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View Full Version : Tome of Artifacts: Experiences?



Beelzebub1111
2011-07-04, 05:30 PM
I'm thinking of including a few artifacts from this book in may game (Probably the Lucky Coin, Mol-Tet's stuff, The Ashen Heart, and Ghost Reaver. I'm using Mol-Tet as a major villain. I like the idea of a human necromancer of greater power than even Vol herself creating the mournlands as a haven for undead)

Anybody have any experince using the artifacts in this book or any recommendations of other ones to use? Eberron game, so I'm trying to shy away from planar stuff.

Anxe
2011-07-04, 11:43 PM
My experience with artifacts.

The first artifacts I used were small pieces of the four elements (fire, earth, wind, and water) that were in some sort of struggle to rule the world. The small rock, the small eternal flame, the small vial of water, and the sword of air were all sentient and very powerful magic items. The only items my players encountered were the earth and the flame. The flame was in the possession of someone else and the rock was in their own possession. Most of the fun from the rock was because I gave it a ghetto/ebonics speech pattern. However, once they had an opportunity of bargaining to get rid of the rock with the person in possession of the flame they did so. They exchanged an artifact for a treasure trove of magical items instead. I think it was fun, but it wasn't something that interested them as a campaign arc, so I just dropped it.

The second artifact I used was the Deck of Many Things. I'd homebrewed it a bit, so that it stuck around after it was used and that it had different cards. Each person who used it had to name the number of cards and then they were never allowed to draw more after that. This one didn't go so well. They abused the Deck by having an army of dominated slaves draw from it and then take whatever stuff the slaves got away from then. I had to throw in some DM grudge monsters to get rid of the deck and some of the stuff they'd acquired. It was still fun, but I didn't use the artifact carefully, so it broke the game.

The third artifacts I used were the Fierce Axe of Dwarvish Lords (In the Epic Handbook) and a homebrewed artifact called the Pitchfork of Ruin. Neither is particularly game breaking. They were just powerful weapons with a few spell-like abilities each. The PC with the Fierce Axe died soon after he got it, so I didn't have to do much policing there. The PC with the Pitchfork got it from his deity. He then accidentally desecrated the favored city of that deity (Long story), so the Pitchfork was taken away from them. Neither was game-breaking, but they were good plot devices. I am using the Fierce Axe as a plot device in my sequel campaign to the one where it showed up. I'll use the Pitchfork too if it comes up, but I don't think it will.

The fourth group of artifacts I used were some magical items that can only be used by the royal head of a country called Xoria. They definitely weren't gamebreaking as my players couldn't use them.

That's all my experiences with artifacts.

My advice to you is to not use them if your players aren't having fun. Artifacts are pretty easy to remove from your game if your players don't want them there. Someone more powerful comes along and just takes it! Or the artifact can leave on its own. Whatever.

And don't let your players get out of control like I did with the Deck. That was a mistake of mine and I urge you not to repeat it. Perhaps you should think how you would abuse and artifact if you had it as a PC. Then you can either tweak the abused part of the artifact or use a different one.

Alas, I have not read the Tome of Artifacts and can't help you on specifics. I'm sure someone else can though.

Beelzebub1111
2011-07-08, 06:48 PM
The Axe of the Dwarvish Lords made quite a big appearance in our 2nd ED game.

Deck of Many Things has ended campaigns for me.

This is an eberron game and "four elements" doesn't quite fit in the setting, but I still think its neat.

Anybody else?

RandomNPC
2011-07-10, 10:38 AM
If you've ever played Final Fantasy Tactics, I stole the Zodiac Braves idea.

13 stones, one for each elemental plane (positive and negative included.) plus most creature types: Constructs, Dragons, Ooze, Monstrous Humanoids, Plants, Aberrations, and Undead.

All the party found was the monstrous humanoid, plant, positive energy, and undead.

The stones were intelligent, and could speak with the holders. Here's what the party figured out:

A stone could change your form to save your life, but would go dormant for a year and a day after the fact.

Monstrous Humanoid: Made you appear to a monstrous creature or a humanoid as a creature of their type. Our dread pirate was often told he was quite small for a minotaur, he didn't figure it out for months. Otherwise this stone was dormant, because it had transformed the bandit they got it from.

Undead: Hid the holder from undead, Could summon a 1HD skeleton. Never got used because the cleric kept turning its skeletons. It thought it was hilarious.

Positive: Good divine casters got 1 more spell/day for each level they could cast, and a turn undead boost. It went dormant raising the dread pirate from death.

Plant: the holder had a constant speak with plants, and while standing on open ground with plant growth they got fast healing 1.

The positive energy was the most useful, but only because they figured out who to give it to, in the hands of a druid the plant stone would've been awesome.
Edit: Also the construct one, they gave it to a warforged, he became a spiritual leader in the warforged community.

Edit: my wife made a prop for that game: http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs42/f/2009/082/1/5/D_and_D_prop_by_Shiovra.jpg