Realms Artifact Hunt

[Skysaber]

So here is the deal. Mixing things up to play something different, one of the players got the group excited about all of the loose, unattended (or otherwise obtainable by clever players) artifacts there are just lying around the Forgotten Realms.

So a new campaign got set up, directions for characters made sent out... only for that player who'd boasted about all of the artifacts he knew how to find to get married and stop playing with us.

So we've got the group excited to run all around the Pre-Spellplague Realms, picking up nifty stuff that's forgotten or missing. They've got an excuse for out-of-context knowledge to go hunting them... Only now that source of OOC is no longer attending.

I don't have his expert knowledge of Realms Lore.

Can anybody help me with suggestions?

[Crake]

So here is the deal. Mixing things up to play something different, one of the players got the group excited about all of the loose, unattended (or otherwise obtainable by clever players) artifacts there are just lying around the Forgotten Realms.

So a new campaign got set up, directions for characters made sent out... only for that player who'd boasted about all of the artifacts he knew how to find to get married and stop playing with us.

So we've got the group excited to run all around the Pre-Spellplague Realms, picking up nifty stuff that's forgotten or missing. They've got an excuse for out-of-context knowledge to go hunting them... Only now that source of OOC is no longer attending.

I don't have his expert knowledge of Realms Lore.

Can anybody help me with suggestions?

I got no idea about forgotten realms lore, but just a heads up OOC doesnt stand for out of context, its out of character.

[Benji8070]

So here is the deal. Mixing things up to play something different, one of the players got the group excited about all of the loose, unattended (or otherwise obtainable by clever players) artifacts there are just lying around the Forgotten Realms.

So a new campaign got set up, directions for characters made sent out... only for that player who'd boasted about all of the artifacts he knew how to find to get married and stop playing with us.

So we've got the group excited to run all around the Pre-Spellplague Realms, picking up nifty stuff that's forgotten or missing. They've got an excuse for out-of-context knowledge to go hunting them... Only now that source of OOC is no longer attending.

I don't have his expert knowledge of Realms Lore.

Can anybody help me with suggestions?

I don't know specifically about the Forgotten Realms, but the Rod of Seven Parts is a good one for a treasure hunt as each piece of the rod allows you to work out where the next piece is. Shove a random dungeon crawl or mystery in front of each piece and you've got a good wodge of a campaign right there. Maybe the first piece can be a family heirloom or something to start?

[Curbludgeon]

I guess I'd start with a wiki's entries on Artifacts (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Artifact)and Relics. Is there a certain region or religions players are leaning towards for their characters?

[Tzardok]

Probably the most famous/iconic artifacts of the Realms are the Nether Scrolls, a set of 50 minor artifacts that hold the foundations of modern arcane magic. A group of human wizards once found them in a cave and used their knowledge to found the infamous Empire of Netheril. The scrolls hold amongst other lost knowledge the required info to create mythallars, themselves minor artifacts that produce a mythal (large scale near-epic magic ward) much easier than older methods. Mythallars are the secret behind the flying cities of Netheril.
According to their description in Lost Empires of Faerûn, the set is spread out, with some of the scrolls destroyed and most lost. At least two are hidden in a crypt in the Western Anauroch, and three are located in a dungeon under Grandfather Tree in the High Forest. (Also, a second complete set exists, but it was transformed into a tree and lies in the ruins of Myth Drannor, the capitol of the old elven Empire of Cormanthyr.)

The Crownblade, the Warblade and the Artblade, collectively known as the Elfblades of Cormanthyr, are three longswords that were originally forged for Cormanthyr's emperor, chief commander and archmage respectively. All three are lost, and just finding one and returning it to the descendents of Cormanthyr would grant you eternal glory and gratitude of the elves.

The Seven Imaskarcana were a set of seven artifacts created by the empire of Imaskar, an ancient nation of epic conjurers who kidnapped whole nations from other worlds to serve as slaves, before their slaves' gods came to smite them personally. At least two of the artifacts still lie in the Raurin desert, while at least one was taken by fleeing Imaskari and is kept by their descendents in the Underdark.
The exact abilities and appearance of the every Imaskarcana are unknown; you'll have to invent at least some. The First Imaskarcana has the appearance of a crown, the Third is a tome, the Fifth is a scepter and the Seventh looks like a golden key.

The Crown of Horns is an artifact holding the consciousness of the dead god Myrkul. The intelligent artifact grants necromantic powers, but it desires Myrkul's resurection. It's also cowardly and teleports away if in serious danger.

The Faces of Madness are another set of artifacts associated with Imaskar, which is why they are sometimes called the False Imaskarcana. Each is a mask that improves the wearer's ability with one school of magic (there is no mask for Abjuration and Evocation, but an additonal one for Shadow), but also puts a curse on the wearer. Many are searching for them, but their locations are completely unknown.

The Jathimandagger and Borem's Heart are currently located on Mezeketh's Island, a small island with a lighthouse that serves as the headquarters of a minor and unimportant cult of Shar at the coast of Sembia. The dagger was forged by cult that hated gods that much that they sacrificed themselves to make a god-killing dagger. It is currently piercing Borem's Heart, a large piece of dirty muscle that grants its wielder the ability to breath under any circumstances and to move unimpeded over and through mud. Removing the dagger from the heart will cause the heart to revive the god Borem of the Boiling Mud.

There are of course a lot more, but these are the only ones I remembered on the fly. I hope this will help you for a start. If you need more artifacts or more information on what those artifacts do, just ask.

[herrhauptmann]

The netherese have two flying cities. Shade and Sakkors, Sakkors has an intelligent mythallar.

