d20radio.com

So I used the WFRP random treasure generator the other day and one of the items that popped up was a Warhammer with a litany against cowardice written on it.

The warrior priest picked it up and I think it would be cool to be a bit magical. I decided that when a character wielding it takes a critical, he or she doesn't have to get an insanity point.

id say thats fine for a magical efect, that or a +5% to WP vs Fear

one thing to consider is play with the nature of the item, for example if this is a hammer that confers courage have it become heavyer or even unweildable for the priest if he shows cowardice. dont make it unusuable the first time this happens but perhaps give him a -10 ws for the folowing day. if his cowardice persists then the hammer is unusable untill he redeams himself in its (sigmars) eyes, and you can have alot of fun making him prove himself

_________________
host of the Small but Vicious Podcast available on I-tunes

"It's a miracle !"
"If it's a miracle, Colour Sergeant, it's a short chamber Boxer Henry point 45 caliber miracle."
"And a bayonet, sir, with some guts behind !"

I think the mechanic that you chose is a great one because its subtle, and yet very useful in its own right because there is nothing else in the game that provides that effect. A subtle, invisible effect is perfect for the kind of magic items that players should stumble upon, and doubly so for one that is divinely empowered rather than sorcerously enchanted. I agree with Oldschool as well - one of the hallmarks of a WFRP magic item is the double-edged sword. You can have a lot of fun with using the item's properties to enforce a certain kind of behavior like bravery to sort of have some level of interplay between the character and the object.

Interactions like that can turn what started as a random treasure roll into a memorable part of character development. If it becomes central enough, you can even add additional properties and effects over time if you want the hammer to be a little more important, or even have plot implications later on. Because of how WFRP's magic system works, you could explain that as either the hammer was more magical than originally thought, or that the faith of the wielder is adding to the divine power of the item just as the power adds to the faith of the wielder. Afterall, lots of the miraculous items in the game got that way by being handled, used, and otherwise interacted with by a person of powerful faith over time.