What Artifacts have you created for your campaigns?

[ChrisDemilich]

So every player loves Artifacts, and every DM hates tossing them recklessly into their campaign. The only thing that breaks the game worse might be Epic spells.

But everyone knows that they can be an excellent tool to make the game interesting, and provide a wonderful Crowning Moment of Awesome for the players.

So, go ahead, and post any of your own artifacts. Also, what level did you intend for it to be acquired by the players, if at all?

This was one I designed, that never did manage to fall into the player's hands, but the NPC big baddie put it to good use.

Also, feel free to comment on people's artifact ideas. Just no blatant insults. That would be rude. And everyone knows that there is no rudeness on the internet!

Edit: Also, if your artifacts have interesting back-stories, post those too. Those are the best part of the artifact!

Epic Greater Artifact:

Rod of Supreme Spellcasting

This rod appears to be, and functions as a Rod of Excellent Magic, until the holder casts an epic spell requiring more then 2000 exp. At that moment, the caster becomes aware of the true nature of this item.

The Rod of Supreme Spellcasting is a powerful artifact which supplies the experience component for non-epic or epic spells, up 10 000 experience per day. The Rod contains an absolute limit of 100 000 experience which it can store and supply before being drained. Once drained, the Rod still functions as a Rod of Excellent Magic, usable once per day for 2000 XP.

The holder of the Rod of Supreme Spellcasting can use death knell at will, as cast by a 30th level caster.

Refilling the rod's experience store is possible by killing creatures with the death knell ability. The rod gains experience as a 30th level character, against the Challenge Rating of any creature thus killed, added to the experience store. This does not deprive the holder of the rod of experience gain for the encounter. Once the Rod of Supreme Spellcasting has absorbed the full 100 000 experience limit, the rod loses the death knell ability.

[D-naras]

Mine was a set. The first part was an ivory case called the Arc of Whispers. At first it affected anyone sleeping 30 ft near it with a nightmare spell. But through a quest, the PCs were able to purify it and then everymorning they rolled 1d4, gaining bonuses based on the roll. Fluffwise, they dreamed of the ways to get the bonus. a 1 meant +1 caster leve, a 2 meant +2 AC and Saves, a 3 was +2 attack and damage rolls and 4 allowed you to pick your bonus.

The sexond part was a dark crystal sphere that needed to be placed inside the Arc. Then it gave a bonus feat to all who slept 30ft near it. If you had the prerequisites for the feat you could use it all day. If not just once exept if it was a static bonuses which you gained as an immediate action.

Offcourse the catch was that these were the Phylactery of the BBEG Rakshasa Lich, and now they have to face him...

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I accidentally made one when I was rolling random loot for a high level Lich on a one-shot game. It was a composite longbow, it ended up something like +5 Holy, Unholy, Shock, Corrosive, Screaming, Bane x4. I rolled the first Bane and it was Evil Outsiders, so I just picked Good, Lawful, and Chaotic Outsiders for the other three and named it The Destroyer of Heaven and Hell. It was crafted from a demon's horn and the remains of a golden harp, and strung with a harp string. When they finally found it everyone thought it was awesome.

[Kaiyanwang]

In my past epic campaing, I introduced a copypasted version of beherits (I guess people can recognize them this way, in the italian version they are Bejelit), the demon-calling eggshaped stones in Berserk.

Their purpose and functioning was similar, the campaign was set around fiends.


In the same campaign, the players had to discover a set of forges and magic stones (coupled, something like 20 couples) linked thematically to the main forces composing the multiverse (fire, water, earth, Negative and positive energy, and so on).

Thei purpose was to produce reagents for epic crafting and spellcasting (fixing equipment and epic spellcasting issues in a row and in game) and, together, craft other artifacts (adding the 5th Netherscroll) and fueling a planar ship as big as the Moon.


In my current campaing, I introduced a quest to rebuild an ancient Sword belonged to the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. A sword capable to dance in the wind, sharp like the blizzard, relentless like the hurricane, and powerful as a tempest.

