Making an inanimate object intelligent?

[Strigon]

I'm looking for a way to make a seemingly inanimate object actually alive. Preferably, it would be a desk or a chair (say, the favourite table of the PC's at their usual tavern), and would of course have to actually feel and look like the object in question. This is why I can't use a mimic; they don't actually feel like the object they impersonate, and they exude a goo that sticks to anything touching them.
How would you go about doing this? Can you?

[IcarusWulfe]

You could just use an animated object from the MM1

[fishyfishyfishy]

A Permanent (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/permanency.htm) Animate Objects (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/animateObjects.htm) will do this for you.


I'm not sure if there's an option that doesn't involve a non ability score.

[DrMotives]

A Permanent (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/permanency.htm) Animate Objects (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/animateObjects.htm) will do this for you.


I'm not sure if there's an option that doesn't involve a non ability score.

An Urban Druid can even have an animated object as a class feature, it can be their "urban companion", and is created for the mere cost of a 24 ritual that makes the animated object a construct creature & not just a permanenced spell effect.

[Strigon]

The thing is, animated objects aren't intelligent.
Ideally, I'd use something with free will, if such an option is available.

[SimonMoon6]

How about a psion using the Metamorphosis power to pretend to be a table?

Or an intelligent magic item that happens to be a table? Like, someone enchanted a +1 table and ended up with an intelligent table?

[Inevitability]

How do you feel about using a Mimic (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/mimic.htm) instead?

[Strigon]

How about a psion using the Metamorphosis power to pretend to be a table?

Or an intelligent magic item that happens to be a table? Like, someone enchanted a +1 table and ended up with an intelligent table?

One of those two would probably work best (which is certainly a commentary on just how strange my request is)

Mimics, as mentioned in the original post, would work, except they don't feel like what they imitate - so if anyone touches it, the jig's up.

[asnys]

I'm looking for a way to make a seemingly inanimate object actually alive. Preferably, it would be a desk or a chair (say, the favourite table of the PC's at their usual tavern), and would of course have to actually feel and look like the object in question. This is why I can't use a mimic; they don't actually feel like the object they impersonate, and they exude a goo that sticks to anything touching them.
How would you go about doing this? Can you?

I would homebrew it - just give an animated object an intelligence score.

[Inevitability]

How about the old Gazebo Jones trick? Be an intelligent construct of some kind (warforged are the obvious choice) and use Alter Self to assume the form of an animated object. That way, you have a chair-like creature that's as intelligent as you want it to be, and a CR 3 creature can already do it.

[Segev]

If you want to get particularly creepy, you can use haunt shift to stuff an intelligent undead creature into the object. See Libris Mortis for details.

[Strigon]

Those are some options that could work; thanks guys!

[Necroticplague]

If the object is magical, there are rules for making any item intelligent (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/intelligentItems.htm). It wouldn't be horrifically unreasonable to have an object with intelligence as it's only magic item trait, then animate it by whatever means (including a separate Animate Object spell later, or being an Urban Companion to an urban druid). It's technically not "alive" in the legal sense (lacking a CON score), but it's animated and intelligent.