Knights & Knaves Alehouse

I love artifacts, though rarely in current gaming do I encounter one in play. This is due mostly to the fact that our groups never seem to get past 4th level. While I've seen some sweet unique magical weapons at level 5 (S2) The lowest level I've seen one introduced is level 6-10 (Daoud's Lanthorn in S4). I'm sure one of you will write if you know of a published instance where an artifact was introduced at a lower character level.

What level do you feel is appropriate to introduce an artifact to the party? Likewise, what do you think of 'minor' artifacts: unique magic items with a full boat of benefits (and drawbacks) but not something that is earth-shakingly powerful>

- Wheggi
NOW PLAYING ON RADIO WHGI: "Armor and Sword" by Rush

People seem to generally consider artifacts as game breakers: they are just way too powerful for the group and make the game too easy in any of a variety of ways (bypassing challenge, divining them, too efficient in combat, w/e).

I don't see it that way. Artifacts are not stat boosters or free spells for PCs. They are opportunities for adventures, triggers to all sorts of complications in the game that will make it interesting in any of a number of ways. Thing is, they don't have to be obviously awesome and used right away by the PCs. The artifact may for instance be powerful enough to obfuscate its abilities, and/or appear as a completely mundane item. They might be acquired by the PCs before they find out anything about them that would allow them to actually use/channel their powers.

I think artifacts may be acquired at any level by the PCs, but their powers might not be obvious, or might need to grow over time as the PCs study it, discover its history and significance in the world, or their minds meld with it, or it gains sentience, or whatever the case may be.

Example: Pei Lin, my wife's character, actually started the game with an artifact, the Jade Lantern, a ball of dark emerald she retrieved from Liu Xin Tsao's tomb on Level 2 of St. Makhab's Tower. This actually was the item her expedition was searching for before it was completely wiped out and she lost her memories (at which point the actual game starts). Now, either she explores the world without ever worrying about what happened before her character lost her memories, goes on other adventures in the sandbox etc, or she starts wondering about what this item exactly is, investigates its significance, who she was prior to her "accident", etc, at which point she could come in contact with some forces associated with the Black Abbey who want the Jade Lantern for themselves.

My point is, artifacts are major building blocks of a campaign, like major NPCs themselves really. As such, they can be introduced to the PCs at any point of their career, if done properly.

Wheggi wrote:Likewise, what do you think of 'minor' artifacts: unique magic items with a full boat of benefits (and drawbacks) but not something that is earth-shakingly powerful>

- Wheggi
NOW PLAYING ON RADIO WHGI: "Armor and Sword" by Rush

Minor artifacts become like secondary triggers or NPCs in the campaign world. They will be useful in a variety of situations obviously, but they might have been owned by other people, might have a conscience of their own, might be targetted by other people who want to steal or control them for themselves, and so on, so forth. A particular Holy Avenger say may give a reputation to the PCs, which will attract the attention of the Church which will want to build a "PR campaign" out of the PC's success to advertise its magical might, or some such. Just an example.

They are means to bring adventure to the PCs. But really, I don't mean to say that you force a "plotline" down the players throats, or rob them of their victories by taking away stuff they earned in the game, or just being an ass because you can as a DM, no. It's just that these shouldn't just be the latest item on the Magic Shop's list. There must be good AND bad consequences to owning such items.

Since minor artifacts are probably more known, and more straightforward to use on the PCs' part, they'll generally make it into the game around mid-to-high levels, to me.

I can't speak to the question of how early in level artifacts are given in published modules and such, but I can say that I like them a lot (artifacts), and like very much to create miscellaneous magic items using an artifact power or two, and also use them for powers of intelligent magic swords. A lot of items categorized as miscellaneous seem more like 'minor artifacts' to me (Well of Many Worlds for example, talisman of the sphere)
And some artifacts seem more miscellaneous... go figure.

Take a look at the Artifacts article I did for KS#4. Using that system you can build AD&D-compatible artifacts of varying power and type (including places). What sets artifacts and relics apart from 'normal' magic items is just their special history and relatively oddball mix of advantages and disadvantages. One of the inspiring factors behind the article was to allow both for the classic uber-powerful items found in the DMG and minor items with unusual histories and abilities. In other words, you could build something really powerful and campaign-spanning, like the multipowered Axe of the Dwarven Lords or you could build Kellri's Axe +1, forged by a dwarven hero, that happens to turn your beard blue when you wield it and adds +1 to your CON. It's all just a matter of detail and scale.

Well I guess I'm gonna have to check that out! It's exactly what I was thinking of. Well played K.

- Wheggi

There are some published modules with more-minor artifacts for lower-level PCs (UK2 Sentinel and UK3 Gauntlet by Graeme Morris; they're nominally set in GH too). Gary, Jeff, and Rob certainly incorporated a number of unique magic items into the published Castle Zagyg products (CZ:UW and CZ:Dark Chateau).

I've also used more-unique magic items throughout the level ranges for PCs, including giving some unique ones even to starting PCs sometimes.

I like artifacts a lot, and published some rules and thoughts on creating artifacts over on Canonfire! (this was material cut from my Living Greyhawk Journal #10 article, in Dragon 294/April 2002).