The fragment gatered from the sword don't fall directly on the ground if left from the hand, but go down like a feather, and sing slightly when you move them quickly in the air. As an homage to a Wow Classic unforgettable artifact, i decided to call it Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.

(Here, of course, the windseeker would not be an air elemental wielding a sword but an ancient Vaati. Not so dissimilar, anyway.

[Indon]

I accidentally made one when I was rolling random loot for a high level Lich on a one-shot game. It was a composite longbow, it ended up something like +5 Holy, Unholy, Shock, Corrosive, Screaming, Bane x4. I rolled the first Bane and it was Evil Outsiders, so I just picked Good, Lawful, and Chaotic Outsiders for the other three and named it The Destroyer of Heaven and Hell. It was crafted from a demon's horn and the remains of a golden harp, and strung with a harp string. When they finally found it everyone thought it was awesome.

And honestly, that doesn't seem too game-breaking. After all, you get at least 1 negative level just by wielding the weapon.

Edit: I've only ever created high-power magic items in Exalted, where they tend to fit in a bit better, so, eh.

[The Rose Dragon]

And honestly, that doesn't seem too game-breaking. After all, you get at least 1 negative level just by wielding the weapon

Unless you're Neutral, which is not that hard to be.

[Vorpal word]

I've never actually made this, but I will if my players ever get to the appropriate levels. So it's just an idea for now.

The Sunset Flame

This item appears for all purposes to be a simple everburning torch. It is however, a powerful relic of hope and healing, to be used in a time of need.

The Sunset Flame will counter any nonepic despair- or fear-based effect used on the wielder or any ally within 100 feet. It will continue shining through any nonepic darkness-based spell or effect. It can sustain the wielder without food, water, or air indefinitely. Its wielder heals twice the usual amount of hp from resting, and any healing spell cast on or used by the wielder heals double the normal amount of hp.

The Sunset Flame doubles the damage of any damaging Fire or Light spell cast by the wielder, and acts as a fire shield (the wielder can switch from warm to cold shield at will as a free action) when used. It allows the wielder to turn undead as a 20th level Cleric. It can cast searing light or fireball (CL 20th) at will. Three times per day it may use each of the following: flame strike, meteor swarm, delayed blast fireball, fire storm, sunbeam, and sunburst (CL 20th). It also allows the wielder to banish nonepic evil outsiders at will.

The Sunset Flame will not work for an evil wielder. It instantly banishes an evil outsider wielding it, and deals 20d6 damage per round to any other evil wielder. If used by a Good wielder who falls below 0 hp, the Flame acts as though the character had the Diehard feat. The first time on any day that this character would be killed, the Flame allows him to use a wish spell for any purpose, then heals him 1/2 his maximum health if he is still in the negatives. If the wielder is killed again, the Flame stores his soul until necessary, allowing him to be restored without penalty by any spell (even raise dead) after an indefinite amount of time. The wielder's soul only leaves if the Flame is destroyed.

Finally, the Sunset Flame may be used in melee as a +7 flaming holy heavy mace, though for all purposes it still appears to be an everburning torch.


Sorry about the long post, but what do you think: Too powerful, or too weak for a major artifact?

[Kaiyanwang]

Sorry about the long post, but what do you think: Too powerful, or too weak for a major artifact?

Baatezu, Salamanders, Red Dragons.. no. Powerful but it's an artifact, after all.

Maybe the fireball and the banishment at will, but that' all.

[Indon]

Unless you're Neutral, which is not that hard to be.

Oh, hey, I thought the negative levels applied to non-good or non-evil, good to know.

[mikej]

Philosopher's Stone ( not the DMG version )

It's pretty cliche, but I was watching a lot of Full-Metal Alchemist. I can't recall all what it did though. It's creation was similiar to how it was formed in the show.

[Anxe]

I created an improved version of the Deck of Many Things with more cards that were specific to my campaign. I made a physical deck to give my players out of Magic cards. I glued new illustrations to them. It was pretty cool. My players ended up buying some slaves and dominating them to draw cards and hand the wealth over. I screwed them though. The player, Mage, had been buying two slaves a day from one merchant, always requesting the weakest ones.

