Advice needed on party alignment and items found in the books (Spoilers Alert!)

[Secane]

*!WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!*
STOP reading on if you are a player or want to avoid spoilers)

Hi, I have been GMing for a party that is half way into book 2.
While reading forward into books 3 to 6, I realized that a number of powerful artifact intelligent weapons in these books are CN and would be a problem for my party, as the martial characters are all non CN or CG.

How can/should I resolve this mismatch of weapons to characters' alignments?

Party:
Lv 6 LG Paladin of Ragathiel - Warden
Lv 6 CG Soundstriker Bard - Ruler
Lv 6 NG Druid of Erastil - Councilor
Lv 6 NG Evocation Wizard - Magister
Lv 6 NG Cleric of Sarenrae - High Priest
Lv 6 NG Card Caster Magus - Spymaster (Tempory on hiatus)

Lv 6 Akrios - LG Paladin of Erastil - Bard's Cohort (modified leadership feat) *Restored as Paladin of Erastil

Ovinrbaane in book 3 is CN and would effectively be unable to be used by either Paladins without suffering neg levels. While the other characters can't make use of it.

Briar is also CN and would only be wieldable by the CG Bard, which specializes in range sound strike attacks.

I'm not sure what I can do to make these weapons work for the party, instead of just brushing the weapons off as "useless loot".
Especially Ovinrbaane...

For Briar, I'm thinking of remaking it as a Longsword, so that the Bard could ideally use it effectively with the right feats.

Has anyone faced this similar issue? And found a way to resolve it?

[Jericho Graves]

For Briar, I actually made it sort of a transforming weapon. Whoever held it, with a charisma check, could reshape it into any weapon. Including a longbow that provides it's own arrows. The important thing to note is to not worry about whether it's current enchantments would work on that type of weapon.

For the other weapons, if they are intelligent, then that could become a story point. Have the first time they pick up the differently aligned weapon make an ego test right then and there. Pick up Ovinrbaane as a paladin? Suddenly have the feeling that you want to slaughter all evil regardless of the consequences. That kind of thing.

Or just change alignments of the items.

[T.A.U.]

Ovinrbaane could change the LG Paladin of Ragathiel to a CE Antipaladin of Gorum... that's something I'll play with the consensus of the Paladin's player of course...

[Philip Knowsley]

Heya,

Good suggestions above, but also...

1. Neither weapon has to be the type of weapon listed. AP writers have also
waded in on that issue & said change it if it suits your game.

2. I can see Ovinrbaane as LN - i.e. the law as he sees it, & neutral as to
whom it is applied to...everyone equally!
Bingo - everyone except the Bard suddenly become tools for Ovinrbaane's use.

3. Briar - yeah, a bit harder on the alignment front, but as a different weapon
type suddenly becomes usable by everyone except the Paladin... Depending on whom
you want to have her, make it their favourite weapon, or their god's weapon etc.

You know your players best. It might be fun to 'make them' take a Feat to use a
weapon properly...or your players might not buy into that...
I know with my guys, unless I make it an almost exact fit for their concept, they'll
just sell the weapon without a backward glance...

[Secane]

@Jericho Graves,
That is what I'm having in mind too! Maybe a bow that fire thorn arrows?

Problem is the alignment of the weapons make sense within the campaign.
Which makes changing their alignment somewhat of a tough choice... :(

@T.A.U.,
Lol, I think that particular player would heavily object to such a change. That... or she goes all crazy.

@Philip Knowsley
lol, I can relate to that. I gave them a short adventure into Tien Xia and they pretty much sold all the Tian weapons that they lack proficiency in.

I'm trying to get them weapons that they can "still use" just not effectively without the right feats, like the bastard sword, or racial weapons.

I do allow retraining, weapon crafting and let selected feats like weapon focus apply to a weapon group.

I'm actually thinking of making Briar NG instead. Since Briar represents the BBEG's ability to love, it would make sense as a sort of representing the only part of of the BBEG that is good.
What do you think?

[GM Aest]

I'd consider making Briar a completely different alignment. N/G fey aren't uncommon, and since the sword itself is supposed to be Nyrissa's capacity to love (a NG trait in my opinion), it'd make some sense for the blade to be of that alignment. I'm not sure that'd give the paladins the ability to use it, since I'm not that familiar with intelligent item rules, but it'd certainly be better than the current alignment.

[Secane]

@GM Aest,

I think I will go with that. It fits the theme of Briar.

James Jacobs, also recommands making Briar CG or NG to fit with the ideal of it being Nyrissa's capacity to love.

"I'd change Briar's alignment to NG and explain that as being a personification of the inherent goodness that Nyrissa lost when she went from Chaotic Good to Chaotic Evil—NG being the closest alignment there is to "pure good unadultrated by law or chaos" after all."

I also need to read it a little more thoroughly, never noticed that Nyrissa used to be CG!

Ovinrbaane, on the other hand would likely be set for destruction. :P