Artifact ideas post them! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Artifact ideas post them! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
NabraKaj
10-01-07, 02:38 PM Trying to get some brain storming ideas for some major artifacts for campaign.Here are a couple I have already come up with.

The Wish Urn where the Wishmaster who grants all wishes resides he who has the wish urn is granted control over wishes.

The long lost dragon hymns. Dragons in my current campaign have been put to sleep for thousands of years. Only the long lost dragon hymns can bring them back to life.

The White Banner. Modelled alot over the concept of the ark of the covenant. Those who fight under the white banner it has been said has never lost a battle. Those that fight under the white banner are followers of the Lightoverlord

The Prism of Alaistair. Alaistair Venndraadi is a high class narccistic mage whom has the uncanny ability of making magical artifacts with ease. However he believes the making of the artifacts have no consequences, such as the Prism of Alaistair. The prism creates a magical storm that creates a dead magic zone.
Seeker95
10-01-07, 03:11 PM Have you used any of these in your game? How did they affect the game? I'm all for new artifact ideas, but for the most part, the only time I use an artifact in my game is as a plot device. They never become "acquired treasure" unless the acquisition is a means to an end -- usually the destruction of the acquired property, or its transferal to the agent seeking its acquisition.
DarkLiChNeaZur
10-01-07, 06:19 PM i actually used a sword that immediately dissolved whatever it touched, its scabbard was made of the same mmaterial , the blade was broken and scattered into 3 pieces across Sylvanis. the players had to find and reasemble it *it didnt disolve flesh just metals stones, minerals and pretty much weapons and armor of any type* but it immediately reduced your AC to base (10 plus dex mod) when it attacked you, it had a +21 AB (attack bonus) and did 2d12 dmg it was known as Asyda Blydis - acid blade. the players had to use it to break a staff forged from Sylvartis ( hardest metal in my world) the staff was pretty much indistructable untill the last boss (in a fitting finish his soul also resided in the staff as his phyclarity ( he thought it couldnt break) when the staff broke so did he and he immediatly died) it was a good end to a really long and hard campeing to liberate the elven lands and the blade was actually an integral part of the quest
indigoreeds
10-01-07, 11:38 PM Toying with artifacts in a campaign can be risky and requires a lot of trust between DM and players. That being said, I did use one in my game that was pretty powerful and got away with it.

Orb of the Five Scales: Created by Tiamat but eventually stolen from her by one of her first draconic creations and passing into mortal hands near the beginning of the campaign for the first time ever, this orb is keyed to the five chromatic types of dragons, allowing both general commands or more specific telepathy with any dragon if more time is spent in concentration. This concentration and use of the artifact is complicated by the fact that the orb applies 2d6 energy damage to its user every round, and failures of 5 or more sever the connection between dragons and wielder, though previous commands are still carried out. While virtually indestructible, it is imbued with part of Tiamat's essence, and its destruction would signal the gradual decline of all dragons and their eventual extinction.

Introducing an artifact that controlled every dragon in my world and then handing it to the players was a big leap of faith, but fortunately having a character who had joined the party in order to return it to more responsible immortal hands (and who had a well-executed plan), and having my BBEG lich bind his phylactery to it ended up working out for a great climactic story arc. It was an interesting twist too, since they wanted to destroy the lich's phylactery but doing so would kill off all the dragons of the world (and possibly magic, according to some of the NPCs they talked to).

So my advice is be very careful... powerful artifacts aren't meant for every game, and your players may feel cheated if you're too heavy-handed with them.
NabraKaj
10-02-07, 12:00 AM Well all great epic fantasies have their artifacts.Lord of the rings,Wheel of Time,Dragon Lance.I think an artifact takes your campaign from small potatoes to epic. First off when i say artifact I don't neccesarily mean that that item has a curse involved, obviously some will have curses like the Urn of the wishmaster anything with wishes is going to have consequencses but others like the Dragon Hymns and The White Banner will not.
Ornum
10-02-07, 08:49 AM Well, this one wass sort of an artifact. It was the basis of a series of adventures in 2nd Edition in my game (so over 10 years ago). I just wish I could remember the thing's name (or any names of those in the history, for that matter).