The merchant thought something was up, so he hired an assassin to see what the Mage was doing with the slaves. I rolled randomly to see if the assassin which pair of slaves he would pop up in. The Mage was planning on having 25 pairs of slaves draw. The random roll put the assassin as the 49th slave, the 1st one in the last pair. The assassin pretended to be dominated and then drew. He got the wish card and then used it to cast an antimagic field on the Mage. He then proceeded to grapple the Mage and steal everything he had on him. Stole all his wealth.

They did catch up with the assassin later on and get some of the wealth back, but not all of it.

I've only used one other artifact so far. Called it the Chain of Dire Flame. It enhanced all fire effects in the area and gave benefits to giant types. The players had a quest to destroy it which they succeeded at without a hitch.

I've created a couple other artifacts that the BBEG uses. Don't want to detail them though in case my players are reading this. They've been known to do that in the past.

[Magicus]

The Wheel of Fate
It's an Artifact created by my homebrew god of madness, Cyronis. It's shaped like an enormous, upright wheel with countless symbols on it. If anyone straps himself into it and goes for a spin, random and fun things happen. It basically functions as an extremely upgraded Rod of Wonder - including such things as "Caster gets three draws from the Deck of Many Things", "Caster" is erased from time - only Wish or Miracle can bring him back", or "Target gains the ability to speak Gnomish", and so on. It had a 50/50 chance of affecting the caster or the target, and a 50/50 chance of getting a good or bad result.

The Demon Dust
The result of hundreds of years of study by a Yugoloth in the service of Nerull, this fabulous concoction, when sprinkled liberally with the blood of sacrifices on one specific evening, can be used to open countless gates to the Abyss in a 20-mile radius! The protective magics on the dust will even prevent your summoned allies from leaving the area, and ensure that they all return to their homes when the portals close with the rising sun. A must-have for any would-be conqueror or cultist.

The Rod of Cloudkill
Also an Artifact of Nerull, this rod takes several expensive rituals over a few weeks to set up, and needs to be highly elevated to be effective. Once erected, however, it becomes a key defense for any kingdom; the ability to drop a larger-than-normal Cloudkill spell anywhere within a mile of your keep at will is a defender's greatest dream. One of my players (who had previously declared himself the Dragon King of a city he had won) acquired this item, and used it to make his base of operations almost impenetrable... At least, until he came into conflict with a powerful family of mages, but that's a different story.

[PrismaticPIA]

Epic Rod of Wonder
Like a Greater Rod of Wonder, but fires three times per activation.

Farslayer

Farslayer howls across the world
For thy heart , for thy heart "Who hast wronged me?"
Vengance is his who casts the blade
Be will in the end no triumph see.

First time I ran a campaign, it was loosely based a trilogy of books about twelve swords made by the gods. My table managed (much to my later dismay) to get their hands on this one. A person wielding Farslayer need only to speak the incantation (written in a dead language on the sword's hilt) and the real name of his/her foe and Farslayer will fly off to kill them....no save, No SR, no defense. The only protection was another one of the twelve swords.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The Husk of Infinite Worlds was my latest one. I took the basic description from Magic of Eberron and turned it into a full-fledged item, complete with 1d% random results (good and bad, ranging from the simple "you constantly glow blue, and this light goes through solid objects and basically makes it impossible not to detect you" to horribly transforming you) and 2 1d12 tables of results for if you roll the same ability twice--the first is a really good table to reward you for a double bad trait, and the second is a really bad table with such gems as "the Husk turns inside-out and starts absorbing the Prime into the Far Realm" (which no one got) and "the Husk gains sapience as a psionically powerful, pissed off, Very Chaotic Evil creature" (which, I'm glad to say, they did).

[subject42]

The last artifact that I introduced was the face of a dead god that was wearable as a mask.

When worn, it granted:

an untyped AC bonus (+3)
damage reduction (2/-)
the equivalent of the die hard feat
immunity to fear and death effects

Also, anyone viewing the wearer who had been below 0 hit points in their life had to make a will save to avoid running away from the wearer in a panic.

