The Nature of Magical Fabrication

The construction of magical items is a realm of the AD&D rules open to broad DM interpretation. Just how the DM decides to approach it will affect the way magic is viewed in his game. There are two basic attitudes toward the making of magical items: The practical method and the fantastic method.
The practical method says that magical item manufac¬ture is somehow tied to common sense; the materials needed to make the item reflect the properties of the item being constructed, and the steps required are fairly well- defined.
For example, a potion of climbing might require the hair of a climbing creature such as a giant spider or the legs of a giant insect. A wand of lightning bolts might have to be carved from the heart wood of an oak struck by lightning. Petrification might require the scales of a basilisk, a snake from a medusa, or a feather from a live cockatrice. Fear might require a drop of dragon sweat or the grave earth of a ghost. In each case, the relationship between the items needed and the object desired is relatively clear.
Furthermore, the component items themselves are physi¬cal and understandable. They may be rare, but they can't be gathered without special preparations (other than those required for normal adventuring). In essence, the DM creates a "grocery list" that the player character must fill. The charac¬ter goes out adventuring, seeking out the creatures or things that will provide him with the materials he needs.
This method has advantages, not the least being that it sim-plifies the DM's task. When confronted by a player who wants to create some bizarre magical item, the DM need only list materials that seem appropriate to the magical effect.
At the same time, however, the practical method can be abused by clever players. They may figure out that every monster encountered has a potential usefulness to wizards and so begin collecting tissue samples, blood, hair, organs, and more. They become walking butcher shops—not at all what is desired!
Furthermore, players expect to find shops specializing in magical materials, both to sell and buy their needed goods. This defeats the need to adventure for one's materials and ruins part of the role-playing involved in magical item creation.
The fantastical approach takes a drastically different view of magical item construction. Here, when the player says, "I want to create a rope of climbing," the DM provides a list of impossible ingredients. It then becomes the player's obliga¬tion to discover the means to collect each ingredient.
Thus, to make the rope of climbing, the DM could require a skein of unspun yarn, the voice of a spider, and the courage of a daring thief. The player would then have to dis¬cover the meaning of each ingredient or the means to pro¬duce it. This, in turn, could require more research and spells to accomplish the goal.
For the rope of climbing, the player might solve it by find¬
ing a magical sheep whose wool is so thick it needs no spin¬ning. This he could form into a rope, casting spells to give a spider voice so it can say a few words over the cord. Finally, he could trick a renowned thief into using the unfinished rope on a dangerous mission. After all this, the wizard would cast the spells necessary to bind the various elements and, viola—a rope of climbing would be the result.
Folktales, myths, and legends are filled with instances of impossible tasks and impossible ingredients. To bind the Fenris Wolf of Norse mythology, the dwarves forged an unbreakable chain from such things as the roots of a moun¬tain, the noise of a cat, and the breath of a fish. Folktales tell of heroes and heroines faced with impossible tasks-to plow the ocean or make a shirt without seams. Hercules was faced with Twelve Labors, deemed impossible by others. Cullhwch (of Celtic legend) had to produce sweet honey without bees. If the player characters aspire to such ranks of heroism and wonder, surely they can accomplish deeds such as these.
The fantastical method gives the campaign a high fantasy element, for such impossible tasks are part of the wonder and enchantment of such a world. Furthermore, it ensures that each ingredient or step will be an adventure. Wizards won't casually assemble their ingredients at the local magic supply warehouse. It also provides the DM with a means to control the time required (since assembling components can be quite a task) and a method for draining excess cash from the character's accounts.
At the same time, players can perceive this method as too difficult and too restrictive. They may become discouraged by the DM's demands. To alleviate this, at least partially, the DM should balance the requirements against the potency of the item being created.
Combining the practical with the fantastical is a work¬able alternative to either method. Not every magical item can be created by gathering the organs of creatures or the essences of rare plants, nor does each require the spellcaster to overcome the impossible.
Simple and common magical items (potions of healingi scrolls with various spells, wands of detection) could require only that the proper things be brought together and ensor- celled. Powerful, exotic, and highly useful items (such as a sword + 1) might test the spellcaster's abilities and resource¬fulness, requiring that he solve puzzles and riddles far beyond the normal ken.
The combination of the two philosophies can even be used to explain the fact that some magical items are so com¬mon and others so rare—potions are everywhere, but maces of disruption are hard to come by. Potions require simple ingredients; maces require the moving of mountains.
^srirr^llsi Just because a spellcaster knows a all'-l spell, he isn’t automatically endowed Potions with the knowledge to create a scroll or potion of similar function. The processes and formulae used in each are different.