Rumors

Once, several hundred years ago, there was a wizard of great power that traveled the planes. His studies eventually led him to master the art of planar travel, so much so that he was eventually able to activate gates to other planes at will, without the use of a spell. After his death, an evil wizard robbed the grave and took his skull, using it in magical experiments that, due to spells casted and the magic that the skull itself already contained, the skull became a portal key that could activate any portal to any of the planes when willed to do so by the possesser. Also, the when taken apart, the seperate pieces activated portals to the 16 outer planes (but not the outlands), the 4 elemental planes, the negative and the positive energy planes. The skull also offered protection from the environmental hazards of the planes to the possesser. This wizard used this skull to create an army of evil creatures from across the planes that threatened the entire world, so a group of heroes was sent to stop him. During the battle, the skull was accidentally struck and the resulting magical explosion leveled the mage, the heroes, and the army. The skull wasn't destroyed, however. Instead, the individual pieces were scattered across the lands and lost to the sands of time.

Facts

In actuallity, the skull was never taken by an evil mage, it was the ORIGINAL plane-hopping mage. He had become a lich, so that he would have the ability to take as much time as he needed to learn how to travel the planes at will, and eventually became a demilich. The "explosion" was in fact what occurred when the heroes from the past attacked the planar enhanced version of the demilich with a minor artifact. The resulting mix of magical forces destroyed the hero's artifact and caused the explosion that didn't destroy the skull, but merely scattered it.

Of course, the PC's didn't know this, as the only sources of info they could find were in ancient tombs and such, and all said there were two seperate mages. They didn't find out the truth until they eventually found each piece of the skull and reformed it, causing the demilich to come back to "unlife". It was then that the demilich told them the truth. After the explosion, the disembodied spirit of the wizard roamed the world for a few centuries, until it started find others to temporarily inhabit and write a fictious history, in hopes that someone would search for the pieces and put the skull back together so he could return to full power.

And yes, the heroes defeated the demilich, but only two of them survived (out of six).
DwarfPcfan
10-02-07, 03:59 PM Here's one artefact I used for a d20 modern game (Dark Matter-Urban Arcana type game)

Rabbi Loew's cane:

The legend: This rather innocuous cane is rumored to have been possessed by the legendary rabbi Loew's who according to legend created a clay like humanoid construct called the golem to protect the jewish population of Prague. Yet there's is more to Rabbi Loew's legend then the great golem. Indeed if the legends were to believed, with the help of his cane Rabbi Loew coulc summon the shades of murdered victims to speak at in their defense during a murder trial and perhaps more intriguing was an alchemist of great skill. What remains true however is wether or not the cane is Rabbi Loew's cane or not, it remains true that the cane is an artefact of great power

Abilities:1- Command construct (as the ninth level dominate monster spell but only on constructs and permanent duration) once per day
2- Summon shade of the dead 3 times per day can summon a 3d4 shadow, 1d4 wraiths or 1 dread Wraith
3-Speak with dead at will
4-Cause fear at will
5- Cure critical wounds 5 times per day

It is rumored that with the proper references from the Khabbalah that other powers could be discovered such as the critical incantation to revive his legendary golem and other lost secrets of ancient lore...
zzo38
10-02-07, 08:47 PM Death Artifact: Anything that touches this is destroyed instantly and cannot be resurrected or gotten back in any means. Only the floor it is sitting on and the air around it will not be destroyed in this way. If any chain of objects/creatures is touching this artifact, all are destroyed.
Reverse Philosopher Stone: Like philosopher stone but converts gold to lead instead of converting lead to gold.
Anti-magic Gem: When it is used, it make all magic and psionics in the entire multiverse to stop working, including artifacts and deities.
Nothing Artifact: It does nothing, but it is still a major artifact. Effects that work on artifacts (such as Mage's Disjunction) will still work like it is a artifact, and you can lose your spellcasting abilities, and other similar things with similar effects.
The Ubbergeek
10-02-07, 08:51 PM For an 'unholy fire', corruptor evil god, I have a powerfull ruby will similar-themed powers. thinks Red Gem of Cytorrak, or the efreetis's gems.
navar100
10-03-07, 01:54 AM I used this DMing a 2E one shot adventure, updated for 3E

Gauntlet of Might Magic

Wearing the gauntlet, any gesture you make triggers a spell. For example, the Vulcan Hand Symbol is Heal, thumb up is Resurrection while thumb down is Destruction (think ancient Rome), waving bye-bye is Teleport, pinch your nose is Stinking Cloud, the Middle Finger is Taunt (2E spell, worked like the Goad Feat in Complete Scroundrel), draw a circle is Gate, making a "gun" is Magic Missile, cross your fingers behind your back Misdirection.

There are actually two gauntlets. One gauntlet crossing your fingers is Limited Wish, both gauntlets with fingers crossed is Wish. One gauntlet with hands in prayer is Prayer. Both gauntlets with hands in prayer is Miracle. Both gauntlets in Vulcan Hand Symbol is True Resurrection.