The mask did have some downsides, however. When worn, the wearer could not be magically healed. In addition, if the wearer ever dropped to single digit hit-points, he would fly into a rage (as barbarian) until all living things within sight were dead, the wearer was dead, or until the mask was removed.

When attempting to remove the mask, it would fuse with the wearer's skin, causing 1d6 per day worn damage if you were able to do so.



When I introduced it, one of my players immediately put it on. One of the other party members (having been below 0 hitpoints) panicked and ran blindly into a spike trap. The mask wearer jumped down to help him and went into single-digit hitpoints, thus triggering the berserker effect. The rest of the party had to pin him to the ground and pull the mask off.

The only thing that was missing was Yackety Sax.

[Lapak]

Farslayer
First time I ran a campaign, it was loosely based a trilogy of books about twelve swords made by the gods. My table managed (much to my later dismay) to get their hands on this one. A person wielding Farslayer need only to speak the incantation (written in a dead language on the sword's hilt) and the real name of his/her foe and Farslayer will fly off to kill them....no save, No SR, no defense. The only protection was another one of the twelve swords.

The most profound reason not to use Farslayer, of course, is that the sword ends up embedded in the corpse of the person you name, wherever in the world they are. If one of their friends happens to be closer to the body than you are, you've just handed them a major artifact.

I'm putting together a plot-driving artifact that may end up being introduced in my campaign, for a variety of possible reasons.

The Axis of the World
This six-foot-long staff-spear is crafted of an unknown metal, utterly black and completely non-reflective. One end of the weapon comes to a sharp point, and the other ends is capped with a fist-sized sphere. It is generally regarded as a fearsome artifact of Law, and observers making a DC 20 Knowledge: Religion or Arcana check will identify its basic purpose. Determining how it is triggered requires a check at DC 40.

When wielded as a weapon, the sharp end of the Axis serves as an adamantine axiomatic spear +1; the blunt end can be used as a Rod of Cancellation three times per day.

These features are incidental, however; the true power of the Axis becomes evident if the sharp end of the staff is ever driven at least six inches into the earth such that the staff is standing upright. The Axis immediately reaches out to drain chaos from the world in the form of magical energy, producing a field somewhat similar to that created by Antimagic Field that increases by one foot in radius each round. This field differs from a typical Antimagic Field in several important respects.

Spells contacting the field are not merely suppressed, as is typical, but dispelled. Charged magical items are rendered nonmagical upon contact with the field, and permanent magical items are suppressed for 24 hours. Similarly, creatures with inherent supernatural abilities that attempt to use them while in the field lose the ability for 24 hours following the attempt. If the items or creatures are in the field when the 24 hours expires, they are immediately drained for another 24 hours. Spellcasters with unused or prepared spell slots lose them immediately upon entering the field as if they had been spent, but can recover them normally outside the field.

Once placed, the field continues to expand at one foot per round - about 2.75 miles per day - until one of two things occurs: someone withdraws the Axis from the earth, or the Axis drains a total of 1000 'charges'. (For the purposes of this item, a spell slot is worth charges equal to its level, a magical item worth charges equal to its caster level, and a creature whose supernatural abilities are drained is worth charges equal to its Hit Dice each time this occurs.)

If the staff is withdrawn prematurely, an explosion occurs - treat this as a retributive strike from a staff of power, but with the full charges that have been accumulated by the Axis. The chance for the person who disturbs the staff to be teleported to another plane remains 50%.

If the Axis accumulates the full number of charges, it expends them in order to create a zone of perfect stasis which covers the entire area covered by the field at that moment. A sphere of impenetrable force encompasses the area, and anything within the field at that moment is utterly locked in space and time, forever. No known magic is capable of extracting any object or being from within the stasis field once the effect is triggered, though some theorize that destroying the Axis would unlock the field.

It is unknown whether the Axis is a singular artifact or if each recorded example of its appearance was actually a separate device; the fact that there are existing fields and that the Axis was presumably at the center of each as it was created has caused this to be a matter of some debate among scholars and theologians.