A spell on a page in a wizard's spellbook is different from a spell contained on a scroll. The first requires memorization and may need components or gestures to activate. The latter needs only an utterance to be effective. A potion, ingested to 
be effective, is clearly a different form of the same thing.
Because of these differences, a wizard must learn more of hls art before attempting to make scrolls and potions. He is assumed to have attained the appropriate degree of training by the time he reaches 9th level. Even then the knowledge of how to create such items does not just leap into his brain.
Rather, at 9th level he has the potential to create such items. He knows enough basics of the art and has learned where to look for the information he needs to make the attempt. The ®<act process for each spell is still a mystery to him.
Potions
Potions are primarily the province of wizards, although priests can prepare those potions relating to healing and cures. (Priests of other mythoi may or may .not be able to prepare such potions, depending on the spell spheres avail¬able to them.) Healing and curing potions are beyond the ken of wizards.
As with other magical items, the character must identify and gather the materials needed to brew a potion before he can begin work. The formula can be as straightforward or bizarre as the DM desires. It may require the blood of a rare creature, powdered gems, the sweat of a mare, or the breath of a dying hero.
In addition, a potion requires a number of mundane ingredients. The basic cost of these ingredients ranges from 200 to 1,000 gp. The DM should decide this based on how common the potion is, its power, and the nature of the ingre¬dients he has specified. A potion of dragon control is a rare 
item of great power and so should cost the full 1,000 gp. A potion of healing is a fairly necessary item, something the DM may want to be readily available to the characters. There¬fore, it should be cheap, costing no more than 200 gp.
Wizards must do more than acquire ingredients: They also need a complete alchemical laboratory. Potions are not something you can brew up over the kitchen stove! This lab-oratory must be furnished with furnaces, alembics, retorts, beakers, distilling coils, and smoldering braziers-in short, all the trappings of a mad scientist's laboratory (circa 1400 AD).
The basic cost for such a laboratory is at least 2,000 gp if all the skilled craftsmen are readily available to construct the equipment to the wizard's specifications. And this cost covers only the furnishings; the wizard must also have an appropri¬ate place to put all these things and to conduct his work. Given the strange noises and foul smells that issue at all hours from such a laboratory, many a landlord may be less than willing to have his rooms used for such purposes.
Once the laboratory is established, the wizard must pay 10% of its value every month to maintain the equipment, replacing things broken in experiments and minor ingredi¬ents that lose potency with age.
Priests do not make use of a laboratory—such equipment smacks of impious and heretical learning. Instead, the priest places his faith in greater powers to perform the actual trans-formations needed to blend the potion. As such, he uses an altar specially consecrated to the purpose. When constructing such an altar, the character must be ready to make some sacri¬fice of worth, either a monetary sacrifice or, even more signifi¬cantly, a special service to his deity. Thereafter, the priest need only respect the altar as would be normal for his faith.
Creating the Potion: With all this equipment assembled, the wizard or priest is ready to begin. The cost already deter¬mined, the time to brew, infuse, distill, decant, and extract the potion is measured in days equal to the cost divided by 100. During this time, the character must remain uninter¬rupted except for the normal needs of sleep and food. If the work is disturbed, the potion is hopelessly ruined as are all ingredients used in it.
After the work is done, the DM secretly rolls percentile dice to determine if the potion has taken. The base chance of success 70%. For every 100 gp worth of ingredients, 1% is subtracted. For every two levels of the spellcaster (or frac¬tion thereof), 1% is added to the base.
If the percentile roll is equal to or less than the chance of success, the potion succeeds. If the potion fails, the spell- caster has unwittingly brewed either a deadly poison or a potion of delusion, at the DM's discretion. Of course, the player won't know whether a potion is good until it's too late. In any case, the wizard or priest is wise to label his creation, for there is no sure way to distinguish between different potions by sight alone.
f i ri o Potions and scrolls are not the V^l Callllg on|y magical items spellcasters
Ofhf^r Magiffil can create. Other types of mag- wuioi i ia^u-ai ical items can be made—weap-
Tfpm& ons, wands, staves, rods, rings,
bracers, cloaks, and more.
There are also certain items the player characters can't
create. Artifacts, relics, books (except spell books), and intelli¬gent weapons are the realm of the DM only. Such items can be found by the player characters, but never manufactured by them. This ensures that the DM controls certain elements that can appear only during the course of an adventure he designs.
Furthermore, certain magical items have a particular racial connection, particularly the dwarven warhammer +3, elven cloaks, boots of elven kind, elven bows, and certain types of hammers and axes. These items can only be fashioned by NPC dwarves and elves of particularly ancient age. The mak¬ing and awarding of these items is the task of the DM only.
