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From: barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: Inanimate ego/intelligence
Message-ID: <2146@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 12-Jul-85 10:30:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.2146
Posted: Fri Jul 12 10:30:02 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 17-Jul-85 04:43:39 EDT
References: <122@uts.am.reading.UUCP>
Reply-To: barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold)
Organization: System Development Corp. R+D, Santa Monica
Lines: 45
Summary: 

An ego weapon (obviously) has a personality and a history.  Find out about
it.  (If the GM's lazy, make up your own name and history and have himer
OK it.)

An ego weapon is just another PC.  Here's what you should know about it:
	1.  Name (and possibly several aliases too)
	2.  Forger (name, species, culture) and Purpose (why would anyone
forge a weapon of Ego 19?)
	3.  Appearance
	4.  Significant owners, their motivation, their success, their
relationship to it.
	5.  Its current motivations.

For instance, here's a possible history for your Neutral Ego 19 weapon.

Onceuponatime the human kingdom of Chingzat was threatened by Ogre Magi
who could Charm anyone.  A loyal servant escaped with the queen's newborn
son, the heir to the throne, and sought shelter in a dwarvish cavern.
There he toiled for nineteen years to pay for his keep and that of the
prine.  Finally his master, the Dwarfsmith Frambish, told him he had
served his time and could demand a service in return.  He asked for a
sword that would protect his prince from the Ogres domination.  Frambish
forged him an Ego 19 sword that would save as its level against all attempts
at mental domination of its wielder.  (One ego point for each year of
service.)

It also had a number of other useful abilities (which I failed to note
while reading your article, but which your history could explain.)

Now that gives us a sword which is prejudiced for dwarves, against
Ogre Magi, has a dwarflike fondness for gems and gold and dislike of
ostentation.  (Its wielder might want to wear an ornately gemmed cloak,
with the gems on the inside.  They're less liable to break that way.)

Oh yeah, a name.  True Heart.  (That's Vericor, in Latin.  Nice rolling
sound.)

You also want to know whether the sword's idealistic or cynical after all
these years, optimistic or pessimistic.  One way to get this sort of
personality for new characters or NPCs is to get an astrology book and
use it as a character-builder.  I particularly recommend Lewi's HEAVEN
KNOWS WHAT which lists 144 different character types (based on Sun Moon
combination) with hundreds of other complicating factors.

--Lee Gold