The Axis has no intelligence, no direct mental effect on a wielder, and no particular association with any being or upper plane. It is simply a device, but one of immense power.

[It's got 1001 uses! Trap a BBEG in it if he's too tough or unkillable, use it as a terror weapon by planting it near a city or kingdom and letting the field do its thing, seal away an ancient god of destruction, or just poke people with the sharp end! On the flip side, go on a quest to destroy it to recover some critically important OTHER legendary thing that was trapped in a field before, or go on a quest to stop someone else from destroying it and unlocking something terrible. The number of charges required to trigger the field should be adjusted to be appropriate to the power of a campaign and how common magic is within it. Also good at parties, as people who don't know what it is might accidentally set it going just by leaning on it and it rapidly becomes harder and more dangerous to get at and disrupt it once it gets going.

Alternatively, people who don't realize what it is will see it as a good poking-stick with an antimagic button at the other end, but will come under attack by the forces of law and chaos as soon as rumors start to spread.]

[PrismaticPIA]

The most profound reason not to use Farslayer, of course, is that the sword ends up embedded in the corpse of the person you name, wherever in the world they are. If one of their friends happens to be closer to the body than you are, you've just handed them a major artifact.

They also found Wound-healer too.

[shadzar]

Prometheus' Box of Lighting.

This box when the lid is opened reveals a wheel. Rolling the wheel will create a small flame. This flame acts as natural fire. Closing the lid will extinguish the flame.

Charges: Unlimited


Yes. I created an infinite Zippo for D&D. Got tired of players fumbling around trying to make fire. There will ever only be one in a game. It cannot be destroyed or duplicated.

[Deastorm]

When I introduced it, one of my players immediately put it on. One of the other party members (having been below 0 hitpoints) panicked and ran blindly into a spike trap. The mask wearer jumped down to help him and went into single-digit hitpoints, thus triggering the berserker effect. The rest of the party had to pin him to the ground and pull the mask off.

The only thing that was missing was Yackety Sax.

That's beautiful.

[DragonBaneDM]

I've got a lot, actually.

The Wings of Io
TerrorEdge-Erek Hus's Adamant Greataxe
Excelsius-The Bastard Sword used by the founder of the Nerath Empire.
The Shroud of the Raven Queen-Orcus and Vecna gank the ho.
The Bloodspear-An ancestral weapon used by a Half Orc NPC.

A lich in my campaign has split personalities. His phylactery acts as such as well, effectively giving it two concordances.

[Fishy]

They also found Wound-healer too.

Surely you mean the healing shiv?

[herrhauptmann]

Not an artifact, but nice nonetheless.
Staff of the truemage: This staff opens up to an extradimensional storage space. Within the space, you can place 2 magic staves, or 6 magic rods, or 12 magic wands.
While the staves, rods and/or wands are within the staff of the truemage, they can be activated as if held in the wielders hand without the need to switch from one to the other. (minor, pretty much duplicates bracelet of wand and wahtnot)
Furthermore, there is a 75% chance that when activated, the staff/rod/wand does not use one of it's charges. Metamagic rods, eternal wands, and other such items with X/day use, have a 75% chance for that activation to not count against a daily use of of the item.


Another:
Written before I really understood the game.
Bring this +5 shield into an area of magical darkness, and it automatically dispels the darkness, and follows it up with a caster level 20 of Daylight. If the caster of darkness was in line of effect, he would be struck with a maximized searinglight spell.

[SirKazum]

I've created a few artifacts in my day, but one I've been particularly pleased with (and which had a central role in the latest campaign I DM'd... darn, that was too long ago) is actually a minor artifact, which means there are several of them around the world. It's the Amulet of the Phoenix, and it's actually associated with a deity I came up with for my homebrew world, called simply "The Phoenix", the goddess of ressurrection, redemption and second chances.

