[Exalted] Artifact 5

[Nabirius]

Is there even a good place to look for things like this other than the Daiklave of Conquest? An Abyssal in a campaign I'm running put five dots into artifact and I want him to have an awesome enough Grand Grimscythe to be worth the points he invested. At the moment its called the Disheartening Grimscythe (needs a better name, like: The Ruin of All). Also at the moment, we buffed the speed rating to 5, and we made the target number for damage 6, also every he successfully strikes an enemy they have to make a Valor check at +1 (what is the actual difficulty of that? 2?) or take the abyssal's conviction as a penalty to all combat rolls (this counts as a supernatural mind-altering effect).

Is this a decent Artifact 5?

Do you all have any better ideas for the artifact? I feel like an artifact 5 should be something interesting and special, not just a buff to stats but I also don't know what is really balanced (its my first time running the system). Edit: Second edition btw

[ShadowFighter15]

I'm no expert on Exalted, but generally a 5-dot artifact shouldn't just be a 4-dot one with a few small bonuses tacked on. Oadenol's Codex (the third in the Books of Sorcery series) said this about 5-dot artifacts:


True Marvels: Five-dot artifacts offer unbeatable
advantages in their areas of focus, or overwhelming
advantages in many situations or in a few potentially vital
conflicts. Whatever powers an artifact of this level possesses,
they are usually unique and often impossible to
counter. A daiklave of conquest (see Exalted, p. 392)
makes a character a supernal general who will nearly
always rout her enemies. Memories cut from victims of
the Forgotten Edge can never be regained. A Dragon-
Blooded warrior with the Eye of the Fire Dragon should
be a true nightmare to the Solar Exalted.
It is hard to quantify a five-dot artifact’s range of
power more precisely than above, but they may be
likened to higher-Essence Charms (6+) or Celestial
or Solar Circle sorcery.
Standard Essence (C/E): 10m/8m
Examples: A key that opens any door and allows the
owner to step out through any other doorway he wishes. A
great orichalcum staff that can defl ect any attack toward
another target, including overtly magical attacks. A knife
that severs committed Essence and ends lasting enchantments
permanently. A prayer strip that ensures that a single object
will never again be found by anyone.

EDIT: Here's a couple of 5-dot weapon artifacts from the same book:

DEATH AT THE ROOT
Death at the Root is a moonsilver grand grimcleaver, created as a planned byproduct of a Lunar’s ritual suicide after the Usurpation. The great axe can fatally sever flows of Essence as well as blood. Its wielder may use it to target the Essence in a manse, demesne or persistent spell. The player rolls (Charisma + Essence) at a difficulty of the target’s rating (for manses or demesnes). Success breaks all current attunements to the manse or demesne or reduces the demesne’s rating by one. Attacking a spell has a difficulty of (spell’s circle + 2) and cannot affect Solar Circle spells. If successful, the spell shatters as if struck with countermagic of an equal circle. Over week-long dramatic actions, the weapon can redirect dragon lines and shape the geomantic landscape, as if performing a year’s worth of geomantic engineering. A single strike, directed at a demesne’s geomantic stress-point, can trigger Essence buildup. (See Chapter Two for rules about creating and destroying demesnes.)
Striking a person inflicts damage as normal. It also allows the above roll to be made reflexively. Charms or other magical effects currently affecting the target end immediately if the minimum Essence score required to use them is equal to or less than the successes rolled; effects without minimum Essence requirements compare their creator’s Essence score to the number of successes instead. Attuning to Death at the Root costs eight motes. The weapon uses the normal statistics for a moonsilver grand grimcleaver, and its wielder can always channel Conviction for any roll related to Death at the Root.
Death at the Root guarantees a character has vast control over the magical landscape in his life. He can destroy enemies’ manses permanently and end most effects that protect them. This very clearly qualifies as Artifact 5, able to completely change the face of a game no matter who holds it.

