Taking 20 Podcast - Ep 70 - Artifacts and Other Devices of Power

Episode Date: April 25, 2021

Artifacts can be simple engines to generate adventures or powerful items wielded by the PCs to accomplish a mission or slay a powerful creature.  Used without care, however, and artifacts will break your game.  In a slightly long episode, we discuss the positive and negatives of artifacts and how DMs can use them in their games.

Thank you for tuning in to episode 70 of the Taking20 podcast, this week about artifacts and other devices of power. This week's sponsor is Audio Setup and Workflow. It gives your podcast a much richer sound. It changes you from sounding like two cats fucking in a metal trash can to two possums running in an insulated plastic bucket. A quick reminder about the contest. The winner will be announced in five weeks. If you'd like to enter for a chance at a $50 Amazon.com gift card, please send an email to contest at taking20podcast.com.

Deadline for entry is May 28th. I won't use your contact information for anything else. No spam, no begging for money, no selling or giving away your contact information. After the contest, I'll use your email to contact the winner and then I will delete the emails and the email addresses you send. If you want to include an episode idea or feedback, please feel free to include those in the body of the email. I read every piece of feedback I receive and I love taking suggestions for show ideas. Speaking of which, one of the emails I received this week

asked for the monster series to become a more regular thing. I of which, one of the emails I received this week asked for the monster series to become a more regular thing. I'll do another one for episode probably 74, then I'll record new ones every five to ten weeks after that. Another suggestion I received was to include episodes on how classes can be role-played, backstory ideas, party roles, etc. I'm going to do some research on the topic and plan on rolling that out in a few weeks, so be on the lookout for that series. Anyway, enough rambling, on to the show. I didn't have enough time to properly cover artifacts in the Magic Items episode a few weeks ago.

As promised, or threatened, depending on how you want to look at it, this is the episode dedicated to artifacts. I will use the term artifact throughout the episode, but your game system may call them something different. Relics, mementos, remnants, vestiges, whatever. The recommendations will be the same regardless of what term is used. A rose by any other name, if you will. So let's start with a definition of an artifact, pulling it right out of the 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide. An artifact is a rare and powerful magic item. The means to create artifacts are either unavailable to mortal kin or else long forgotten.

Artifacts are often unique or finite in number and cannot be destroyed except by specific means. The Pathfinder Dungeon Master's Guide has similar information. An artifact is a legendary magical item of tremendous power created by methods which have either been forgotten by the peoples of Galarian or were always beyond the skills of mortals. Okay, they're powerful magic items. Got it. But what differentiates them from regular magic items? In three words, power, source, and purpose. With regards to power, these are not your everyday plus-one swords, bows, armor, or potions. These are unique treasures with a power that can shape the world around them.

Artifacts have one power, or more likely, more than one power, innate to the world around them. Artifacts have one power or more likely more than one power innate to the object itself. Invisibility, bonuses to hit and damage, ability to negate spells or damaging effects, cure damage, remove disease, cast spells for you, free actions, additional use of class abilities, and so on. But Jeremy, regular magic items can sometimes do that. True. But artifacts also differ from normal magical items by where they come from. Per the 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide, an artifact may have been created by gods or mortals of awesome power. These items weren't made by Mike the Blacksmith unless he's hiding some serious eldritch power in that horseshoeing hammer of his. Examples of items created from or used by gods would be the Wand of Orcus,

which is a sentient device which wants to kill every other sentient creature everywhere. The Hammer Mjolnir, Ao's Heart, Diabolus Ex Nelio, Lilith's Power Rod, and so on. These items could be created by beings of extreme power, not necessarily gods, like the Elven Crown in Pathfinder or the Fey Dreamstone. Regardless, artifacts are created by creatures outside the primary realm of existence. The Material Plane, Prime Material Plane, Earth, Earth Prime, Terra, whatever your home plane is called. Examples include angels, demons, devils, genie, efridi, planetars, diva, daemons, agathions, even elementals. If not created by one of these

creatures, then its creation was at least created by one of these creatures, then its creation was at least influenced by one of them, or a mortal was instructed or assisted by a similarly powerful creature. Any schmuck who takes the time to make a masterwork weapon and contracts with a wizard to cast a spell or two can crank out a plus one sword of fire. But it takes serious help to forge the heart of a volcano into the scimitar of magma. Finally, artifacts are usually created with a specific purpose in mind. It could have been created in the midst of a crisis that threatened a kingdom, the world, or maybe even the entire universe. It carries the weight of that

