Everything requires Narrator approval! Except the stuff that doesn't, that is... :) But, yes, this definitely does. I'd hate to see every character in my game having Stormbringer in their pocket.
And what if
> the Dread Sword Of Unending Death that you have found is
> really a Gods Age funeral-only sword, the equivalent of the
> guitars that Pete Townsend buys specifically to smash at
> the climax of Who concerts and are otherwise worthless (as
> musical instruments, at least)?
By the time a player spends his HPs on it, it *is* a useful item of some sort. Unless it's been bought as a Flaw, of course. :) And we all know that any Flaw can sometimes work for you instead of against you.
Will the player accept that
> his character has bought with his time, blood, and sweat
> (all those HPs that might be spent) a piece of garbage without
> letting the character catch on, and stop spending those
> HP in the hope of getting *something* out of it?
This isn't something I'm fond of doing in any game, HW or otherwise. Letting players sink a lot of HP into something and then find out they've all been a waste is not nice to them. I don't like taking away the players' toys. Well, not unless it's a temporary thing and/or for a *really* good story.
Most items that turn up in games I'm running are loosely-defined. They're pretty much all enigmatic references, from the Wriggling Bag to the Horseshoe That Was Vomited Up by a Trickster. I like to leave *exactly* what they do ambiguous. Players always come up with fun ideas that I didn't anticipate.
Regards,
Bruce
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