Think of any hand gesture and picture what spell effect exemplifies what the gesture is.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
NabraKaj 10-01-07, 02:38 PM	Trying to get some brain storming ideas for some major artifacts for campaign.Here are a couple I have already come up with. The Wish Urn where the Wishmaster who grants all wishes resides he who has the wish urn is granted control over wishes. The long lost dragon hymns. Dragons in my current campaign have been put to sleep for thousands of years. Only the long lost dragon hymns can bring them back to life. The White Banner. Modelled alot over the concept of the ark of the covenant. Those who fight under the white banner it has been said has never lost a battle. Those that fight under the white banner are followers of the Lightoverlord The Prism of Alaistair. Alaistair Venndraadi is a high class narccistic mage whom has the uncanny ability of making magical artifacts with ease. However he believes the making of the artifacts have no consequences, such as the Prism of Alaistair. The prism creates a magical storm that creates a dead magic zone.
Seeker95 10-01-07, 03:11 PM	Have you used any of these in your game? How did they affect the game? I'm all for new artifact ideas, but for the most part, the only time I use an artifact in my game is as a plot device. They never become "acquired treasure" unless the acquisition is a means to an end -- usually the destruction of the acquired property, or its transferal to the agent seeking its acquisition.
DarkLiChNeaZur 10-01-07, 06:19 PM	i actually used a sword that immediately dissolved whatever it touched, its scabbard was made of the same mmaterial , the blade was broken and scattered into 3 pieces across Sylvanis. the players had to find and reasemble it it didnt disolve flesh just metals stones, minerals and pretty much weapons and armor of any type but it immediately reduced your AC to base (10 plus dex mod) when it attacked you, it had a +21 AB (attack bonus) and did 2d12 dmg it was known as Asyda Blydis - acid blade. the players had to use it to break a staff forged from Sylvartis ( hardest metal in my world) the staff was pretty much indistructable untill the last boss (in a fitting finish his soul also resided in the staff as his phyclarity ( he thought it couldnt break) when the staff broke so did he and he immediatly died) it was a good end to a really long and hard campeing to liberate the elven lands and the blade was actually an integral part of the quest
indigoreeds 10-01-07, 11:38 PM	Toying with artifacts in a campaign can be risky and requires a lot of trust between DM and players. That being said, I did use one in my game that was pretty powerful and got away with it. Orb of the Five Scales: Created by Tiamat but eventually stolen from her by one of her first draconic creations and passing into mortal hands near the beginning of the campaign for the first time ever, this orb is keyed to the five chromatic types of dragons, allowing both general commands or more specific telepathy with any dragon if more time is spent in concentration. This concentration and use of the artifact is complicated by the fact that the orb applies 2d6 energy damage to its user every round, and failures of 5 or more sever the connection between dragons and wielder, though previous commands are still carried out. While virtually indestructible, it is imbued with part of Tiamat's essence, and its destruction would signal the gradual decline of all dragons and their eventual extinction. Introducing an artifact that controlled every dragon in my world and then handing it to the players was a big leap of faith, but fortunately having a character who had joined the party in order to return it to more responsible immortal hands (and who had a well-executed plan), and having my BBEG lich bind his phylactery to it ended up working out for a great climactic story arc. It was an interesting twist too, since they wanted to destroy the lich's phylactery but doing so would kill off all the dragons of the world (and possibly magic, according to some of the NPCs they talked to). So my advice is be very careful... powerful artifacts aren't meant for every game, and your players may feel cheated if you're too heavy-handed with them.
NabraKaj 10-02-07, 12:00 AM	Well all great epic fantasies have their artifacts.Lord of the rings,Wheel of Time,Dragon Lance.I think an artifact takes your campaign from small potatoes to epic. First off when i say artifact I don't neccesarily mean that that item has a curse involved, obviously some will have curses like the Urn of the wishmaster anything with wishes is going to have consequencses but others like the Dragon Hymns and The White Banner will not.
