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View Full Version : Fixing 3.5 Artifacts



SocratesOnFire
2010-08-13, 01:04 AM
The truth is, for all the pomp and circumstance, the artifacts in 3.5 are often less impressive than other, non-artifact, items non-epic PCs buy or make. I just had a DM end a level 18 one-shot with an artifact for each of the five characters, and several were unimpressed with the reward (except Deck of Many Things, you can never be disappointed when finding that). The fighter preferred his sword to the Hammer of Thunderbolts, the Wizard his staff to a Staff of the Magi (due to spell selection and build), and the Rogue was disappointed with a Philosopher's Stone (worth 25,000, 50,000, or one True Resurrection [28,000 for a scroll of the same]).
THIS SHOULD NEVER BE THE CASE WHEN PCs FIND ARTIFACTS
High level PCs are the only ones able to use artifacts somewhat fairly, and they often are only slightly better than the equipment high level PCs pour money into anyway. We ended up deciding (for those characters continuing on) that we could use their artifact power somewhat loosely. The Wizard used the Staff of the Magi as a battery to add additional powers to his mobile stronghold by using charges and the Rogue could use the Philosopher's Stone for a Elixir of Youth. What are your thoughts?

Mnemnosyne
2010-08-13, 02:22 AM
To understand artifacts in 3.5 you simply have to observe one thing. Everything listed under 'minor artifacts' in the DMG is doesn't really fit the proper definition of an artifact. Even the things listed under 'major artifacts' are missing their artifact curses, with the exception of the Hand and Eye of Vecna (and those curses are significantly weakened from their original severity). If you go by the 3.5 DMG, there is almost no such thing as an artifact, at least not in the concept that there's a distinct difference between them and other items. There's no mention of artifact possession, artifact transformation, artifact curses, or suggested means of destruction. The very things that made artifacts truly special.

The 'artifacts' listed in the DMG are just powerful magical items. That's it. Note that the 'minor artifacts' weren't even written as artifacts in 2nd Edition, not even the Deck of Many Things. So they are nothing more, nothing less than powerful items and you shouldn't really expect them to be all that special. If what you want is a special uber-reward for a character, tailor it to that particular character so that it's actually the best thing they could possibly use.

Proper artifacts aren't really meant to be permanently in a PC's hands. They're a plot device. They have a curse. This curse is usually horribly debilitating in one way or another, such that no sane PC should want to use an artifact for a long period of time. Even comparatively weak artifacts generally have curses bad enough to discourage anyone from using them except in dire circumstances. Those few that have curses you can live with are quite weak and are sometimes simply inferior to a normal, but very powerful magical item.

The most important concept when designing an artifact is to give it an effect that cannot be duplicated through any other means. If it doesn't have an effect that can't be achieved in any other way, then it needs to have something else that makes it truly special and unique, from symbolism (consider the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, for instance, which is merely a +3 dwarven thrower of sharpness, but has an artifact curse and more importantly, a history and significance far beyond that of a nice +3 axe) to being somehow intimately connected and thus very important to beings of great power.

Andion Isurand
2010-08-13, 04:02 AM
Well, I have a small list of decent artifacts that are powerful in the fact they grant benefits that last indefinately, such that you need only possess or encounter the artifact (or location) once.

Artifacts & Locations that grant permanent/instantaneous benefits. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163229)