pivotal moment in history within the item. These items could have cultural or historical significance, could be tied to specific peoples like a religion or an outsider from another plane. A holy relic that's a symbol of the power of a deity or a god-like being, the Wand of Orcus being a great example. It could be tied to a specific nationality. In the Pathfinder world of Galarian, the nation of Galt has a series of artifacts called the Final Blades. These are guillotines that symbolize the revolution that's endemic to that nation. By the way, imagine if the French Revolution just went on loop. You have a revolution, you establish a government, you wait five to ten years, people are pissed off again. Revolution, you establish a different government, wait five to ten years, repeat, repeat, repeat,

repeat. The final blades were designed to execute the aristocracy or spies of the aristocracy. They trap the soul of anyone executed by them to prevent their resurrection. The artifact could support a specific class or type of character, like the Hammer of Thunderbolts, which, ahem, Mjolnir, ahem, or the Staff of the Magi. Or they could be just miscellaneous tools and objects, the deck of many things, which has a bunch of random positive and negative effects depending on the card that you draw. The sphere of annihilation that obliterates all matter it passes through and all matter that passes through it. The eye and hand of Vecna, which are mummified remains of the lich Vecna. The artifact could be created to support a particular ancestry, such as the acts of the Dwarven Lords. The artifact

could be created to benefit or affect a specific creature or type of creature. Fifth edition, for example, has the Fang of the Worm, which has effects on kobolds. The Orb of Dragonkind, the Helm of Elemental Control. These are artifacts created to either benefit or dramatically affect a specific type of creature. Finally, the artifact could be created to kill certain creatures. Like a dragonbane sword that is just a normal plus two sword against everything else, but against dragons, it also provides additional damage depending on the type of dragon that it hits. But artifacts always have a purpose, so whenever you add one to your campaign, make sure you have a specific purpose designed for it.

Whether that's the canopic jar of thema pashtet or the breastplate of steadfast resilience, the fountain of coalescent dreams or the chaos void blade. As some examples of artifacts from movies, you knew I was going to go to Marvel Universe because there's a scat of them in there. These movies are just lousy with artifacts.

The Infinity Stones, there's 20 movies directly or indirectly revolving around those items. Mjolnir, so Thor's hammer, could only be lifted by someone worthy of ruling Asgard, elevators notwithstanding. Nearly all Wakandan technology are damn near artifact level compared to the rest of the world. Doctor Strange's Cloak of Levitation had a mind of its own. The Vaulting Boots of Valtor, the Lord of the Rings had the One Ring, Harry Potter had a ton of them, the Goblet of Fire, the Sorting Hat, the Marauder's Map, and so forth. These are the types of items that can serve as inspirations for artifacts in

your world, so borrow, borrow, borrow, steal, steal, steal. But how do you make artifacts? First thing you got to think about is what power do you want the artifact to have? Artifacts have powers, usually multiple of them, but they sometimes come at a price. Powers need to be clearly defined, and ideally the powers are thematic. For example, let's make an artifact for Caden Kaelian of Pathfinder lore. Caden is known as the Drunken God, took the test of the Starstone to become a god on a drunken bet and passed it. He's the chaotic good god of ale, wine, freedom, and bravery. So let's make Caden's Capricious Cloak. It grants a bonus or a penalty to craft and profession checks, but it's capricious in the way it does so. Every time you make a craft or profession check, you roll a d8. On a 1 to 3,

you get a plus 4 bonus. On a 4, you get a plus 8 bonus. But on a 5 to 7, you get a minus 4 bonus, and roll an 8, you get a minus 8 bonus. Additionally, the cloak allows the wearer to instantly shrug off poisons and mental effects by choosing to succeed on up to 3 fortitude or will save per day. But as a downside, the wearer can't get drunk no matter how much they drink, and 10% of the time they'll wake up raging drunk even if they didn't have a sip of alcohol the night before. Artifacts are legendary relics around which whole campaigns could be based, and maybe there's a reason that the PCs have to recover this capricious cloak. Quests to discover where the artifact is, how to get to it, how to recover it, a fight against someone who is already wielding it or wearing it, bringing it back to someone who needs it,

maybe a quest to destroy it, and so on. The point being is that artifacts are a special tier of magic that go beyond the humdrum magic items you commonly encounter. Artifacts may reveal their powers over time. Matt Mercer has created artifacts which increase in power when certain conditions are met. He calls these power levels dormant, awakened, and exhausted. D&D 3.0 had a similar system called Weapons of Legacy, but it was needlessly complex. Mercer's system is much more elegant. Having artifacts grow with the PCs is especially useful if you want to give the artifact early, but you don't want it to unbalance your game.

It keeps you from ruining game balance by giving a third-level fighter some sort of intelligent, telepathic, plus-three, inferno-dancing falchion. These powers can slowly emerge over time. Explain it to the player that the weapon grows in power as the player does, and or it grows in power as the connection to the player grows stronger. This does require work on your part as a DM to determine when you're going to allow certain powers to emerge. It also requires you to be able to keep the growth of the weapon a secret. Imagine the dramatic moment when the weapon first returns to the player's hand after being disarmed, or it does additional damage against undead. It speaks to the player telepathically.

