Heya!
Great Idea for a topic, I have to say.
Since I want my game to be more reliant on the intelligence of the player, I don't plan on having heaps of chunky weapons. Also, since it will be semi-real 'magical' weapons of any sort will be a rare and treasured thing. That said, I do plan to have lots of interesting equipment, and one off type use things, so that the player will have to think, 'do I want to use that now?'
Monsters: Of the few monsters that will be in my game, most of them will have some perminant gain to you if you defeat them. I'm sure everyone has heard the story of Heracles slaying the Nemean lion, and using it's skin as armour. I'm going to have stuff like that in my game, but lots of tings will only work vs certain type of weapons, as long as that is possible. Stuff like really really (I mean really) tough hide being good against pointy type weapons, which can't peirce it, but not nearly as effective against blunt weapons, for which the force just travels through.
Rumours: Anything thing i'm going to bring into my game is lying rumours. Old and fabled weapons will not always live up to their reputation, though at other times a weapons true power will not have reached the rumours, so it will be extra powerful. I don't want to give any concrete examples, that would ruin it.
Dagger of Philanthros: This rather average dagger has no special properties in it's self, it's a normal dagger. It was owned however, by a man by the name of, yep, Philanthros. Now this Philantropos fancied himself as the protector of the village of Kithudene, and went around being very nice to all the citizens, and generally lifting everryone's spirits. Word of his good nature spread to the surrounding villages, and he became quite well liked in the region. He even got a special ornate dagger made for himself, and it became somewhat of a symbol in the region. One day, though, he was actually called to guard the village, as a mad lion was attacking messengers and people who attempted to wander far from the city. The lion made short work of the rather useless fighter, and his dagger was thought to be lost. If anyone was to find the dagger, he or she would be very well liked by those in the region around Kithudene.
Basically, the dagger will increase the karma, or some other stat which I will define, like reputation or something, for the PC/party in this region.
Siren's Feather: Though the Sirens all plumented to their death on the rocks when Odysseus managed to resist their claims to have all the knowledge of the affairs of men, it is said that a few feather remained on the rocks upon which they killed so many sailors with their promise of hidden knowledge, the same rocks on which they died. While the exact powers of these feathers are unknown, they must surely possesive some kind of power.
Sword of Aias: The sword of the legendary hero of Troy, Aias, (Also known as Ajax in modern stories) is said to be a great and powerful weapon, striking down opponents with the startling brute force of the second greatest Hellenic warrior ever. This is also the same weapon that the hero fell upon, taking his own life after a disgracing bout of insanity caused by being tricked out of the armour of the greatest warrior of the Hellenes, Akhilleus. So, while truely a powerful weapon, would one dare use a blade so soaked in the blood of tragedy and disgrace?
I have to stop now, I could go on, but I don't want to spoil it all. As you can probably see, alot of the powerful items and weapons in my game will be shrouded in mystery, and will be, pun intended, a double edge blade, possesing both good things, and bad things.
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"For Example: Sunny days make me happy, rainy days make me sad." "But you can have fun on a rainy day too." "Your truth can be changed simply by how you accept it." "That is how fragile truth is for a human being."