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[Xonara]

I'd like to see some extra rare strange moods for military skills. One of your soldiers might suddenly be filled with a strange passion whilst fighting and go completely batshit, slaying anything that stands before them and making his enemies cower. Kind of like a martial trance but more badass. If we want to go the magick-y way we could say that the weapon becomes imbued with a part of the dorf's soul and it's passion for battle and takes on new powers, possibly guiding those who use it. The original wielder might refuse to give up the weapon until it dies. And don't get me started on how badass it would be to have multiple souls in a weapon. If we wanted to go the mundane way we could say that the weapon inspires those who use it and makes them go into martial trances more often, or something to that effect. I'm loving the idea of magic weapons in general.

[Footkerchief]

I'd like to see some extra rare strange moods for military skills. One of your soldiers might suddenly be filled with a strange passion whilst fighting and go completely batshit, slaying anything that stands before them and making his enemies cower. Kind of like a martial trance but more badass. If we want to go the magick-y way we could say that the weapon becomes imbued with a part of the dorf's soul and it's passion for battle and takes on new powers, possibly guiding those who use it. The original wielder might refuse to give up the weapon until it dies. And don't get me started on how badass it would be to have multiple souls in a weapon. If we wanted to go the mundane way we could say that the weapon inspires those who use it and makes them go into martial trances more often, or something to that effect. I'm loving the idea of magic weapons in general.

I like this.  I can imagine hilarious scenarios like one such soldier getting his soul-weapon stolen by a kobold and literally losing his mind as a result.  On the other hand, one Lilarcor is more than enough for the entire fantasy genre.

[Felblood]

On the other hand, one Lilarcor is more than enough for the entire fantasy genre.

Says you.

I don't even know what a Lilarcor is, but I officially want one now. It doesn't have to be common enough that the average player will see more than one in his lifetime, the mere possibility is what tantalizes.

To clarify my previous post: I'm not saying that we should track every sword at world gen, and name them in heaps. Perhaps, as Rodent suggested, only swords that do things worth remembering have their names remembered.

LotR Elves named every sword that they made, but only blades like Glamdring and Narsil, blades whose names and histories are significant, need be tracked at world gen since the rest can be assumed to have been culled like the rest of the unimportant historical figures.

I don't like the idea of false histories being created. "Historians differ on a few issues, but the picture is fairly clear." should be a viable goal for any entry in the Legends, if the player is archeologically minded.

[G-Flex]

Perhaps instead of tracking weapons at all at first, the game just keeps track of individuals as it does now, and when an individual becomes some certain standard of legendary and/or does some amazing thing (whatever the criteria are), THEN it looks at what weapon he's using, names it, and keeps track of it from then on. Or something.

[i2amroy]

The problem is really the history of the weapon. Currently the only real options (that don't include some massive computing or changing of the past after it happens, talk about paradox) are these.

1. Wait until an individual does something cool, and then look at their weapon. Record the history of the weapon from then on.
2. Wait until an individual does something cool, and then look at their weapon. At this point create a few events, such as 'Was created by (god's name) god of (sphere) at the beginning of time.' and 'Was gifted to (hero) by (god's name) in (insert year of cool event)' for the weapons history. Record the history of the weapon from then on.
3. A couple of weapons are created at world gen by whatever. These are then placed in the hands of certain people. These weapons are the only legendary ones and are tracked all through world gen. No new weapons can be created.
4. Have a really rare random event that can create a weapon, the weapon can then use method 1 or 2 for its history.
5+. Any combination of methods 1, 2, 3, or 4.

[Sowelu]

For special powers of weapons, I think people are underestimating the effects of morale.  Knowing that they hold a legendary sword might be enough to inspire a fairly ordinary soldier to great feats of strength and endurance--kind of like how a person can lift a car enough to free a loved one trapped underneath, due to adrenaline, but might not be able to call on that same strength even when in a battle for their life in most circumstances.

I'd say that mythic weapons can give people morale boosts that improve their combat effectiveness.

I think 'generating a history backwards' is a poor match for DF, though it does work for made-up myths.  I really, really think that "special event gives weapon super powers" is a bad idea.  I mean, special powers can be put in things that are forged anew, and that's where they should come from.

Still.  I really like the idea of very minorly famous items with no special powers a lot.

[Footkerchief]

Still.  I really like the idea of very minorly famous items with no special powers a lot.

Me too.  One of the things I enjoyed about Baldur's Gate 2 was that there were loads of weapons with interesting stories behind them, even if the the weapons themselves weren't that amazing.

I also like the idea of such weapons giving morale boosts -- or penalties, depending.  Toady has mentioned the possibility of dwarves getting pissed off if they have to use a "foreign" weapon, or if the weapon just isn't their favorite kind, so that could be handled under the same system.

[catoblepas]

I would like it if weapons could be named after participating in some sort of significant event, like dealing a deathblow to a dragon, or if a dwarf names his favorite weapon he'd been using for the past couple of years. Perhaps the owner of such a weapon would react in much the same way dwarves do when a masterpiece is destroyed if it is melted, destroyed, sold etc. "Cog Mcswordsdwarf was angered at the destruction of a prized weapon recently" or somesuch. I don't think that they should gain special powers from being named though, outside of perhaps happy thoughts generated from having a named weapon.

[Felblood]

I was walking through a room where someone was watching Antiques Roadshow, and I overheard one of the appraisers explaining, that it's not the object itself that's usually valuable; it's the history and story that make something unique and valuable. The items in question had it's value increased by and order of magnitude, becasue there was evidence that they had been involved together in a rare historical event during the civil war, and not been reunited until later. This caused me to think of this thread.

I'm not sure what that says about me, but here's the idea:

A weapon that was used to slay a megabeast or a king, even if it's still mechanically just a -copper short sword-, should be worth a fortune if you can get your hands on it, and find a noble interested in that period of history.

[Granite26]

I'm not sure what that says about me, but here's the idea:

A weapon that was used to slay a megabeast or a king, even if it's still mechanically just a -copper short sword-, should be worth a fortune if you can get your hands on it, and find a noble interested in that period of history.

Isn't that in the dev_notes?

[G-Flex]

Of course, we also really know nothing of Dwarf Fortress cosmology.

For all we know, in the world of Dwarf Fortress, an item having such value and use attributed to it COULD become supernaturally-powerful for that reason.

It wouldn't really be outside the realm of normal mythology, either.

[Granite26]

Of course, we also really know nothing of Dwarf Fortress cosmology.

For all we know, in the world of Dwarf Fortress, an item having such value and use attributed to it COULD become supernaturally-powerful for that reason.

It wouldn't really be outside the realm of normal mythology, either.

It's possible, and not a bad idea in general.  It's just... a LOT of development work for an optional mechanic, and does a lot to break the extreme craftmanship trope that DF is currently arcing towards.

[G-Flex]

I think "extreme craftsmanship" is mostly a dwarf thing. It would still remain important, anyway, as you'd still want to create amazing things on the spot, even if worldgen produces a few of its own.

[Pilsu]

I don't see how exactly they'd be able to recognize the sword in question. Most mundane historical artifacts are fake. Not to mention busted to pieces after a few hundred or thousand years

[Felblood]

Item degradation should destroy anything that isn't recognized as a historical artifact and preserved. That's why historical relics are so rare, after all.

Besides, it's not like your fortress dwarves can go out looking for historical artifacts, unless you embark on an ancient battleground or graveyard, which should entail more than enough drawbacks to offset the possibility. of finding one artifact.

This is more of a way for an adventurer to go looking for things in places other than abandoned fortresses.