Why not? Because magical objects don't have human personalities. Their personalities are radically different. They're archetypal personalities, which if a human had would seem kind of nuts.

Quote from: RPGPundit;954931Why not? Because magical objects don't have human personalities. Their personalities are radically different. They're archetypal personalities,

Says who?
And what does "archetypal personality" even mean, given the sheer number of Archetypes out there?

Quotewhich if a human had would seem kind of nuts.

Being "nuts" is a very human-like quality;).

Quote from: RPGPundit;954931Why not? Because magical objects don't have human personalities. Their personalities are radically different. They're archetypal personalities,

Says who, given that we're talking about my setting:)?
And given the sheer number of Archetypes out there, "archetypal personality" might mean a number of things.

Quotewhich if a human had would seem kind of nuts.

Being "nuts" is a very human-like quality;).

Not a massive fan of humanlike sentience/sapient (?) weapons, too Disney for me.

I generally avoid them but on the occasions I have had them I model them on a singular focus and however they communicate it's always with that in mind.

So the sword of Justice is all about that to an obsessive level (it's why it was created) not just a funny looking NPC.

Quote from: HorusArisen;954999Not a massive fan of humanlike sentience/sapient (?) weapons, too Disney for me.

I generally avoid them but on the occasions I have had them I model them on a singular focus and however they communicate it's always with that in mind.

So the sword of Justice is all about that to an obsessive level (it's why it was created) not just a funny looking NPC.

I've certainly got those, too. And given my attitude towards Disney, I obviously don't find them related:).

It's just that I prefer NPCs that aren't single-purpose;).

Quote from: HorusArisen;953468Do you mean like Stormbringer?

Or better: the broken sword in The Broken Sword

Quote from: Trond;955037Or better: the broken sword in The Broken Sword

Absolutely killer book!

Quote from: AsenRG;954996Says who?

Personal experience.

Quote from: RPGPundit;956844Personal experience.

Well, my personal experience, focused on "what would be most fun", differs.

Magical objects with motivations you have to work at to understand are more interesting, and therefore more fun, than magic items that just act like they were people.

Quote from: RPGPundit;957645Magical objects with motivations you have to work at to understand are more interesting, and therefore more fun, than magic items that just act like they were people.

Sounds kinda like magic items in Earthdawn, except its magic items generally aren't overtly sentient... but the involved process of learning about an item and unlocking its powers... forming a relationship with it... would be cool to apply to sentient items as well.

Quote from: RPGPundit;957645Magical objects with motivations you have to work at to understand are more interesting, and therefore more fun, than magic items that just act like they were people.

I see a presumption here that people's motivations are obvious:).
My games don't always confirm that presumption, magic items or not.

Quote from: Simlasa;957651Sounds kinda like magic items in Earthdawn, except its magic items generally aren't overtly sentient... but the involved process of learning about an item and unlocking its powers... forming a relationship with it... would be cool to apply to sentient items as well.

These were, quite explicitly, a source of inspiration;).

Quote from: AsenRG;953458Exactly what the title says. How do you create mighty, sentient magic swords with their own goals, in Mythras?
I want to tie it strongly to the Passions system, too.

Regarding sentience, I've been thinking of having the swords give you a bonus or penalty to some passions (this part was admittedly inspired by Bloodlust). If your actions were keeping them happy, they would give you a roll on the modified passion - with the roll determining how much Magic Points you gain to spend on the swords' powers. (So yes, you could gain a roll mid-battle, with a blood-thirsty sword).

I've also been thinking of giving them powers the wielder can unlock, as long as the sword is happy with him or her. What to base those powers on, however?
I was thinking about an Adept school, with the sword being the adept, but rolling with his controlling Passions instead of skills.

Are we talking rules mechanics to create the swords or abilities the swords might have?

Rules mechanics-wise, it is easy. Take some kind of raw spirit and bound it into the sword, but give the sword abilities by having the smith forge abilities into the sword. If it cannot be done using the rules as they are, then invent some divine magic, sorcery or enchantment that allows this. In Legend, I have a spell for some smiths that allows the smith to add a special effect to the sword per point of spell, these are normally the effects of good craftmanship but could easily be magical effects. The bound spirit could be enchanted in such a way that it is not just a bound spirit but becomes integral to the sword, giving it intelligence and powers.

Powers-wise, You could give the Sword itself a Passiona nd then use some kind of opposed skill mechanism to force the wielder to behave in a certain way, but this might set people off who don't like to lose control of their PC. Alternatively when the PC touches the sword at first, the sword could give a speech saying that it will only serve someone who behaves in such a way or helps to achieve such an end, PCs who help the sword can unlock more and more powers as the sword trusts them more and more, or could lose abilities as the sword decides they are not helping.

Mythras is a narrative game, in some ways, so you coukld just make up the abilities. It could allow you to cast a divine spell once per week.day.hour/whatever, it could give you a special ability or power, in Legend it could give a Legendary Ability but Mythras doesn't have those. Just make up what seems reasonable.

Quote from: soltakss;957663Are we talking rules mechanics to create the swords or abilities the swords might have?

Rules mechanics-wise, it is easy. Take some kind of raw spirit and bound it into the sword, but give the sword abilities by having the smith forge abilities into the sword. If it cannot be done using the rules as they are, then invent some divine magic, sorcery or enchantment that allows this. In Legend, I have a spell for some smiths that allows the smith to add a special effect to the sword per point of spell, these are normally the effects of good craftmanship but could easily be magical effects. The bound spirit could be enchanted in such a way that it is not just a bound spirit but becomes integral to the sword, giving it intelligence and powers.

Powers-wise, You could give the Sword itself a Passiona nd then use some kind of opposed skill mechanism to force the wielder to behave in a certain way, but this might set people off who don't like to lose control of their PC. Alternatively when the PC touches the sword at first, the sword could give a speech saying that it will only serve someone who behaves in such a way or helps to achieve such an end, PCs who help the sword can unlock more and more powers as the sword trusts them more and more, or could lose abilities as the sword decides they are not helping.

Mythras is a narrative game, in some ways, so you coukld just make up the abilities. It could allow you to cast a divine spell once per week.day.hour/whatever, it could give you a special ability or power, in Legend it could give a Legendary Ability but Mythras doesn't have those. Just make up what seems reasonable.

Thanks, we're playing with the mechanics mostly like you wrote:). Except the swords' spirits are actually Adepts of the Paths of Themselves, but the results might include effects from the other magical systems, too.
The swords started with a speech, and they have Passions for opposed rolls, if the need arises.

And I've got Legend, too;). So I can take the Legendary abilities from there. In fact, that might be a good idea for some, now that I think of it. Thanks for the reminder!

IME, you don't need a game to be narrative to invent new things. It's especially easy in d100 games, I've found.
Admittedly, I don't know what makes you think that Mythras is "narrative" somehow. Anything but Luck points is IC, and even those are IC in some settings.

Quote from: soltakss;957663Powers-wise, You could give the Sword itself a Passiona nd then use some kind of opposed skill mechanism to force the wielder to behave in a certain way, but this might set people off who don't like to lose control of their PC.

Just treat it as an anti-augment.  If the Passion wins the opposed check, give the player a penalty on all rolls opposing the Passion equal to 1/5 of the Passion's value.  They're still free to act as they choose, but there's an incentive to go along with what the sword wants if they're not able to control it properly.  (This is how I handle regular Passions, so also applying it in this instance seems natural to me.)

Quote from: soltakss;957663in Legend it could give a Legendary Ability but Mythras doesn't have those.

Aren't Mythras "Gifts" (p.201-202) basically the same as Legendary Abilities?