[3.5] Items Against Characters - Mind Affecting? Possession? Other?

[Thurbane]

I feel like this went beyond the scope of the Simple RAW thread:


Q 308

Intelligent items with Ego can gain a measure of control over characters using them, as detailed in the Items Against Characters section. As far as I can see, this ability is not specifically tagged as enchantment, or even mind-affecting.

a.) Can a character use Mind Blank to block this effect from a magic item?
b.) Would a protection From Evil stop the item exerting control?
c.) Can an item use this ability on a mindless creature, or creatures otherwise listed as being immune to mind-affecting effects such as Constructs, Plants or Undead?

Thoughts?

Cheers - T

[MisterKaws]

Intelligent items are very very badly written as is, so you're better off house-ruling it as you see fit.

I'd say mind-protection works as usual since it's a possession of sorts.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Protection from evil works even on non-mind-affecting possession, so I guess it depends on exactly what happens when you fail an ego check.

[Kelb_Panthera]

You ever had a friend or aquaintance that, whatever it was he wanted to do, that's what you did when you were together even if you weren't really into it? That's what a failed ego check against an intelligent item is like. Your PC and his item both want to take a different course of action and, because the item has the stronger personality (this time, anyway), you do what it wants unless you're willing to simply part ways with it. It's not that it's beguiled or convinced you to go along with it. It just has such a force of personality that you can't help yourself but to go along with it without an act of willpower.

It's not mind-affecting or possession or it would be called out as such. You can't block it. The egos of most items aren't impressive and they never conflict with their creators so it shouldn't come up terribly often unless the GM puts in an intelligent artifact or intelligent cursed item.

[vasilidor]

I honestly think the best use for intelligent magic items is not to use them.

[Kelb_Panthera]

I honestly think the best use for intelligent magic items is not to use them.

From the DM angle, it's definitely a "salt" kind of ingredient. You don't want to use none ever because that makes for a bland dish but you don't want to drown the meat and potatoes in it either. A pinch here and there when it's plot-appropriate is how you wanna go.

From the player angle though, there's a fair few ways to get an intelligent item that regards you as its creator. At the end of the day, an intelligent item that is your creation is a separate set of limited senses and actions working toward your interests and capable of trying to get back to you if it's lost but not destroyed. As long as you made it, there's no down-side to having an intelligent item unless you or it are subjected to something that causes a sudden, drastic change in personality.

[Crake]

Intelligent items are very very badly written as is, so you're better off house-ruling it as you see fit.

I'd say mind-protection works as usual since it's a possession of sorts.

Immunity to mind-affecting does not actually equate to immunity to possession. Mind blank would not prevent a ghost from possessing you, and fiends of possession can possess mindless creatures like golems without issue.

The best protection against an intelligent item, if you don't align well with it, is to just discard it. Done and done. Keep in mind that intelligent items that are used by those with a different alignment to their own actually suffer a negative level, so you won't often be using them unless you align to some degree.