Finally, the DM has the right to exclude from player manu-facture any magical item he feels is too powerful or too sig-nificant a part of his campaign world. (For example, if all magical weapons in the DM's campaign are the product of an ancient civilization and the art of their manufacture has now been lost, he can deny the ability to create such items to the player characters.)
These limitations notwithstanding, players should be invited to submit their own ideas for new or unique items. The possibilities for new items are limited only by the con¬straints of game balance. Perhaps the character wants an arrow that explodes in a flash of brilliant light or a wand that causes those touched to suffer amnesia.
Using the same give-and-take process described for new player spells, the DM should have the player write up a description of the desired item. The DM studies this, alters it as needed, and discusses the changes with the player. When both are in agreement, the character can begin the actual process of research and construction.
When a player announces his character's desire to con¬struct a given item, it is not the DM's task to tell him whether this is within the character's capabilities or not. It is the DM's responsibility to decide the materials and steps needed to construct the item. The player can then have his character consult a sage, fellow spellcaster, or higher power to learn what he needs. In the process the character may discover he lacks the appropriate powers to create the item. This is one of the risks inherent in magical research.
Finding the Right Materials: First the character needs appropriate materials. When constructing a magical item, no ordinary sword, stick, cloak, necklace, or whatever will do. The item must be extraordinary in some way. Weapons must be of high-quality craftsmanship. Woods must be rare, spe¬cially grown, or cut in a particular way at a particular time. Cloth must be woven to exacting specifications. The material itself may be of an impossible nature (a shirt without seams or a hammer forged in a volcano's heart and quenched in the deepest ocean).
Often, the only way to ensure the appropriate vessel for the enchantment is for the spellcaster to fashion or gather the item himself. However it is obtained, the vessel should cost far more than a normal item of the same type. The price can range from 1,000 to 10,00 (or more!) gold pieces depending on the material.
Preparing the Materials: Once the vessel for the magic is obtained, the character will have to prepare it. A sword may need to be dipped in rare acids to burn away impurities. Bone may need to be picked clean by giant ants. Wood
Treasure and
could require soaking in rare oils and herbs.
Though the item is, as yet, far from gaining any sorcerous power, this stage is vital—failure here means the spell will fail to take. Normally this stage takes from two weeks to a month just to prepare the vessel. Additional ingredients at this stage will cost at least 500 gold pieces, if not more.
Enchanting the Item: The spellcaster is now ready to begin the actual enchantment. Wizards must first success¬fully cast an enchant an item (or have another do it for them) on the vessel according to the conditions described for that spell. Once he is finished, the wizard can cast other spells into the vessel, provide the last ingredients, or per¬form the final steps in the enchantment process (as defined by the DM).
The character might have to take the enchanted item to the peak of the highest mountain to expose it to the rays of the dawning sun before it will be ready. He could have to immerse it in the distilled sorrows of nightingales. If spells are necessary, these, instead of expending their energies, are absorbed and transformed by the enchanted vessel.
The spell that must be cast into the enchanted vessel is the one that matches the power desired. If there is no direct spell equivalent, a more powerful spell with essentially the same function can be cast instead. If there is no spell equiva¬lent at all, the wizard must research the appropriate spell before he begins the process of making the magical item, or he must provide exotic ingredients capable of conferring the power on the item, whichever the DM decides.
Thus, at this step, the wizard could cast lightning bolt on a wand to make it a wand of lightning, but he would have to research a new spell to create gauntlets of Dexterity (since no spell exists to improve Dexterity) or bathe the gauntlets in the bottled essence of hummingbird dreams (as an example).
Finally, if the item is to hold its magic for more than a sin¬gle use, a permanency spell must be cast. This locks the trapped magic into the vessel, empowering it at the com¬mand chosen by the wizard. If the permanency is not used, the vessel only holds charges equal to the number of spells cast upon it.
If all these steps have been performed correctly and with¬out interruptions, the item will be created...maybe. The process is long and involved and there are many opportuni¬ties for unintended error. Thus, when all is said and done, a success roll must be made. The basic chance of success is 60%. Each level of the wizard adds 1% to the chance, while each spell, special process, or unique ingredient used lowers the chance by 1%. The DM can further adjust the percentage for any extra-special precautions or notorious shortcuts the character might take.
If the check is passed (by rolling equal to or lower than the success chance) the desired item has been created. If the check fails, the item is cursed, although this may not be known until a much later time. The function of the item becomes perverted, the opposite of the character's intention. A cursed sword, for example, could lower the character's chances of hitting, while cursed gauntlets could render the wearer clumsy.
