Creating a sentient weapon or item

[scy]

I've had the idea to create a sentient weapon, with good intentions, to try and put an evil PC on the right path.
The current party members are all goodly aligned and play well, except for the evil-ish warlock on the party (he is always lying, trying to steal and is just at odds with the rest of the party)
The player is always using optimized builds and I know will be tempted by a powerful item, even when it turns out to requesting good deeds for more power. The role play factor alone will be worth it!
I have never created an item before, let alone a sentient one. The party is only level 5 , so I don't want to create something too powerful and put the rest of the group at a disadvantage and I also don't have too much experience with warlocks, ( hes pact of the chain right now, using an annoying invisible imp...) but if it could scale that would be ideal
Any advice? or seen something similar? I'm open to ideas and currently running through Lost mine and then into Rise of Tiamat if that helps.
Much thanks

[Shining Wrath]

There are examples and rules in the Dungeons Master's Guide.

Give the item personality scores not-quite-as-powerful as the warlock so he is still in charge.

Artifacts come with lists of advantages and disadvantages along with their major powers. You obviously don't want a level 5 character to have an artifact, but you can give him an item that grants power he'll want, but imposes disadvantages as well if he acts "evil". For example, if he does something bad then for the next 24 hours he can only speak in rhyme; if it doesn't rhyme it will sound like gibberish to his listeners. This applies to verbal components, of course.

EDIT: Are you entirely certain you want to use your DM powers to coerce a character into being good? Is this character disruptive?

[Temperjoke]

One thing you can do about giving too powerful an item right away is have it grow with him in power, perhaps via the good deeds. Another idea is that each time the warlock performs a good deed, the weapon rewards him with a small buff. Also, you might want to make it cursed, so to speak. Once equipped, the warlock can't get rid of it, or some such thing. That way the warlock can't ditch it when he doesn't want to do good deeds.

[scy]

There are examples and rules in the Dungeons Master's Guide.

Give the item personality scores not-quite-as-powerful as the warlock so he is still in charge.

Artifacts come with lists of advantages and disadvantages along with their major powers. You obviously don't want a level 5 character to have an artifact, but you can give him an item that grants power he'll want, but imposes disadvantages as well if he acts "evil". For example, if he does something bad then for the next 24 hours he can only speak in rhyme; if it doesn't rhyme it will sound like gibberish to his listeners. This applies to verbal components, of course.

EDIT: Are you entirely certain you want to use your DM powers to coerce a character into being good? Is this character disruptive?

that sounds hilarious and is the right direction I'm after.

I won't force the character into being good, just encourage, as if its a little angel his shoulder (maybe that's what the warlock will see). He is disruptive enough that other party members are getting seriously frustrated, as his motivations are purely out of greed.

[scy]

Also, you might want to make it cursed, so to speak. Once equipped, the warlock can't get rid of it, or some such thing. That way the warlock can't ditch it when he doesn't want to do good deeds.

I see his face already! an act of greed is what sets the curse off, completing a selfless act will release the curse?

[Temperjoke]

I see his face already! an act of greed is what sets the curse off, completing a selfless act will release the curse?

Well, the curse keeps him from getting rid of it at the first opportunity. Then, let's say he does a "bad" deed, he gets some sort of social penalty that won't interfere with combat, but would make it hard for him to act in social situations, like bubbles flying from his mouth when he talks. Then a "good" deed undoes the curse, and if he does another "good" deed, he gets a small buff to social situations, like people are more willing to hear him out. The next "bad" deed removes the buff, and so on. And it has to be a true good deed, fake ones don't count.

[saeval]

If it's sentient, and trying to convert him, than it is in direct opposition to this dudes imp. the imp would have biiiiig beef with it. heck, it could even be encroaching on the imps contract for the warlocks soul. There could be large repercussions with the aspect of evil the imp truly represents.

I do not believe browbeating a player with even a beneficial item, is a good way to get the change you want. I believe a frank and open discussion is the best, which, dnd nerds in general, are stereotypically terrible at. If he's disruptive or not meshing with the group in character or out, its something that should be addressed.