One of my longtime players has a great reaction when she gets surprised by revelations and unexpected moments. I can't duplicate it, but it's close to what? But that's kind of what you're going for for your players. You want to get that shocked and pleasantly surprised reaction from them as these powers begin to emerge. If you don't know where to start for a custom artifact, use an existing artifact that's defined in the game as the starting point. The Dungeon Master's Guides of 5th Edition, Pathfinder, Pathfinder 2nd Edition, and I'm sure other game systems as well, include sample magic items and artifacts to use as a basis for what you would like to create. includes sample magic items and artifacts to use as a basis for what you would like to create. If you want to build your own, use the number, type, and power of existing artifacts as a guide for the number, type, and power that your artifacts should grant. Give your artifact a good name.

Names should reflect the point of origin, the creature or mortal who created the item, the purpose of the item, or just a name that fucking sounds cool. I based an entire homebrew campaign around a set of artifacts called the Riven Regalia. It was called that because the items had to be forcefully separated so one creature couldn't become a nearly unstoppable force by having all of them at the same time. All these artifacts were originally created by and used by an extraplanar creature called Darmor the Cruel as he subjugated the peoples of the Argus Plains. The Riven Regalia consisted of the Crown of the Apocalypse. I know, trite, but I loved it when I made it. The Angel Fall Bow, the Amulet of Clarity, the Temporal Boots, the Gauntlets of Glory,

Cape of Ancestral Memory, and the Blood Blade of the South. Possession of four of these items allowed an additional ability, like plane shifting, even into areas where extra-planar travel was forbidden. The powers just climbed from there if someone possessed five, six, or all seven of them made them nearly an unstoppable juggernaut. Even if magic items can be bought in your world, artifacts should not be able to be bought and sold, ever. Buying and selling regular magic items is one thing. Chances are there are hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of plus-one weapons floating around in your world.

But there's only one crying crossbow of the Forsaken. The Elven Terrorblade, or Jade Dagger. For comparisons, think about the Mona Lisa. I can't march into the Louvre and say, I'll give you $10 million for that painting. They're not going to sell it to you at any price. Why? Because it's the frickin' Mona Lisa. But a print of the Mona Lisa? I can walk into the gift shop and buy one while I'm there.

The print may be a cheap copy of the original, but you could also argue that mundane magic items are similarly cheap copies of artifacts. But artifacts, similar objects of rarity and power in your magic or technological world, shouldn't be freely bought and sold at a market. These are rare, powerful things that powerful beings will covet,

whether you're talking about kings and emperors or gods and demigods. DMs, use artifacts with caution. Artifacts by their very nature can unbalance your game. They grant a number of abilities, some of them especially powerful, that can render challenges to your players meaningless. Who cares about all those spike pit traps when you can go ethereal at will? Who cares about cliffs when the ability to fly is available to you at the snap of your fingers? Who cares about level drain when the sword you're holding can wipe it all away three

times per day? While there are spells that can do all the above, spellcasters would have to prepare them or use up valuable resources in order to cast them. Artifacts give your players the ability to perform these powerful abilities like this at will. Invariably, artifact-level weapons will have high bonuses to hit and damage. Many of them, though, could include additional bonuses against certain enemy types. For example, a sword of orc slaying could do an additional 3d6 damage versus orcs. If the big bad and all of her lieutenants are orcs in the campaign, that's a powerful-ass sword for that campaign. So if you give it too early, it may make your existing challenges very, very weak. Artifacts may have a mind of their own. Not all of them have to, but these are items of extreme

power. They'll have intelligence and personality, ego and willpower. Many of them in their descriptions have a personality described, and possibly even a desire or purpose for the item. In these cases, these are not inanimate objects, but living things and shouldn't be treated as your everyday magic staff or bow or crafting table. Give them a consistent personality just like you would any recurring NPC. Roleplay their thoughts, desires, and motivations in how they communicate with their wielder. As a warning, an artifact does have control over its own powers, so if the wielder doesn't bend to its will or isn't helping the item accomplish its purpose, the item may withhold powers from the wielder. In a crucial fight, the sword says, I bet you'd like that extra damage against dragons right now. Well, you know, if you'd help me commandeer that ship

earlier, I'd give it to you. But since you didn't, do without. If the wielder ignores the item's purpose for too long, the item could try to leave the wielder. Also, if a better potential wielder of the artifact comes along, it may abandon its current owner. In Lord of the Rings, Gollum had the One Ring underground for many, Gollum had the One Ring underground for many, many years. But the One Ring wanted to get back to its master, Sauron. It didn't try to leave Gollum's possession because there were no other potential ring bearers close by that were any better than Gollum. But when Bilbo arrived, the Ring saw Bilbo as a way to get closer back to its master, so it chose to leave Gollum's possession. The book and the movie

make this point very, very clearly. I mean, think about it this way. You're an intelligent mace of skeleton slaying that exists solely to rid the world of skeletons. Why would it tolerate its wielder just hanging it over a mantle and never using it against undead? It wouldn't. It may use its powers to try to find another wielder who will use it to accomplish its purpose. Give artifacts a backstory. Just like we talked about in episode 67, give one to three important events from the item's past. I mean, again, this item was created for a specific purpose. What was that purpose?

