So I am trying to discern the exact difference between the sentient and Intelligent Item properties- Sentient says it should be treated as any other NPC, does this mean that Sentient Items have personalities and ways of communication and just not social scores. If they don’t have personalities, then how exactly are they supposed to be treated as NPC’s?
The difference is that Intelligent falls under Legendary, and Sentient is under Extraordinary.
That’s a key to noticing the differences between the 2.
For Intelligent:
The item is sentient and possesses its own psyche and personality, including mental and social attributes. It also has the ability to communicate audibly or telepathically. The item description will detail any attribute scores as well as communication limits (such as the ability to only communicate with the wielder).
For Sentient:
The item becomes either self-aware or capable of basic human reasoning. It has no inherent bond with its creator, and is treated like any other NPC. It gets its own turn and array of actions. The item gains no mental or social attributes, only the ability to think. At the GM’s discretion, it may also gain a particular mode of movement, such as walking, climbing, flying, or swimming.
For sentient it tells you right there what “treated like any other NPC” means: it gets its own turn and array of actions.
What it means by no mental or social attributes, is, it doesn’t get to put attribute points into that essentially, it just is able to think on its own.
Intelligent is Sentient PLUS has own psyche and personality, etc etc etc. Intelligent includes sentient in it.
To Summarize:
Sentient is treated like an NPC in that it gets its own actions (Major, move, minor) to do things. It may or may not have actual speed, and might only move around via someone else moving it though. That’s up to the GM of course.
Ok, great that makes sense, but it seems to me that an Item could be Intelligent without being legendary.
For Example, A group of level 1 adventurers dies in a cave, the fighter’s soul latches onto the sword. This sword that is otherwise just a sword with might 1 (by no means a legendary item at WL 2) has an intelligent being inside of it, but it still just has might 1.
I don’t know, maybe I’m Just overthinking this, but it seems that Intelligent is not necessarily legendary.
what you just described isn’t a legendary item, you are correct, b/c that’s not an intelligent sword. It’s not even a sentient sword by your description.
Also, not sure why you would have a Sword with just might 1, especially with that story. I think you are just stretching here to try and make it not make sense.
If an item was possessed by a person in some way, that would very much be a legendary item. If it is just a little sword with a few improvements/capabilities, then it isn’t much of anything, and why does it even exist.
If it is just a plot point, and you are wanting a sword that can talk/communicate, you can just do that, and not grant it the additional actions and such.
But yeah, an item that can communicate and talk to people, that’s pretty legendary.
Ok, I suppose I should clarify. I just don’t understand because I equate legendary items with artifacts from Dungeons and Dragons, and there are plenty of Non-Artifact items that can talk. Now while I can just homebrew an item that Talks without making it legendary, I’m just trying to understand what about an item talking makes it worthy of being an artifact or legendary in this system.
Sorry, I wasn’t trying to sound cross, contrary, or seem like I was stirring the pot.
Stop doing this 
Serious though, don’t compare other systems. If you are the GM, you can make Legendary items more common or less common as you see fit. That’s entirely in your control.
The reason Extraordinary Items are separate from Mundane items:
So players can’t have them without GM approval, even via crafting, but they are still craftable
The reason Legendary Items are separate from Extraordinary items:
So they are completely in the realm of GM control, and players can not even craft these.
Now of course, a GM might allow a player to end up crafting such an item as Legendary given the right circumstances and such, but the players understand that Legendary are certainly out of their grasp for just making, and won’t be expecting to find them in shops (again, depending on setting).
I suppose that Makes sense. I guess that I just hear Legendary, and it seems like something that should be extremely powerful or wholly incredible. I’ve only been running games in OLRPG for about a year and Extraordinary items are still something that I’m trying to get a hold of.
I guess I’ll try to stop that Mindset of comparing systems.
I mean… a talking sword, able to carry on conversations with you and anyone else, possibly telepathically… that seems pretty extremely powerful or wholly incredible to me, but maybe it is just a matter of perspective.
AND, usually if such an item exists, it has an impact on the story of the world, and might even be a key item in some plan. Those aren’t normal things after all.
Oh, and I’m not trying to come off confrontational or anything here. I understand your view point on it, I’m just surprised that an item, a normally inanimate object, that can communicate doesn’t seem legendary.
To me it does, but again, matter of perspective.
I suppose it makes sense that these items would seem extraordinary, I guess they just don’t sound LEGENDARY. Going Back to my example of a dead first level adventurer for a moment, a sword possessed by a first level character is not going to offer much information as a staff possessed by an ancient archmage. I guess in my mind it’s what the personality has to offer that makes it legendary. So an archmage that can offer wisdom and possibly how to cast spells is legendary, but a 1st level fighter who died a humiliating death is not.
yeah, for me, this wouldn’t make for a weapon. They didn’t do anything in life, so it doesn’t make sense that their personality would get put into a weapon.
If someone else put them in a weapon, it makes sense, as well as explaining why it is more powerful.
But it comes down to what you want with your game.
And the distinction is more mechanical than it is descriptive in the end between extraordinary and legendary.
See, that sword, would be extraordinary, but only sentient, not intelligent, to me (the 1st level fighter, etc). And if it is just a story point to expound what happened to them and/or their party, then that’s all it is. OR, maybe it gets more powerful the more it is used, etc etc etc.
If it is an uninteresting item, not sure why it would be in the world.
Truly, the concept was more me trying to come up with an origin for an intelligent item, the inspiration happened due to a TPK that happened in a campaign of mine and as a joke, I gave the player his old character’s sword with his old character’s soul in it.
He wanted his character back, and he got it. just not how he was expecting.
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