The chosen of mask, Drasek Riven has a sword that is dispelling/spell returning/smoking. Look up the stats for Erevis Cale on candlekeep.

A year or two after Lightning Storms, the shadovar have installed a puppet ruler in Sembia. The capitol of ordulin is a deathscape, it had merged with a particularly undead heavy section of the plane of shadow. The adumbral calyx. At the center of the devastation is Shar, incarnated as a growing sphere of Annihilation. No mortal or deity can touch it, even with the talisman of the sphere. It is the end of the world unless someone can find the Leaves of One Night and enact a very specific ritual to end her incarnation. The Leaves of One Night is another artifact held by Rivalen Tanthul, a prince of shade, archmage, and godling.

He also holds a chalice (eternal night?) the drinker of that chalice can then be prepared to receive the godhead of Kesson Rel a former chosen of Mask. It's intended for servants of mask, but he himself is the Herald of Shar, so it works for him too. The godhead was split between Rivalen, Drasek Riven, and Mephistopholes received the third part.

Mask himself had a sword which made him undetectable to dogs. Even elder evils like Kezef the Chaos hound who hunts him. Drasek however loves dogs, you'll do better bringing him a Kong toy and peanut butter as gifts for his dogs.

Cyrinishad. A book that turns the reader and any listeners into worshippers of Cyric the Mad. It even works on gods. The True Life of Cyric breaks that hold.

[herrhauptmann]

On the island of wayrock there's a temple which had been a church of cyric, now a church of mask.

The church itself is an artifact, one that can be used in the creation of epic spells like Eclipse as a focus. By summoning one of the tears of selune to faerun. They're asteroids that follow in the wake of the moon.

[Bullet06320]

Forgotten Realms Artifact \ Magic Item Database

http://www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/magicdb.htm

[Quertus]

Unless their spouse is of a species that consumes their mate, “married” is not usually a synonym for “dead”. Why not just email the former player?

As to how to make this information In Character (IC) instead of Out Of Character (OOC), artifacts tend to have deities that care about them (see also “Mordenkainen’s Dysfunction”). If one of the PCs happens to follow said deity (and FR is big on every character having a deity), then perhaps some divine revelation could point the PC in the right direction? That would get you one artifact, at least.

But a good IC justification for the PCs to know the location of all artifacts? Short of someone playing an Isekai character, and/or utilizing the multiverse (like my finding Quertus’ Spell Component Shop in Waterdeep, and somehow convincing Quertus to tell you where those artifacts were on other copies of Toril), I’m not sure how to make that hunt make sense in character.

[herrhauptmann]

The netherese have two flying cities. Shade and Sakkors, Sakkors has an intelligent mythallar.

The chosen of mask, Drasek Riven has a sword that is dispelling/spell returning/smoking. Look up the stats for Erevis Cale on candlekeep.

A year or two after Lightning Storms, the shadovar have installed a puppet ruler in Sembia. The capitol of ordulin is a deathscape, it had merged with a particularly undead heavy section of the plane of shadow. The adumbral calyx. At the center of the devastation is Shar, incarnated as a growing sphere of Annihilation. No mortal or deity can touch it, even with the talisman of the sphere. It is the end of the world unless someone can find the Leaves of One Night and enact a very specific ritual to end her incarnation. The Leaves of One Night is another artifact held by Rivalen Tanthul, a prince of shade, archmage, and godling.

He also holds a chalice (eternal night?) the drinker of that chalice can then be prepared to receive the godhead of Kesson Rel a former chosen of Mask. It's intended for servants of mask, but he himself is the Herald of Shar, so it works for him too. The godhead was split between Rivalen, Drasek Riven, and Mephistopholes received the third part.

Mask himself had a sword which made him undetectable to dogs. Even elder evils like Kezef the Chaos hound who hunts him. Drasek however loves dogs, you'll do better bringing him a Kong toy and peanut butter as gifts for his dogs.

Cyrinishad. A book that turns the reader and any listeners into worshippers of Cyric the Mad. It even works on gods. The True Life of Cyric breaks that hold.

Correction: The chalice that allowed them to take the divinity is The Black Chalice. A sacred object to both Mask and Shar. Besides letting you take some divinity, I don't know what it does. Depending on what year you're in, it's in the possession of Rivalen, or a temple of shar on the dead world of Ephyrias.
The Book of the Black. Written by a mad prophet. It's in the Crypt of Augathra, but will be recovered in the year 1375 DR unless you do something first.
Weaveshear: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Erevis_Cale Eventually it gains the ability to affect shadowweave too.
Fzoul Chembryl has the Scepter of Tyrants Eye. https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Scepter_of_the_Tyrant%27s_Eye

[Melcar]

So here is the deal. Mixing things up to play something different, one of the players got the group excited about all of the loose, unattended (or otherwise obtainable by clever players) artifacts there are just lying around the Forgotten Realms.

So a new campaign got set up, directions for characters made sent out... only for that player who'd boasted about all of the artifacts he knew how to find to get married and stop playing with us.

So we've got the group excited to run all around the Pre-Spellplague Realms, picking up nifty stuff that's forgotten or missing. They've got an excuse for out-of-context knowledge to go hunting them... Only now that source of OOC is no longer attending.

I don't have his expert knowledge of Realms Lore.

Can anybody help me with suggestions?

So, there are a few obvious to go for:

1. The Ring of Winter
2. The Grandstaff of Hilather
3. The Seven Imaskacana
4. The Nether Scrolls

There is a 2nd edition book. Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical, that mentioned a lot of artifact that might be interesting, including hints to their power.

I also want to mention the Highfire Crown. Possible the most powerful artifact out there…