Has it been successfully used for that purpose in the past? Have there been failures of the items purposed in the past? In either case, what happened, who was wielding it, and how is that noted in history? You don't need to write a thousand years of history for the Foe Slayer throne, but write a couple of important events where this artifact played a major role. Artifacts should have a method of destruction, and it should be difficult and epic in nature. You have to destroy it where it was created, like the One Ring has to be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. It has to be destroyed in a manner consistent or completely counter with the purpose of the item.

You may have to destroy that fire staff by immersing it in a hotter source of fire, like the center of a star. Or you may have to immerse it in an area of bitter cold, like the breath weapon of a frost dragon. But have a method of destruction no matter what you pick. Is it a method known by the PCs and or the big bad? And if not, who knows it? How could it be discovered? Do you need divine intervention to figure out how to destroy an artifact or is there major research involved? The destruction of an artifact should be a lengthy

quest in and of itself. Both enemies and allies will likely line up to stop its destruction. Chances are the artifact itself will take every chance and make every precaution to try to prevent its destruction. It'll try to escape, use its own powers, reach out to anyone and everyone who may be willing to assist in protecting it. It's a living thing and probably doesn't want to die. All right, so let's get to the crux of it. How do you use artifacts in your game as a plot device or MacGuffin? We've talked about MacGuffins before, and we've talked about plot before, but artifacts can keep your story moving forward. Whether that's the recovery of an artifact, the use of an artifact, the building of the power of the artifact,

or even the destruction of it. Artifacts can be displays of power according to the theme of your world. If you're running a Lovecraftian horror story, chances are there's not a ring of eternal happiness floating around. Many Lovecraftian themes revolve around the human mind trying to know the unknowable. Secret cults and religions and great old ones who, if allowed to influence humanity, would result in a very, very bad day for all of us. Most of the Lovecraftian items of power revolve around dark cults, abhorrent practices, and the acquisition of forbidden knowledge,

usually with some sort of sanity cost associated with them, like the Necronomicon, the Hound Amulet, the Serpent's Crown, and so forth. So if I were designing an artifact for a Lovecraftian game, it would be something related to the worship of these malignant beings of power, perhaps incorporating the essence of one into an item with powers that relate to the theme of the one on whom it's based. I bet you think I'm about to jump to Cthulhu, but that's a well-worn road. Instead, let's go to Ithacwa, the Wind Walker. It's based loosely on the Wendigo from Native American folklore. Lives in cold areas and preys upon unwary travelers.

folklore. Lives in cold areas and preys upon unwary travelers. Residents in cold areas would leave offerings for this old one, not to gain its favor, but to be spared its wrath. An artifact to honor a being like this, I'd say you'd have an item that produced cold, maybe even bitter cold in a radius around it. The wearer would feel no discomfort from any cold whatsoever. Give the wearer the ability to control wind for a period of time or cast wind-based spells, but like the Wendigo, the wearer slowly begins to crave humanoid flesh. Eventually, they fail the saving throws or ability checks and become a cannibal themselves, and it slowly drives them mad. An item like this would fit really well in a Lovecraftian adventure. It would be very easy to make similar items for Cthulhu, Azathoth, Yig, and Hay... the King in Yellow. Artifacts can be used to give players a rare gift or a gift to accomplish a specific task at hand. Also, artifacts are an indirect way that a

powerful ally can show support to the PCs. An artifact could be a reward for killing an exceptionally powerful enemy, and an artifact could be a reward for killing an exceptionally powerful enemy, and an artifact could be a great source of inspiration for stories and legends within your world. These stories and legends can be the basis of quests, basis of cult worship, or maybe even entire religions. Artifacts are extremely powerful devices that, if used with caution, can create a sense of realism in your world, a sense of wonder in your world, and be the basis of entire series of quests and adventures for your PCs. Use them with caution, hand them out with great care, and control the amount of power that you give the PCs, and Artifacts can be a

great addition to your campaign. Thank you so much for listening to episode 70 all about Artifacts and other devices of power. I once again want to thank our sponsor, Audio Setup and Workflow. If I could learn to leave mine alone for 10 minutes, my sound would probably be more consistent. My name is Jeremy Shelley, and I hope that your next game is your best game.