Basically, the Amulet's main function was that, when its wearer died, he or she would be immediately immolated in a pillar of flame that would cause some fire damage to everyone within 5' of the wearer, and leave behind nothing but a pile of ashes. Then, exactly one year and one day later, the wearer would be True Ressurrected, rising from the ashes (along with all the equipment he or she had at the time of death and which got cremated as well). I also put in a restriction that the amulet had to be continually worn for a year and a day before the immolation/True Res power kicked in. There were also some minor powers to make it feel useful the rest of the time, such as Protection vs. Evil, resistance to fire, and CLW 3/day, and the artifact was Neutral Good.

[Kairamek]

Regretably I've not had the chance to run or play much, but I do have alot of ideas I like to play with (some will be posted soon). In this vein let me tell you about one of these thought experaments that never finished.

Dragoon Armor. These are sets of 8 seemingly standard magic items which, when equipped together, grant the user the ability to use the matching color's breath weapon three times per day with the range/damage/etc of a half dragon. Each of the ten sets was themed to one of the core classes, wizards and sorcerers sharing Red.

I created a few effects for this plan, such as
Offhand Might: allows the weilder to us his full strength bonus on offhand attacts made with the weapon. When weilded in the main hand this has enchant has no effect. Equivilant to a +2 bonus.


But the thing I'm proudest of is from the Wizard/Sorcerer themed Red Dragon Set. It had a Pearl of Power, the two spell version, and this staff.

"Staff of the Red Dragon
This staff is 4 ½ feet of crimson wood with an empty dragon’s claw at one end. It functions as a +2 quarterstaff. The following spells use one charge:
Light
Magic missile (5 missiles)
Fireball (10d6 dam, DC 13)
Lighting Bolt (10d6, DC 13)
Ice Storm
Hold Portal
Knock

The following require two charges:
Dispel Magic
Globe of Invulnerability
Wall of Fire

When the staff runs out of charges it still functions as a +2 quarterstaff. When the wielder of the staff also holds the Pearl of Power in the Red Dragon Set the claws open expectantly. Placing the Pearl of Power in the dragon’s claw gives the staff extra powers. The Complete Staff of the Red Dragon is able to cast light and detect magic free of charge. When the staff is completely drained of charges it still functions as a +2 quarterstaff and can cast light on itself. Sacrificing the energy of the Pearl of Power can also recharge the staff. Though it is not intelligent, the staff gives its wielder an empathic urge to channel the energy of the pearl into it when the staff falls below 5 charges. Doing so the first time requires a concentration check (DC: 15) after which it can be done as a standard action. When this is done, the pearl of power is drained for the day as if it had been used to recall spells and staff regains 5 charges to a max of 50. The wielder doesn’t know how many charges the staff has, unless it is fully charged and attempts to recharge it are rejected."

[Fhaolan]

I'm a little reluctant to post this here, as the game with this... object is still technically going on, and it's entirely possible my players are reading this. So I'll be vague.

The players were exploring a *really* ancient tomb, one that has been buried for several turns of the cosmic wheel, from before humans, elves, and their ilk were created by the gods. There were several creatures that had been preserved via a form of suspended animation, and one of the minor encounters was a ghoul-like thing wearing a porcelain mask. Oddly, despite the fact that every creature they ran into down here was reptilian or insectal, this creature was human-like, yet still long undead. They kept the mask as a trophy, and came to the conclusion that this was a previous explorer who was caught by the mistress of the tomb (a powerful naga-like creature that was pretending to be a Goddess for the local lizard-man tribe) and was turned into some unique form of undead.

After a few days, the mask started to whisper to them in their dreams. Slowly, so slowly it integrated itself into their sleeping minds over weeks and weeks. Offering to make these dreams real, if only they would put on the mask. It would show them such wonders, give them such knowledge, grant them such power... Just put on the mask.

The mask changed shape, going blank or taking the shape of something from one of the dreams, depending on the exact temptation being offered. They've discovered that it's not actually porcelain, but some form of opaque crystal. Which worries them because crystal-based magic (psionics) is something from that pre-history age that nobody in the current world really understands, and according to the myths it was this style of magic that caused the gods to wipe out that age and replace it with the human/elf/dwarf/etc. world that currently exists. [Not technically true, but the party doesn't know that.]