[saeval]

You'd also need to consider that he'd probably need to entirely replace his source of power after several acts. The patron not getting what it wants, and not willing to relinquish an even greater amount of evil power to tempt him back, may be a dealbreaker for it.

[Shining Wrath]

that sounds hilarious and is the right direction I'm after.

I won't force the character into being good, just encourage, as if its a little angel his shoulder (maybe that's what the warlock will see). He is disruptive enough that other party members are getting seriously frustrated, as his motivations are purely out of greed.

OK, if he's causing trouble at the table you do need to tell him that - and then pitch it as "you'll be even more powerful, we'll have fun with the do-gooder item, and it'll reduce tension at the game table". Make it win-win.

[scy]

OK, if he's causing trouble at the table you do need to tell him that - and then pitch it as "you'll be even more powerful, we'll have fun with the do-gooder item, and it'll reduce tension at the game table". Make it win-win.

I'll speak to him about this, so long as he stays powerful and mysterious I'm sure we will be fine.

Now I'm unsure as to what this item should be? a warlock specific item, so other party members don't take it first.
And as stated before, one which doesn't compromise his pact. Or is this inevitable?

[Baptor]

that sounds hilarious and is the right direction I'm after.

I won't force the character into being good, just encourage, as if its a little angel his shoulder (maybe that's what the warlock will see). He is disruptive enough that other party members are getting seriously frustrated, as his motivations are purely out of greed.

I agree with those who say you should be honest and up front with the disruptive player.

In all my games over the 18 years I've been DMing, I've only had three truly disruptive players that would not respond to a "gentle answer that turns away wrath" as it were.

In the first two after repeated talks and their unwillingness to be a team player, I talked it out with the other players who decided they wanted to get revenge and turn on the character.

The first was just hilarious because the guy wasn't really a close friend but some drifter who landed in our games. He didn't really understand the spirit of the game and kept playing it like it was some enormous joke and he was the king clown. Everyone loves a laugh but some people want something approaching a serious story and drama and he took a rainbow turd on the story every time. So they assassinated his character by carefully leading him into a compromising situation with the local church who burned him for heresy. He left in a huff, but no one missed him. Easy come, easy go.

The second was a close friend, and turning on him was the wrong decision. Outside D&D he wasn't a bad guy, but he saw D&D as some kind of competitive sport than a co-op game and was constantly comparing his damage output to others and putting people down he didn't think were up to par while also accusing others better than him of cheating (they weren't). He was a real jerk about the game and he deserved what he got but we failed to count the cost of being right. It caused a deep rift in the relationship we all had with him for many years, though all is patched up now. We've all apologized to one another.

The last guy was the worst. His problem was that he really liked to betray and murder other player characters. To him, they were "plot twists," except it was every single character. Like the other two, the players opted to gang up on him after he didn't get the picture. But it didn't phase him. He just rolled a new character and kept going, often getting a little revenge of his own in game. This got worse and worse until the games devolved into them killing him, him killing them over and over. I was forced to finally step in and tell him that while he probably thought the murder-fest was some kind of great game, everyone was actually sick of him backstabbing and murdering everyone and no one was having fun with him at the table and that he would have to go. That sucked, but as a DM, you gotta do that sometimes.

I saw all of that to say that giving a player his "just desserts" is not the best way. Sometimes you gotta do it, but you should exhaust all avenues of diplomacy first.

[Shining Wrath]

I'll speak to him about this, so long as he stays powerful and mysterious I'm sure we will be fine.

Now I'm unsure as to what this item should be? a warlock specific item, so other party members don't take it first.
And as stated before, one which doesn't compromise his pact. Or is this inevitable?

Introduce a rival patron, of course, which gives him the item so as to steal him from his existing patron because he's got such potential for Vast Power. Tie the item and the new patron together. Great Old One patron grants an item that allows seeing around corners in time - e.g., you get something similar to the Divination Wizard's "roll 2 D20 and keep them around until you need them" ability, which is pretty sweet.

Oh, and what Temperjoke said about him not being able to get rid of it - especially because an in-character imp will be dropping that thing into cesspools, throwing it into fires, and everything else it can imagine to remove the temptation to do good. Which allows for more hilarity if the warlock has to retrieve it or come down with itching hives and an unquenchable thirst for dwarven wine.

