Chris Tutty wrote:
>
> From: tangent@concentric.net
> >Sword Skill, which allows the sorceror while in combat to fight like a
> >warrior (not specialized, but same THACO as a warrior).
> >
> Stuff like this has always got under my skin a bit. It seems strange that
> many high level mages design spells to negate the benefts of warrior
> specialisation but argue vehemently against items that will give fighters
> full spell casting powers.
>
> I found that the mages and warriors in my campaign got on a lot better when
> I rebuilt the system to highlight their vulnerabilities. It forced the
> players to take their choices seriously. No-one can be strong alone, but a
> balanced party of adventurers can take on all that heaven and earth can
> throw at them.
OK, but take your complaint to the next step, which is that part of
being the good guys is being able to trust someone else to watch your
back. And part of being a sick and twisted individual who's out to
conquer the world is the belief that if you want something done right
you absolutely have to do it yourself, i.e. bash people with a sword as
well as fry 'em with magic.
So, therein lies a psychological justification for magical swords
(especially ones that work for wizards) being inclined toward evil. A
wizard who gets such a sword -- and especially a wizard who bothers to
construct such a sword -- doesn't want to have to depend on anybody else
to help him out. And that striving toward absolute independence -- you
may not like to think of it as evil -- _is_ an opposition to good.
My point is that Chris's dislike for the puppy because it's bad for
intraparty dynamics can be used and expanded as an effect of the thing
in its story. What would be fun is keeping it subtle: Do the mechanics
of a perception check before telling the player (sidebar) suspicious
things about NPCs. Make it seem like the character had an insight
rather than getting a newsflash from the lump of metal in his hand. Not
necessarily associated with the cool new sword the player has, but
just... suspicious. Induce (or increase) quiet paranoia. Focus the
paranoia on folks who kill things professionally. Those guys are
dangerous, you know. Never know what they're going to kill next. Not
like a wizard, who obviously has a more balanced outlook on life.
The GM has so much control over what the players perceive about the
world they're in. Making them act insanely (but still think they're
rational) by twisting and adjusting the perception that you give them,
can be almost like shooting fish in a barrel. Still, if you have a
justification, and you have a party that has been together a while and
could stand the strain, and you remember to keep the sword-infected
character's perception disjunct from what everyone else perceives, you
hardly need to cram in any special effects to get interesting stories.
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