They don't know what it is, they don't know what it can really do, but they do know it is intelligent, and it is Evil with a capital E. They've had *conversations* with it, none of which went as well as the party had hoped. They've seen what happens when someone gets close to being tempted by it (the capital city of the country the party started in is missing the quarter where the wizard college was located, due to an explosion; the mask manipulated one party member into starting an orcish slave revolution in another country and *almost* got another party member to put the mask on in order to stop the revolution; and it has been working on the elvish twins for the last little while to do *something* but the party hasn't actually figured that bit out yet.) The worst thing is, the party have convinced themselves (which they're just figuring out might be the *mask* convincing them) that no-one else can be trusted with it, but they have no idea how to destroy it. Everything they've tried hasn't even scratched it, and dumping it somewhere like a volcano or the deepest ocean won't help as it's already proven that it can somehow find a way out of that.

And it's really, really patient. If it can't tempt these people, it will wait until they die of old age and someone else finds it. Eventually, someone living will put it on.

[Skorj]

I love adding artifacts to games, inventing arbitrarily powerful ones wholecloth. I've even used that as a key element of a fantasy world (lots of artifacts, power shifting between rulers and factions as new ones were discovered). But I've never added an artifact that players would want to use, except perhaps in extreme desparation. Where would the fun in that be?

I believe that artifacts should seem like nukes: very powerful, but you never want to use one, because the side effects (and repercussions if other power reailze you have artifact they might be able to take from you) are just that nasty. And using one that you found without first completely understanding it would be reckless indeed (and the difficulty of research required means at least on powerful group will end up knowning you have it).

Here's one of simple description: an elegantly carved large wooden bowl that at first magical inspection seems to be a weather control device of great power. However, it's purely a weapon of mass destruction, for it will summon a rainstorm of mercury, over an area of a few square miles (which is not something a few cure poison spells are going to fix).

What makes this sort of thing fun (to me) is that, while epic spells may be of similar power to artifacts in some campaigns, powerful artifacts can be taken by force or trickery, and very powerful groups would be motivated to do so. Being an epic spellcaster OTOH tends to reduce the number of people eager to pick a fight with you.

[potatocubed]

Vengeance Be My Guide

VBMG was a +7 greatsword with the special purpose of enacting oaths of vengeance. It was intelligent, but its only real desire was to take revenge on people.

Against the target of a specially sworn oath of vengeance, VBMG could not be denied. Every attack would hit, regardless of AC, cover or concealment - even hard cover, like solid walls, offered no protection. All forms of DR were meaningless against it.

The catch? After your oath of vengeance was completed, VBMG would vanish - and find its way into the hands of someone who would swear an oath of vengeance against you. Given the lives of most adventurers (and the bloodthirsty vengeance quest you've just finished), that's not a tall order. So if you use the sword, you'd better be prepared to find it coming back at you when you're done.

My players never picked up VBMG, but they did interact with it on several occasions and attempt to find a way to break the cycle.

[Farlion]

Canned Crushs Club

+4 one handed Club

Lore: Crush was a Barbarian like you find them in the books. Impulsiv, wild, agressiv and always drinking when he wasn't fighting. Mockers say he was never seen without a horn of met in his left hand, which is why Crush never wielded two handed weapons. Crush was known to deliver devestating blows, mostly when he was drunk, although his accuracy was not at all heroic in that state.

Special abilities: Canned Crushs Club appears to be a normal +4 wooden club with some simple carvings, mostly of drinking men and women. If the wielder becomes drunk, Canned Crushs Club unleashes his whole power. All damage done with Canned Crushs Club while drunk is concidered a critical hit and the critical modifier increases to x4. On the other hand, each foe attacked by the drunken wielder is considered to have full cover (50% miss chance). This miss chance can not be bypassed by anything.


Well, as you see, I like to make artifacts which do not only have positive effects, but all comes at some price.

I once made a really neat sword which slowly drained the life out of the wielder, but I don't remember the exact stats and such.

