Mrfurious
Warrior
344 Posts
    
 | | 10/10/2005 11:58 AM |
| | recovered topic 9713 | |
Sanity is a one trick pony, my friend, . . .but when you're good and crazy the sky is the limit.
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Mrfurious
Warrior
344 Posts
| | 10/10/2005 11:58 AM |
| While we had no system for giving command words to items ( in general we just kept it in the background and gave no specific command words to items, just assumed once identified as per the spell they worked), once there was a wand of shatter that the GM couldn't resist giving the command word Shedoobee to.
Think rolling stones and you'll get it. | |
Sanity is a one trick pony, my friend, . . .but when you're good and crazy the sky is the limit.
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ilarue
Underboss
1259 Posts
| | 10/10/2005 3:36 PM |
| | I've always just assumed that they knew the command word once the item was identified. But I've never actually given specific command words that they must say to activate the item. I could say were it would be interesting and make things more realistic, but I've never taken the time to do it. | |
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Omand
Commander
3120 Posts
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | 10/10/2005 3:42 PM |
| Hello,
I always make up command words for wands, etc. in campaigns. Once the characters identify the item they get the command word. I don't really worry about things after that, although my last group did actually roleplay the command words in combat much of the time (although not 100%).
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nyjastul69
Commander
2711 Posts
Rhode Island
| | 10/11/2005 12:38 PM |
| | I've always assumed a successful identify revealed the command word. We use specific command words for items. We usually try and tie the word to how an item works or what it does. As an example their was a wand of wonder with the cw serendipity. | |
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reezel
Sergeant
555 Posts
| | 10/11/2005 4:46 PM |
| | Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't wands spell completion? Doesn't that mean you basically mock starting the spell and the wand finishes it, no command word needed? | |
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The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. | |
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FeranEldritchKnight
Sergeant
385 Posts
Kansas City, MO USA
| | 10/12/2005 12:29 AM |
| | Although this usually gets overlooked, sometimes it's a lot of fun to have a command word. My 2e flame tongue would ignite upon the word "Niaku" (from Superfriends!) Another good word was when I DM'ed "Gorgoldand's Gauntlet" from Dungeon. The sword was given the commands word, "snooky" (after the pseudodragon) and the player didn't know what the command did. So my wife's male fighter went everywhere just saying "Snooky" trying to get the sword to do something. Now she knows what the sword does, but it was fun until she figured it out. | |
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B
Underboss
1189 Posts
| | 10/12/2005 9:27 AM |
| | Sometimes you have to be careful with command words. My DM is a big fan of them. I once had a character who managed to wrest a magical mace from a pirate lord, and thought it was just a magical mace. We were on a ship and I mentioned that an Albatross was lucky, and poof! I was transported to the desert island where the pirate lord stored his treasure. Albatross was the command word. I spent the next 45 minutes trying to think of sailing terms that would take me back. The DM finally let my character figure it out because I couldn't. I was out of action for the entire session. If you're using command words BE CAREFUL! | |
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nyjastul69
Commander
2711 Posts
Rhode Island
| | 10/13/2005 11:52 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by reezel:
Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't wands spell completion? Doesn't that mean you basically mock starting the spell and the wand finishes it, no command word needed?
From the SRD:
Spell Trigger: Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it’s even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken. Anyone with a spell on his or her spell list knows how to use a spell trigger item that stores that spell. (This is the case even for a character who can’t actually cast spells, such as a 3rd-level paladin.) The user must still determine what spell is stored in the item before she can activate it. Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Underline is mine.
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In the constellation of
Cygnus, there lurks a
mysterious, invisible
force:
Rush | |
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bshugg
Underboss
1832 Posts
| | 10/13/2005 1:22 PM |
| I used to require command words as I thought they added to the games feel. Then I played with a DM that required them, made them silly words, and made it insanely hard to figure out what they were. I would identify the wand, and it would be a useless stick unless I spent 15,000 gold to contact another plane or something similar.
Since then I backed off a bit and just let players use them. I might give a cool discription of the wand, but generally ignore the command word or say its "the elvish word for friend" or "draconic word for lightning" | |
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