Artifacts

### Background

In Dungeon & Dragons, the term "artifact" usually stands for an extremely powerful magical item, something that is nigh indestructible, possibly sentient, and definitely dangerous. They are magical items that are finite or unique, not enchantments that could be remade by a talented enough artificer. An example of D&D's canon version of artifacts is The Hand of Vecna.
In the settings of Argent and Immortuos, however, artifacts are something different. While they have all the same qualities as normal artifacts, being indestructible, dangerous, and usually unique, their function is to serve as gateways for divine power. This comes from the fact that, long ago the Old Gods were forced to cut themselves off from the Material plane by constructing the Veil, a barrier which protects the Material plane for the most part from the influence of other planes. The Artifacts of the Gods are various holy symbols, weapons, armors, and objects that the Old Gods instilled with their power before creating the Veil. By doing so, they created workarounds for themselves, allowing them to still influence the Material Plane and, thus, their followers.

### Properties

While much of the information about artifacts is pretty commonly known in the setting due to their importance, some is less known than others. **Any information that would be unusual to know or require a roll in-game to know will be \*\*surrounded by asterisks\*\*.**

Indestructible- By all usual metrics, artifacts are impossible to destroy. Even something like a Wish spell can only make them weaker, or in need of repair, not erase their magic entirely. Searching for a way to destroy artifacts is something many a magic user has gone mad over since their creation, but none has found an answer.

The Call- All artifacts have some ability to call out to worthy users. Examples of how this could occur is in the form of a voice, a dream, an instinct, or (depending on the god in question) by literally compelling a potential wielder to find them. \*\*It is possible to dampen the Call of an artifact through the use of certain metals and abjuration magic. However, these countermeasures must be constantly kept up with or the artifact's Call with eventually find its way to someone. Many an artifact has been found after the death or inattention of its captor leads to the deterioration of the cage it was kept in.\*\*

Conduits & The Dangers of Divinity- All artifacts serve as conduits for their gods' power, allowing for the casting of divine magic. Divinity is a powerful thing in this world, one that can tear apart a humanoid trying to wield it unless they are careful. Thus, it is rare for the acquisition of an artifact to lead to a follower becoming hugely powerful instantaneously, unless they are willing to sacrifice their life in exchange for the use of the power. There plenty of tales of people, in great times of need, becoming holy avatars for a god, wielding weapons and magic as if born to it, no matter how humble their origins before touching the artifact. What these tales all have in common, however, is the ending, when the valiant (or malevolent) artifact wielder is found amongst the fallen, having burned the life out of themselves by too fiercely partaking in divine power.

Varying Power- Not all artifacts are created equal. \*\*Some were the weapons of great heroes of the Gods' War, like the Dawnshield. Others are just the simple holy symbols of low ranking clerics and paladins. As such, while all have the above abilities, the amount of power they possess, and whether or not they will offer additional abilities as their wielder gains power depends on the origin of the artifact in question. Still, due to their rarity, even the weakest of artifacts is a treasure to be jealously guarded.\*\*

\*\*Unlockable Strength- More powerful artifacts often have additional abilities along with their role as a conduit of power. Rarely are all of the powers of these sorts of artifacts available the moment a new wielder finds them. As the powers are outgrowths of divinity, allowing a new wielder to use them too quickly could injure, disable, or kill them. As such, these artifacts often will reveal their powers slowly, allowing access to them only when it is certain that they will not cause harm.\*\*