Feeblemind and Blackrazor - how to give a sword a body

[MarkVIIIMarc]

My goodness, I was just going over possible interactions in a session I'm due to run tomorrow.

There is a possibility our Blackrazor wielding Paladin will have to make a save against Feeblemind.

Well, he might actually like roleplaying a crazy sword which controlls a Paladin with a Charisma of 1. Think Blackrazor would be able to cast his Paladin spells for him?

[Kadesh]

No.


The creature can't cast Spells, activate Magic Items, understand language, or communicate in any intelligible way. The creature can, however, Identify its Friends, follow them, and even protect them.

Letters.

[daemonaetea]

By the rules, no:

If a sentient item attempts to take control of its wielder, the wielder must make a Charisma saving throw, with a DC equal to 12 +the item's Charisma modifier. On a failed save, the wielder is charmed by item for ld12 hours. While charmed, the wielder must try to follow the item's commands. If the wielder takes damage, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on a success. Whether the attempt to control its user succeeds or fails, the item can't use this power again until the next dawn.

So all that happens when the paladin fails the save is that they'll be charmed, not puppeted. On top of the limits of Feeblemind.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

By the rules, no:

If a sentient item attempts to take control of its wielder, the wielder must make a Charisma saving throw, with a DC equal to 12 +the item's Charisma modifier. On a failed save, the wielder is charmed by item for ld12 hours. While charmed, the wielder must try to follow the item's commands. If the wielder takes damage, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on a success. Whether the attempt to control its user succeeds or fails, the item can't use this power again until the next dawn.

So all that happens when the paladin fails the save is that they'll be charmed, not puppeted. On top of the limits of Feeblemind.

Thank you both very much.

How would you describe the actions a charmed 1 Intelligence character would do for Blackrazor? Or what would their interaction be like?

As long as my player gets to kill things he'll probably be happy.

[daemonaetea]

Hilariously, I think it'd be utterly worthless to Blackrazor. The paladin, in his charmed state, will regard the sword as his friend. But it doesn't negate his awareness of his other friends, and thanks to Feeblemind he'll be unable to understand language. The only real way this gets interesting is if Feeblemind wears off or is removed before the duration of the Blackrazor charm wears off. So it could be a nice post-battle surprise after they "heal" the paladin for him to start attacking them or fleeing or whatever.

[Joe the Rat]

Probably just nudge the paladin into attacking enough undead to get his soul eaten.

Now, attaching the command medallion of a Shield Guardian... would not be a very satisfying solution, since there's not a lot of fun in making a stupid soulless robot reap souls. Robot don't care.

Can you animate magic items? I forget if the objects must be mundane or no.

[NecroDancer]

Even though it’s not supported by the rules you can still have the Paladin play as Blackrazor possessing the Paladin and casting his spells. It’s a really fun idea and the Paladin player can still interact with the game like he would normally for the time being. Just because something isn’t supported by the rules doesn’t mean you can’t make an exception as the DM.