Posted by Dhaevor on August 17, 2000 at 16:50:58:
In Reply to: I have heard...(small text) posted by LittleSchoolGirl on August 17, 2000 at 02:16:50:
I wielded the ice-cold scimitar for practically the entire second half of my life, thanks to Takashimi killing Torinda to get it back for me every time I died to Masters (thanks, Tak).
I, as a player, know that the ice-cold scimitar has an item-prog that casts chill touch in combat. Yet, I wielded the sword. Why? Because of the echo. It doesn't fire magical bursts of cold at the monster, or do something blatantly magic. It chills their flesh.... and, it's a freezing sword! Go figure.
My analogy was that it's like a dagger of betrayal or a diamond-studded whip, a poisonous weapon that poisons the foe. Except that the poison prog is coded such that it doesn't literally cast poison on the target.
What would be considered magical or unrealistic in Thera is very different from what would be so in the real world, and this allows a clear justification of using the ice-cold scimitar and certain other items as a Rager. It's a simple given that smiths in Thera have the ability, perhaps amongst only the most skilled, to imbue their weapons with elemental forces of some sort, naturally. Every blacksmith is not a mage.
And yet, we have a world in which a weapon can naturally ALWAYS have a "flaming bite" or a "freezing bite," or in which a weapon can be SO impure as to defile at the very touch, and so forth. Thus, given the assumption that it's quite possible for a non-magical blade to always be freezing to the touch, it's not a huge leap to imagine that a remarkably-crafted such blade (i.e. ice-cold scimitar) is exceptionally cold, and freezes even more acutely than a common Frostbrand or some such.
Of course, as a player, I knew that it technically cast chill touch, but that's more a product of coding than the nature of the item. However, I realized that this meant it would be spellbaned, and once Dhaevor saw that, he'd have to chuck the weapon, regardless, even though it didn't make sense. So I made sure never to duel any Ragers while wearing it. :P
Twinkle, on the other hand, flares with light and blinds and weakens. No way to justify that as a natural property of the blade.
I'd advise area-writers (and prog-writers) to keep this in mind when making their items, progs, and echoes. Think about whether you want Ragers to be able to use it or not. Those crystal pendants that catch the sunlight are a *very* good example of how to implement an affect non-magically.