Guild Wars 2

As part of an RP plot (Tarnished Coaster, here), how would one describe something as being “Soulbound?” Is such a concept even allowed in the lore? Is it nothing more than a game mechanic? Would it be lore-destruction to play something like that out in RP?

If it’s “allowed,” how do you imagine that concept would manifest in-RP? I have a few ideas, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.

I don’t think such exists in lore. It’s little different than customization in GW1, which was never featured in lore. It’s just a mechanical means to ensure you don’t go selling schtuff. Otherwise how would you explain account binding?

If you want to use lore for that, then it’d be little more than something you would never give up as far as I can tell. At least for me.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

I don’t think such exists in lore. It’s little different than customization in GW1, which was never featured in lore. It’s just a mechanical means to ensure you don’t go selling schtuff. Otherwise how would you explain account binding?

If you want to use lore for that, then it’d be little more than something you would never give up as far as I can tell. At least for me.

Little background: Character had a sword stolen from him. He’s getting a new sword crafted for himself and doesn’t want to take a chance of this one getting stolen as well. Any ideas how that might play out as Soulbinding or a lore-acceptable alternative?

Hmmm… a lore-acceptable alternative would probably relate to enchanting it so that it’d be harmful for someone else to wield it (burning, for example) or for it to be unable to be gripped by another (e.g., it would “slide away” from someone else’s hands towards the pommel or the like). Weapons being enchanted is canon lore (Ghosts of Ascalon features an ebony colored blade that’s effective against ghosts – I imagine it, by mechanical value, would have a Sigil of Ghost Slaying in it), so going beyond the mechanics’ limitations to go that way would work.

Ah, interesting alternative. I think I have a couple ideas that can be adapted to that…

Thanks!

I love doing RP in such a way that I don’t have to severely stretch the lore of the game in order to make it work. :-) I’m OK with a little tug here and there to make up for lack of information, but I hate seeing people imbue unreasonable power into game objects or their particular character/profession. No one’s immortal, nothing’s “unstoppable,” yaknow?

Customization was ever so much more useful to explain away than “soulbound”. Armor generally is sized to fit the individual, or else you run into very real problems with it beyond comfort. Weapons can be customized to suit an individual’s fighting style or grip preference . . . or just to look “awesome”.

The concept of “soulbound” though . . . it seems to occur in the more magical and higher-quality goods you see in the game. So what it suggests is those open-world items you get which ‘Soulbound on use" mean that until you essentially get it customized, it’s just a generic equipment piece. Once you get it sized to fit, though, or once you actually get to using it . . . it’s yours. The magic in it has bonded to you in a way which won’t work for anyone else.

This is just a very “that’s the way I’d describe it” way of me handling it.

Why are trophies soulbound? To quote Calvin and Hobbes: “Go ask your mother.”

Thanks! Gonna be hard to apply the “customization” logic to a sword, but I’ll think about this as well. Lots of people could theoretically use the same sword without issue….even if it was customized to a particular person. Hmm.

Hickeroar.9734:

Thanks! Gonna be hard to apply the “customization” logic to a sword, but I’ll think about this as well. Lots of people could theoretically use the same sword without issue….even if it was customized to a particular person. Hmm.

In theory, sure. But try picking up a sword where the balance is honed specifically for another type of person. Or the blade has been cut down a bit because they need it lighter for an old arm injury.

Taking out the free-will aspect of it, I’m thinking that soulbound could be percieved to be something your character naturally accepts as being more special than the other things he or she aquires. With all the loot that our characters pick up on a daily basis, there are naturally going to be things that we would look at and say, "You know, this is pretty cool. I’m going to hold onto this so I can remember <what just happened>. Soulbound on equip could be something that we’re sort of attached to but have to give it a try or try it on, and once used, it’s really not something we’d sell.

I prefer to take a simple Harry Potter reference to it

The Wand Chooses the Wizard Mr Potter

the Way i see it Soulbinding a item to a character from a roleplaying perspective is little more than a weapon choosing its master

Tyria is a World of Magic after all