SOUL MIRROR
This soulsteel grand daiklave is a flat black, the moaning spirits common to the magical material conspicuously absent. Four hearthstone sockets adorn the blade, which costs eight motes to attune. Tales say the Lover Clad in Raiment of Tears forged this weapon for her nemissary champion shortly after the Great Contagion. Two Dragon-Blooded martial artists managed to defeat the champion and hide it, but they disappeared mysteriously soon after.
Soul Mirror consumes souls. When it inflicts even a single level of damage, its victim loses one point of Willpower and (victim’s Essence) motes as the blade tears away bits of soul. Soul Mirror absorbs the soul of anyone it kills, preventing it from going on to Lethe or the Underworld. It imprisons the soul in the blade, up to seven at a time. Reflexively, the character may command the blade to consume a captive soul for power. Sacrificing a captive soul increases the weapon’s Accuracy, Damage, Defense and Rate by one for the next seven days, to a maximum bonus of +4 to each.
The blade also has a dreadful anima of its own. When it is first drawn or used in combat, the player makes a reflexive (Charisma + Presence + Essence) roll. Any characters whose MDVs are lower than the rolled successes suffer a -4 internal penalty to all actions out of fear; this unnatural mental influence costs two temporary Willpower to shuck off.
Soul Mirror has one final power. When its wielder suffers a blow that would reduce him to or past Incapacitated, he may reflexively sacrifice one soul and all his Peripheral Essence to Oblivion. He must have at least 10 motes in his Peripheral pool for this to work. The act completely negates the damage from that attack, heals all his bashing and lethal wounds and (Essence) aggravated wounds.
Yes, all its powers stem from killing people and using their souls as a mystic fuel. But horrific evil doesn’t make this artifact any less of a massive advantage in battle and worthy of five dots.

[Nabirius]

Wow... OK I see hat you mean. This artifact is no where near the same as Soul Mirror. Not really sure the player in question would want Soul Mirror though, it fits with the flavor of his powers, but not his personality. Despite being the only Abyssal in the group he is one of the kindest, most of the party being borderline sociopaths and Nick Fury. What kind of abilities would you recommend?

[Friv]

Point of order - Death at the Root is actually kind of incredibly broken. It should be Artifact N/A, really, because it just ends any build not based around paranoia combat.

Now, if you have a 'kind' Abyssal playing with the nature of death, what you may want is a weapon that primarily helps him avoid killing people. Was this thing made by a Deathlord, or is it an older relic that he has found?

Anyway, here is a random though:

Harvest's Price
Forged by a Lunar Exalt in the dying days of the Old Realm, Harvest's Price was meant to ensure that only those who were worthy faced against the weapon's wielder, and that those he slew never rose again to trouble him.

Harvest's Price is a Grand Grimscythe with a Speed of 5 and an additional Rate of 1, and which treats rolls of 6 on damage rolls as successes. In addition, whenever the character draws the weapon in combat, he applies a -1 Internal penalty to all Valor rolls made against him. When he slays anyone with the scythe, all of that person's allies must roll Valor. If they fail the roll, they must spend one Willpower or attempt to retreat or flee. Spending a total of three Willpower renders someone immune to this effect. Both of these effects are Emotion effects.

Finally, the scythe was whetted on the Ewer of Souls, and still contains a link to Lethe itself. Any human slain by this blade will never leave a ghost. Any ghost slain by this blade immediately goes to Lethe unless they have at least one dot of Whispers, in which case they are consumed by Oblivion. This power has no effect on any being outside the normal cycle of reincarnation, including Deathlords and Abyssal Exalts.

Attunement: 6 motes

[Bagelson]

I'll disregard any mechanics, since I'm not very well versed. But I'm thinking a suitable scythe for an Abyssal might be something like...

Any living creature slain by Bountiful Harvest will immediately return as a ghost under the command of the wielder until sunrise.

Cutting to the heart of things, Soul Splitter may sever such ephemeral links as attunements or enchantments.

Silver Reaper will not cause physical harm, but can forcibly part a beings spirit from its body, sever intimacies or remove memories.

[nihil8r]

so what i don't understand is, isn't superheavy plate artifact 5? and all that does is give you hardness and soak, with no other special abilities. sure it's a LOT of hardness and soak, but nowhere near enough to survive any decent hit, right?