A character can't seek to make a cursed item with the hope and intention that the process will fail (thereby gaining
Magical Items
(^
a useful magical item). The nature of magical failure is such that the desired result, spoken or unspoken, never occurs.
For example, suppose Thibault the Younger, a mage of 17th level, seeks to make a powerful sword +5. Using the contact other plane spell and money, he learns the steps he must perform and the items he needs. His first task is to shape a sword blade with his own hands from the ore of Mount Lothrian, at the very center of the Dwarven Estates.
He travels there, only to discover that the Dwarven Lords consider„this iron a treasure above all others, not to be given out to aliens not of the blood. After much careful bargaining, the Dwarven Lords agree to allow him to undergo the Ordeal of the Pit, the rite of dwarven manhood. Thibault is lowered into the caverns where even dwarves are loath to tread, where, in a solo adventure, he barely escapes with his life. By the time he has recovered and healed, the dwarves hail him as one of their own and reward him with the ore he seeks.
As an extra benefit, during his time among the dwarves, Thibault learns a few more tricks of bladesmithing, increasing his proficiency.
Now Thibault has the ore and, on his journey home, stops by the Spring of Masters to get the second item he needs— pure spring water. A short time later, he is safely home.
There, he spends a month hammering, folding, quenching, and hammering again on the blade, spending 5,000 gp on the task.
Finally the work is done and the blade is finished, the last step being to etch it in a bath of black pudding acid. Accord¬ing to the instructions he received, Thibault must next instill the blade with the power of purity. Just what this means is not exactly clear, but his finances are running low and he doesn't want to waste more time for investigation. He decides to have the blade consecrated at a local temple and then has a paladin lay hands upon it.
All these steps completed, Thibault begins his spellcast¬ing. For days he works on casting the enchant an item spell.
The spell succeeds. To make a +5 weapon he uses the enchanted weapon spell, one for each plus. However, after four castings, the enchant an item spell fades and Thibault must spend more time re-enchanting it. Once again success¬ful, he casts the last enchanted weapon and then seals everything with a permanency spell.
The DM secretly makes a check for success. The chance is 60% (base) + 17% (Thibault's level) -12% (for the ore, hand-forging, etching, instilling with purity, enchanting twice, five pluses, and the permanency) = 65%. The DM rolls a 45.
The work is successful and the sword is finished. Needless to say, Thibault is not tremendously eager to do this again right away.
Clerics and other priests can also make magical items appropriate to their calling. The process begins with the selection of an appropriate vessel of the finest or most per¬fect materials. Once the vessel is at hand, the priest must spend two weeks in meditation and purification ceremonies and then another week in fasting and purification. Then he must likewise purify the item and seek to invoke it with a small portion of his deity's grandeur. Fortunately, this step takes but a single day and night.
Once this is done, the item is ready for the final plea. As it rests upon an altar, the priest must pray for the blessed sign


that the deity will endow the vessel with the desired powers. Each day there is a 1% cumulative chance that the prayers will be heard.
Once this step is completed, the item need only be sanc¬tified and consecrated, unless it is to possess charges in which case the priest has 24 hours to cast the appropriate spells into the item. Should the task to be incomplete at the end of this time, the priest will once again have to seek his deity's favor before continuing the process (in other words, start over at the beginning).
The priest is assumed to be perfectly faithful and true to his calling. Should this not be the case, in the DM's estima¬tion, the process may fail or yield some result unanticipated by the priest. The enchantment may fail or the character's deity may curse the item in retribution for the priest's impu¬dence in seeking favor so ill-deserved. The DM must judge the standing of the priest based on his previous actions and his current motives.
Some items that carry several
IscOL-Llcll^llL^ charges are rechargeable.
Magical Recharging isn't easy, but it is
_ O easier than creating an entirely
Items new magical item. High-level wiz¬
ards or priests may find it useful
to boost up an old item.
To recharge an item, it must first be enchanted either through the use of an enchant an item spell or prayer, as noted above. Once prepared, new charges can be cast into the item. One benefit of recharging an item is that each charge requires only the spells' normal casting time (not the 2d4 hours per spell level normally required by the enchant an item spell).
However, recharging is not without risk to the item. Each time the item is enchanted to recharge, it must roll a saving throw vs. spell (using the saving throw of the caster) with a -1 penalty. If this saving throw is failed, the character has accidentally interfered with the magic of the item and it crumbles into useless dust.
mvifl C* Occasionally characters may find it LyColl Uy lllg desirable, useful, or necessary to
Magical a magical item. Magical
t^O items are more resistant than ordi-
1 temS nary ones, but they are hardly inde¬structible, as Table 29 shows.
