items? I didn't find info on that subject.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
There isn't anything addressing this in the rulebooks unfortunately. So, again, it's pretty much up to the GM. Since intelligent items don't have physical scores, I'd say that martial classes are probably out of the question.
Well, martial classes wouldn't be out of the question, they'd just not be terribly efficient. And with no hands and often no ability to speak most spells are off-limits too.
Those are some good points. I suppose they could take still and silent spell metamagic feats.
It'd be interesting with an intelligent rod of still spell having levels in oracle with the deaf curse. Using itself to cast it's spells.
(though there are no rods of still spell, but whatever)
There isn't anything addressing this in the rulebooks unfortunately. So, again, it's pretty much up to the GM. Since intelligent items don't have physical scores, I'd say that martial classes are probably out of the question.
Aren't they treated as Animated Objects of their respective sizes when dealing with physical scores?
Not that I can see. It says to treat them like constructs. Which I'd assume would be all of the construct traits and such.
Intelligent items are generally not animated. That could work if it fits for the item in question though.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
In general (=created by players) i would say no but for something special (=created by the DM for a story) it is a nice idea.
I would prefer classes with shapechanging or domination/compulsion abilities for such an item.
There aren't really any rules for giving levels to non-creatures. Intelligent items are, after all, treated as objects in most respects.
|
I'm currently playing an Eldritch Knight with a bonded object that I later cast Animate Object and Permanency on. Because it's a bastard sword it qualifies as a Small Construct and I simply gave it the minimum Str and Dex for it's size, plus feats and skill points for being intelligent.
There are also several intelligence item special abilities which grant movement, which should give the object at least minimum physical ability scores.
The way I progress the sword is simply to add more Construct HD. Since it's a bonded object I count as having the Craft Construct item creation feat for it and I just pay the cost of adding more hit dice to an animated object.
Now, can it gain class levels and experience? I would say yes. It's got an intelligence score, hit dice, and all the other statistics of a creature. In this particular campaign I didn't want to have a companion that was too powerful and didn't want to bother my GM with a flying adamantine antipaladin.
As for all the questions in the OP, I would definitely say yes. Those all sound like interesting and viable ideas.
The RAWest way for an item/construct with class levels are the 'Race Builder' rules from Advance Race Guide.
Size depends on the item and i would use a type smaller than the item. A medium longsword is a small 'race'.
Small or medium (0 RP)
Construct (20 RP)
Slow Speed (–1 RP)
Ability Greater Weakness (–3 RP)
Language Standard (0 RP)
Traits:
Flight (4 RP)
Combine this race with the feat Leadership and then every player can have an intelligent flying longsword mage.
Maybe you need some houserules for fighting with this item race ..
Oh I can see this...
Evil intelligent items that "take over" host and use them to play out their long game of global conquest. They pass from ruler to ruler to maintain control of a kingdom for centuries. Just apply the class levels to the host and the bad guy you spend all that time building shows up again and again in a new body ever so often.
Intelligent items really are in a gray area between object and creature, as they have all the requisite ability scores for being a creature (wisdom and charisma) and can act on their own, but are presented with an item statblock and cannot take most types of actions.
I got a bit inspired by this thread and created an item NPC, as follows:
Once a sorcerer with the proud heritage of a mighty vampire king, Eron Silverheart is now a piece of jewelry. While a powerful and knowledgable sorcerer, its ambitions was stronger than its caution, and so it delved into the process of lichdom. It created it's phylactery - a powerful amulet in it's own right - and began the transformation ritual.
However, it was never strong enough, and something went wrong - while it's soul was trapped in the amulet, so was the mind, and the body fell limp to the floor. For a century, it was trapped within its own underground lair, unable to move. Then adventurers came, intent on plundering. It lured one of them to put it on, and immediately took control of him. Its victim slayed two of her companions, and Silverheart took control of the last one through its magic.
Silverheart then used its magic and guile to infiltrate society after society, and quickly becomes a major political influence in whatever community it happened to be in. Its ultimate goal is to gain the knowledge and power to finish the transformation ritual, but just building up political and economical power is by itself a goal. It uses different bodies as vessels at different times, but is particularly fond of a young noble named Asron diFerlic (stats, but uses a longsword). Oftentimes it acts as if it was a bodyguard to it's allies/servants, for it has quite a few high-ranking nobles and merchants on it's payroll. It, through it's vessels and allies, has vast riches and large political influence.
THE SILVERHEART
This heavy amulet looks like a fanged mouth encircled by a circle of twined barbs, the barbs and fangs made of lead and the lips of silver. It's soft, but always seem to move back in shape - bending it will reveal it's magical nature, though it doesn't show any magical aura.
It has an Intelligence of 14, a Wisdom of 12 and a Charisma of 22. It has an Ego of 13. It has a caster level of 9. It has saves of Reflex +6, Fortitude +6, Will +9. It has hardness 15, 15 hp and cold resistance 5. It is neutral evil.
It can both speak and communicate telepathically, knowing common, infernal, abyssal and elven. It has blindsight as well as regular sight and vision out to 60 ft. It grants it's wearer a +2 enhancement bonus to Strength, Constitution and Dexterity.
In addition it has the following powers, which it can activate when it wants:
At will - Mage Hand, Magic Aura (self only)
3/day - extend a spell of 3rd or lower level as the metamagic rod power.
1/day - Invisibility (self only)
It also acts as a staff with the following powers: Animate Dead (3 charges), Blindness/Deafness (2 charges), Tongues (2 charges), Detect Thoughts (2 charges), Comprehend Languages (1 charge).
Silverheart usually recharges it's own abilities when resting, spending a 4th level spell slot.
It has 8 sorcerer levels and 1 loremaster level, and the following abilities due to that:
9/day - grave touch; affect corporeal undead that where once humanoid with mind-affecting, secrets of inner strength
Spells (caster level 9th, concentration +15)
4th (5/day) - lesser geas* (DC21)
3rd (7/day) - clairvoyance, heroism, suggestion* (DC20), vampiric touch
2nd (8/day) - blindness/deafness (DC18)*, command undead, false life, share memory, shatter, summon swarm
1st (8/day) - chill touch, enlarge person, mage armor, liberating command*, charm person (DC18), hold portal*, ventriloquism, unseen servant
0th (at will) - daze (DC 17), detect magic, light*, mending, detect poison, ray of frost, read magic, resistance
Feats Craft wondrous items, eschew materials, extend spell, persistant spell, skill focus (knowledge religion), skill focus (sense motive), spell focus (enchantment), still spell
Skills Bluff +16, Diplomacy +13, Knowledge (Arcana) +12, Knowledge (Local) +12, Knowledge (Religion) +9, Knowledge (History) +6, Knowledge (Geography) +6, Knowledge (Nature) +6, Knowledge (Nobility) +6, Sense Motive +12, Perception +6, Spellcraft +13
It will generally seek out easily-manipulated people in power to control, using all it's skills, spells and spell-like abilities. It cannot cast spells with somatic components unless using the still spell feat - those without somatic components are marked with an asterisk in the sheet above. It rarely confronts anyone straight on, but if forced to will try to create confusion through lesser geas and suggestion, and any vessel and ally it has within reach. It often gives it's vessels scrolls or wands they can use to defend themselves or escape. If it thinks it will be captured by someone it doesn't want to be captured by, it turns invisible and hopes for the best.