Cheers,
Farlion

[Satyr]

In most campaigns I run, magical items are usually minor, unique artifacts and not the dull, run of the mill standard fare, so I have quite a few artefacts, which are mostly rather weak. It's just more fun that way.

The Quicksilver Key
Despite the name, the quicksilver key in it standard form is a small marble made out of dull, silver-grey metal. If you know the secret words to avake the key, it takes the form of a cylinder.
If this cylinder is pressed against any lock, it becomes fluid and flows into the lock, slowly filling it out, until it fits into the mechanism. It is then very easy to open the lock, and let the key flow back out of the lock and return in its cylinder form.

The Cat's Brooch
This ornamental brooch shows the hghly stylised sillouette of a cat. It is not made out of expensive materials, but with a high degree of craftsmanship and with an eye for very fine details. When the brooch is worn, no dirt or wetness can touch the wearer. He stays dry in the middle of a rainstorm, he can fall into a bog hole and reappear without a smeer on his face, he doesn't even seem to sweat.

Coradin's Armor
This dull black scale armor was forged for the knight Coradin in times long past. The armor is unusually heavy and completely without of any form of decorations. In combination with its drab colors, the armor is remarkably ugly, but effective.
Coradin's armor is picky who wears it; it is not really sentient, but it feels it environment, and especially the motivations of its wearer. Any wearer who the armor depicts as unworthy (which includes practically everyone who relies on spellcasting), cannot use the special properties of the armor.
Those who are considered worthy by the armor can not only profit from its excellent protection against sword and arrow, bit also against invocation and spell: The wearer gains an Energy resistance against any form of magical damage equal to twice his level and a +4 bonus to all Saving throws against spells or other supernatural powers. The armor is otherwise an adamantine scale armor +4, but if the wearer casts a spell while wearing it, the armor loses all supernatural properties for him for at least 24 hours.

Moonstone amulett
These amuletts were forged in the Amazon kingdom. They are very simple, take the form of a highly detailed female stature, often resembling the moon goddess. As long as the amulett is worn, the wearer can completely control her fertility. The amulet can both make a conception impossible or can guarantee a pregnancy. The amulet also allows the wearer to determine the sex of her child and protects both the child and the mother during the pregnany and the birth. The amulett has no effect at all when worn by a man.

The skull helmet
This large helmet was formed out of the skull of a large monster, but apart from being a really impressive (and scary) helemt, it has the unfortunate affect that the monster's soul is still bound to the bones and slowly affect the wearer. The monster's ghost is not strong enough to fully possess the wearer, but the constant subconscious whispers drive even headstrongand righteous people into the state of callousness the helmet seems to love.
Those who are willingly or unwillingly affected by the skull helmet become callous and filed with a cold bloodlust in a combat. This state grants a +4 bonus to all Will saves, and if the wearer enters a state of rage, he does not lose his ability of clear thought or spellcasting. The complete ambivalence the wearer starts to show is also highly iritating and grants a -2 penalty to all social skill rolls except intimidation.

[adanedhel9]

I'm currently running a game where a collection of minor artifacts is very important. I know at least one of my players lurks on here, so I can't give away all the details, but:


Unforgettable Amulet: This amulet has one bearer; the only way to stop being the bearer is to die. After the previous bearer dies, the next person to touch the amulet becomes the new bearer. The bearer of the Unforgettable Amulet has perfect recall, and also always knows in which direction the amulet is. However, whenever the bearer does not have the amulet on him, he becomes sick; if he goes long enough without the amulet, he could die.

Pen of Souls: Write down a living person's name using the pen, and that person is teleported to a space about 20 ft. in front of you (but not into an obviously dangerout situation, such as over a cliff's edge). After 30 seconds, the person teleports back to wherever he was previously. Only works once per person.

Nameless Band: Basically a slightly-altered hat of disguise, this headband creates a perfect (though uncontrollable) disguise. Once put on, the wearer cannot take it off until he has had a full night's rest.

Lover's Rings: A pair of rings, each worn by one person. Whatever effects affect one person, whether good, bad, or indifferent, also effect the other person.