[Sanguine]

so what i don't understand is, isn't superheavy plate artifact 5? and all that does is give you hardness and soak, with no other special abilities. sure it's a LOT of hardness and soak, but nowhere near enough to survive any decent hit, right?

It is generally accepted that Artifact Superheavy Plate is crappy and should be around two dots cheaper. A good example of Artifact 5 armor is the Celestial Battle Armor.

[TheOOB]

Several of the artifacts in the main book are overpriced, superheavy plate among them. Honestly the Diaklave of Conquest is kind of weak for a five dot artifact.

[Andreaz]

It is generally accepted that Artifact Superheavy Plate is crappy and should be around two dots cheaper. A good example of Artifact 5 armor is the Celestial Battle Armor.

Pretty much. Most artifact weapons and armor should barely get past A2.

[nihil8r]

cool thanks :smallsmile:

[Nabirius]

So how does someone
A) Gain new artifacts? (Is there an exp cost? Or just questing?)
B) If someone loses and artifact/manse what do you do then? (one player says that they gain an equal background, or that they get an equivalent experience point. But he may just be speaking out of his ass.)

[golentan]

A) Typically, either you spend 3xp per dot during downtime or (more commonly) get it free of charge by questing (either for an ancient artifact or, if you have a party crafter, for the MM and exotic components required for the device).

B) Typically, if you TAKE an artifact from someone, it's polite to refund them (3 xp per dot, as above). This is for when the plot demands that the device be sacrificed or the like, Storyteller Fiat situations. If the player LOSES an artifact through inattention or incompetence and requests an XP refund, go ahead and refund them a smack upside the head and tell them not to waste your time.

[Gensh]

So how does someone
A) Gain new artifacts? (Is there an exp cost? Or just questing?)
B) If someone loses and artifact/manse what do you do then? (one player says that they gain an equal background, or that they get an equivalent experience point. But he may just be speaking out of his ass.)

A) ST's decision. If you allow players to buy backgrounds with XP, then it's 3xp for ●, 6xp for ●●, 9xp for ●●●, 15xp for ●●●●, and 21xp for ●●●●●
B) Again, ST's decision. Generally speaking, it's poor sportsmanship for you to take a player's background and then not give him anything back. Unless he was being dumb and deserved to lose it, like flaunting his Cult to Immaculate monks.

[Tengu_temp]

Several of the artifacts in the main book are overpriced, superheavy plate among them. Honestly the Diaklave of Conquest is kind of weak for a five dot artifact.

And on the other end of the scale, the Crown of Command (or however it was called) is way too underpriced for Artifact 5. +3 to all physical stats and the ability to make mortals and weaker Essence users listen to you unquestioningly? Each of those effects is worth at least an Artifact 4 on its own.

[meschlum]

Well, if you want something that deserves its five dots, how about going to the ever reliable Raksha?

Shadow of Unknown Fields

Shortly after the fall of the Deliberative, one of the remoter border nations found that its connections to the remainder of Creation were being eroded by the rising tides of the Wyld. The gods could not assist, being busy with their own arcane affairs and caring little for a realm that provided few prayers, as such things went. When matters grew truly desperate, their leaders came upon the idea of seeking to return to safer lands by the only open avenue: death. The shock of an entire country ceasing at once resonated in the Wyld, and the inrushing waves of madness were warped and twisted, becoming something different - or, from the viewpoint of the Underworld, the soulsteel that the land became was infected with the taint of Chaos.

Now, the Shadow appears as little more than its name, a barely tangible thing of fading light and sharp edges. A supremely powerful weapon, it will turn on any who lack the internal might necessary to assert themselves over it, consuming their bodies from within. But in the hands of a sufficiently skilled user, it is a thing of terror - with a price: once it has chosen a master, they will never be free of it so long as they live.

Besides its purely martial virtues, the Shadow will wrap wisps of corrupted essence around its owner, sapping the force behind any incoming blows. A far more troublesome quality of the weapon is that any being it slays - or that its master brings down - will have their soul wrenched into the physical realm, to blindly serve their slayer. Such unfortunate fallen are oddly resistant to traditional wards against the Dead, but lose much of their past.