Not beer or ale - wine. Dwarves are not known for their viticulture.

[scy]

Introduce a rival patron, of course, which gives him the item so as to steal him from his existing patron because he's got such potential for Vast Power. Tie the item and the new patron together. Great Old One patron grants an item that allows seeing around corners in time - e.g., you get something similar to the Divination Wizard's "roll 2 D20 and keep them around until you need them" ability, which is pretty sweet.

Oh, and what Temperjoke said about him not being able to get rid of it - especially because an in-character imp will be dropping that thing into cesspools, throwing it into fires, and everything else it can imagine to remove the temptation to do good. Which allows for more hilarity if the warlock has to retrieve it or come down with itching hives and an unquenchable thirst for dwarven wine.

Not beer or ale - wine. Dwarves are not known for their viticulture.

That sounds very interest!
Great Old one isn't good aligned though, would that cause conflict? I'd love an excuse to be rid of the imp

[Shining Wrath]

That sounds very interest!
Great Old one isn't good aligned though, would that cause conflict? I'd love an excuse to be rid of the imp

Says who? You're the DM. Invent a good aligned GOO that seeks to oppose Great Cthulhu across ages and worlds.

[scy]

Says who? You're the DM. Invent a good aligned GOO that seeks to oppose Great Cthulhu across ages and worlds.

That's true. Say a figure approaches the warlock and offers a new pact, offering greater power in exchange for changing his path. I can tie this into the story as an entity whom ultimately wants to oppose Tiamat.

A sentient item will ensure he stays on this path, rewarding good actions with buffs.
I'm still unsure of the form this item should take. I'm thinking some sort of magic weapon that can be used as an arcane focus. This isn't unheard of is it?

[Addaran]

I'm still unsure of the form this item should take. I'm thinking some sort of magic weapon that can be used as an arcane focus. This isn't unheard of is it?

Staff can be weapon, arcane focus AND gives spell. That would probably be the best option. You can start with just a free cantrip or a spell once per day, then as he lvl or become more good, upgrade the rewards.

GOO aren't good normaly, be they thrive on insanity. Maybe he patron just want to make the character end up insane with the fight between good and evil. And he wants to stop Tiamat from destroying the world, cause it's HIS job (or he wants slaves when he finaly conquer the world).

[Hudsonian]

Does the item have to be "good". It seems to me that what you really need is a "Lawful" item. If the character's tendency to steal from others is what's bothering the group, then have the item be all about Justice whether it is perverted or not. But stealing something is either undignified or dishonorable and the object reacts by making the stolen object be obvious either by making noise, glowing, being particularly heavy, hot, cold, magnetic etc.

This would still allow the character to do evil things like torture lie to strangers for no reason, or similar things.

I feel like that would be a small enough downside that giving it the upside of +1d4 psychic damage on a hit would be nice enough for him to want to keep it for a couple of levels. That should be enough to modify behavior or grow attached to the mechanic.

[Shining Wrath]

GOO normally are unaware of mortals in much the same way we're unaware of dust mites, but they are aware of one another, which is why I thought an item designed to woo a warlock from one GOO to another GOO might exist - the GOO didn't necessarily intend it for THIS warlock, it's just out there waiting to be found by ANY warlock whose fealty lies with the enemy GOO.

And the GOO aren't usually insane, they are just utterly alien. Which is why an item created by one (or on behalf of one by a minion) is likely to have unexpected side effects upon mortals.

Do throw in at least one side effect that's just fun - maybe the warlock's shadow twiddles its thumbs if it gets bored.

[AbyssStalker]

You could introduce the artifact as starting off having an jeweled eye and gaining an eye every time it's power increases thus giving a buff, until the player decides to be greedy or piss it off in some other way, at which point it closes an eye (if he screws up bad, all of them), stopping a buff and if he attempts to wield it with all of it's eyes closed it will blind him. This could probably be supplemented by showing divinations of the player's end due to his own greed if he continues his avarice, or if he actually goes along with it can give him a free divination spell once per day, like scry or some such.