Ornum 10-02-07, 08:49 AM	Well, this one wass sort of an artifact. It was the basis of a series of adventures in 2nd Edition in my game (so over 10 years ago). I just wish I could remember the thing's name (or any names of those in the history, for that matter). Rumors Once, several hundred years ago, there was a wizard of great power that traveled the planes. His studies eventually led him to master the art of planar travel, so much so that he was eventually able to activate gates to other planes at will, without the use of a spell. After his death, an evil wizard robbed the grave and took his skull, using it in magical experiments that, due to spells casted and the magic that the skull itself already contained, the skull became a portal key that could activate any portal to any of the planes when willed to do so by the possesser. Also, the when taken apart, the seperate pieces activated portals to the 16 outer planes (but not the outlands), the 4 elemental planes, the negative and the positive energy planes. The skull also offered protection from the environmental hazards of the planes to the possesser. This wizard used this skull to create an army of evil creatures from across the planes that threatened the entire world, so a group of heroes was sent to stop him. During the battle, the skull was accidentally struck and the resulting magical explosion leveled the mage, the heroes, and the army. The skull wasn't destroyed, however. Instead, the individual pieces were scattered across the lands and lost to the sands of time. Facts In actuallity, the skull was never taken by an evil mage, it was the ORIGINAL plane-hopping mage. He had become a lich, so that he would have the ability to take as much time as he needed to learn how to travel the planes at will, and eventually became a demilich. The "explosion" was in fact what occurred when the heroes from the past attacked the planar enhanced version of the demilich with a minor artifact. The resulting mix of magical forces destroyed the hero's artifact and caused the explosion that didn't destroy the skull, but merely scattered it. Of course, the PC's didn't know this, as the only sources of info they could find were in ancient tombs and such, and all said there were two seperate mages. They didn't find out the truth until they eventually found each piece of the skull and reformed it, causing the demilich to come back to "unlife". It was then that the demilich told them the truth. After the explosion, the disembodied spirit of the wizard roamed the world for a few centuries, until it started find others to temporarily inhabit and write a fictious history, in hopes that someone would search for the pieces and put the skull back together so he could return to full power. And yes, the heroes defeated the demilich, but only two of them survived (out of six).
DwarfPcfan 10-02-07, 03:59 PM	Here's one artefact I used for a d20 modern game (Dark Matter-Urban Arcana type game) Rabbi Loew's cane: The legend: This rather innocuous cane is rumored to have been possessed by the legendary rabbi Loew's who according to legend created a clay like humanoid construct called the golem to protect the jewish population of Prague. Yet there's is more to Rabbi Loew's legend then the great golem. Indeed if the legends were to believed, with the help of his cane Rabbi Loew coulc summon the shades of murdered victims to speak at in their defense during a murder trial and perhaps more intriguing was an alchemist of great skill. What remains true however is wether or not the cane is Rabbi Loew's cane or not, it remains true that the cane is an artefact of great power Abilities:1- Command construct (as the ninth level dominate monster spell but only on constructs and permanent duration) once per day 2- Summon shade of the dead 3 times per day can summon a 3d4 shadow, 1d4 wraiths or 1 dread Wraith 3-Speak with dead at will 4-Cause fear at will 5- Cure critical wounds 5 times per day It is rumored that with the proper references from the Khabbalah that other powers could be discovered such as the critical incantation to revive his legendary golem and other lost secrets of ancient lore...
zzo38 10-02-07, 08:47 PM	Death Artifact: Anything that touches this is destroyed instantly and cannot be resurrected or gotten back in any means. Only the floor it is sitting on and the air around it will not be destroyed in this way. If any chain of objects/creatures is touching this artifact, all are destroyed. Reverse Philosopher Stone: Like philosopher stone but converts gold to lead instead of converting lead to gold. Anti-magic Gem: When it is used, it make all magic and psionics in the entire multiverse to stop working, including artifacts and deities. Nothing Artifact: It does nothing, but it is still a major artifact. Effects that work on artifacts (such as Mage's Disjunction) will still work like it is a artifact, and you can lose your spellcasting abilities, and other similar things with similar effects.
The Ubbergeek 10-02-07, 08:51 PM	For an 'unholy fire', corruptor evil god, I have a powerfull ruby will similar-themed powers. thinks Red Gem of Cytorrak, or the efreetis's gems.
navar100 10-03-07, 01:54 AM	I used this DMing a 2E one shot adventure, updated for 3E Gauntlet of Might Magic Wearing the gauntlet, any gesture you make triggers a spell. For example, the Vulcan Hand Symbol is Heal, thumb up is Resurrection while thumb down is Destruction (think ancient Rome), waving bye-bye is Teleport, pinch your nose is Stinking Cloud, the Middle Finger is Taunt (2E spell, worked like the Goad Feat in Complete Scroundrel), draw a circle is Gate, making a "gun" is Magic Missile, cross your fingers behind your back Misdirection. There are actually two gauntlets. One gauntlet crossing your fingers is Limited Wish, both gauntlets with fingers crossed is Wish. One gauntlet with hands in prayer is Prayer. Both gauntlets with hands in prayer is Miracle. Both gauntlets in Vulcan Hand Symbol is True Resurrection. Think of any hand gesture and picture what spell effect exemplifies what the gesture is.