The most powerful aspect of the Shadow is its ability to bring forth the fields for which it was named. Should its owner plant it in the center of a city, or a battlefield, its power will flow outwards until the entire area is filled by the Shadow's unearthly presence. Such corrupted lands work almost as Shadowlands might, instilling a flow of necrotic essence throughout - one potent enough to eventually slay any living being within, as they lose fragments of essence to the hungry shades surrounding them.

Worse, any being brought down by the Shadow's plague will rise to serve it in turn, and over the years this weapon has eaten armies, cities, nations perhaps... Should any being within the Shadow's reach dare to call upon the gods for assistance, the angry memories of that first dead country will strike them most viciously indeed.

5-dot Behemoth (15 motes)
Assumption of Cerements and Bone - the Shadow is a thing of Death.
Assumption of the Person's Heart - once it has chosen an owner, the two are bonded until one is destroyed. The Shadow can melt into its owner, becoming immaterial and still conveying its powers upon its wielder.
Assumption of the City's Heart - the Shadow, when planted, can affect thousands of people at once.
Shuffling the Pieces - any who fall to the Shadow are returned as twisted, dead, images of their former selves.
Knife Hand Dream - the Shadow can cut through anything that is merely physical, and in the hands of a powerful master can even strike at souls.
Armament of Flesh - the Shadow is more powerful than simple matter should permit.
Surpassing Excellence - the whispers of countless lost spirits guide the Shadow, making it easier to wield than even its intangible nature suggests.
Endless Yawning Void - the Shadow, when planted, inflicts environmental necrotic damage to everything in its area of effect.
Heaven Rains Wisdom - an alien thing that Fate has trouble noticing, the Shadow can nonetheless benefit from hearthstones.

In combat, the Shadow works like your favorite (attuned) 3- or 4- dot weapon (pick one and stick to it), with +2 Accuracy, +2 Defense, +5 damage (if your Essence is 3+, Aggravated damage at Essence 5+), and (Essence) extra points to distribute among Accuracy, Defense, Rate, and Damage.

It also gives you +20B / +20L natural soak, just in case. If you happen to be a martial artist, you can treat it as a form weapon no matter what your style is.

When planted, it causes minor environmental damage with every action (for everyone in its area of effect - except you and things of Death), and can attack anyone calling on the gods (once per attempt). Those it slays are brought back as fairly potent minions, just to add insult to injury.


Of course, the Shadow is a remarkably deadly thing in its own right. Rumors speak of a companion weapon, Plucking the Strands of Life which is far less powerful on the personal scale but can, and will, alter entire nations so that their inhabitants seek only to serve the cause of Oblivion - gaining unnatural wisdom and devotion to Death while doing so. Were the two to be used together, who can say what might ensue?

[Teln]

And on the other end of the scale, the Crown of Command (or however it was called) is way too underpriced for Artifact 5. +3 to all physical stats and the ability to make mortals and weaker Essence users listen to you unquestioningly? Each of those effects is worth at least an Artifact 4 on its own.

You're thinking of the Crown of Thunders, and that was from Oadenol's Codex, not the core rulebook. That said, it's a definite Artifact N/A.

Doubly so, because it was the crown of Queen Marela herself.

[TheOOB]

And on the other end of the scale, the Crown of Command (or however it was called) is way too underpriced for Artifact 5. +3 to all physical stats and the ability to make mortals and weaker Essence users listen to you unquestioningly? Each of those effects is worth at least an Artifact 4 on its own.

In short, White Wolf is pretty bad at making game mechanics, and horrible at balancing their games. I'd ignore their products if they didn't make such good settings and stories.

[Tavar]

To be fair, most of that stuff is from the time when they didn't have people well versed in the line writing it. The team in place now seems, at least from the outside, much more capable.

[TheOOB]

To be fair, most of that stuff is from the time when they didn't have people well versed in the line writing it. The team in place now seems, at least from the outside, much more capable.

Yeah, it's just kinda funny that White Wolf's schtick has always been that they are kind of the anti-D&D, and when they make a combat heavy high fantasy game you can see how it's really out of their wheelhouse.