Characters who have possession of a device and are determined to destroy it can do so at will. They need only snap the blade of a magical sword or burn a lock or what¬ever.
It is possible to target specific magical items held by others, but it is very difficult. (In fact, it is no easier or harder than attacking a non-magical item.) Attempting to destroy an enemy's magical item may require attack rolls, saving throws, and item saving throws.
The breaking of a magical item should result in something more dramatic than the breaking of a vase or a windowpane. As DM you are perfectly justified in describing a dramatic explosion of force, a small whirlwind, a foul stench, or what¬ever seems most appropriate to the moment.

For some items, particularly some staves, there are spe¬cific rules that define the effects of the item's destruction. Such cases are rare and the effects are devastating, so they are recommended only for those in the area. You might, for example, dictate that characters within 1 foot, 5 feet, or even 10 feet suffer 1 d8 points of damage.
This is just an example-the actual damage can vary, at your discretion. Remember, however, that such damage should only be used for effect; it should never kill or seriously injure a character. After all, killing the character in the explo¬sion of his own magical sword is piling injury upon insult; the loss of a prized magical treasure is bad enough!
Artifacts and Vast|ymore potent than the most
„ powerful magical items are
kcCllCS extremely rare items of ancient
, . | power and majesty-artifacts,
^CJptlOnal constructs of the utmost wizardly < \ might, and relics, the remains
AxcUlGS/ of awesome powers and the greatest of holy men. These are items of great import and effect, so their use must be strictly controlled. The following absolute conditions are always in effect when dealing with artifacts and relics.
The appearance of an artifact or relic must always be the basis of an adventure. These items should never be casu¬ally introduced into play.
Characteristics of Artifacts and Relics: Each artifact and relic is unique. There can only be one of that item in existence in a given campaign. It appears in a campaign only when it has been placed there by the DM. These devices never form part of a randomly placed treasure and so are not on any treasure table. The DM must choose to include each particular artifact in his game.
Artifacts and relics always possess dangerous and possi¬bly deadly side effects. These effects are all but irreversible, unaffected by wishes and most greater powers. Artifacts can only be destroyed by extraordinary means.
Artifacts and relics can never be transferred from one campaign to another. If player characters from another DM's campaign enter yours, they automatically do so with¬out any artifacts they might possess.
So, given all these warnings and admonitions, just what is it that makes artifacts and relics so potentially dangerous to use in a role-playing game?
At the top of the list is the fact that, in game terms, arti¬facts and relics are nothing more than excuses for the DM to break any and every rule he cares to. Upon learning the proper command, an artifact or relic might allow a character to raise all his ability scores immediately to their maximum or turn an enemy's bones to jelly.
The artifact might allow the character to summon meteor swarms, utter a power word, resurrect, or stop time once per day at will. He might be able to summon powerful monsters and easily bend them to his will. He could discover the power to dominate the minds of others, enslaving them to his desires. And this might only be a small part of what the artifact would allow him to do. In short, there is no limit to what you, as the DM, decide an artifact can accomplish. 
Origins of Artifacts and Relics: All of these items have been handed down from ancient times and have histories shrouded in myth and legend. An artifact has the same background and aura about it as, for example, King Arthur's Excalibur, the skin of the Nemean lion worn by Hercules, Pandora's box, the Golden Fleece, the sword, jewels, and mirror of ancient Japan, or the Hammer of Thor.
These unique objects were once held and used by gods and mortals far greater and more powerful than normal men. Often these items existed for an express purpose-to be used by a particular hero, to fight a particular foe. So closely associated is an artifact with a person, time, or place that its powers can seldom be fully used except by specific individuals who meet certain standards. A weakling could not hurl Thor's hammer, nor could just anyone command Baba Yaga's hut. An artifact may show its full powers only to deal with particular, very specific, threats or dangers. Arti¬facts have purposes, sometimes fulfilled long in the past and sometimes never-ending.
Introducing Artifacts and Relics into a Campaign: Because the impact of an artifact is so great, you should use them only in the most earth-shaking adventures you can devise. You must always have a reason for bringing an artifact into your game. It should never appear just because you want to give the characters something bigger and better.
If discovered at the beginning of an adventure, it should be the prelude to some great threat to the kingdom, empire, continent, or world where the item will make a dif¬ference. Rather than simply giving the item to the charac¬ters, you can introduce the danger first and then set the player characters searching for the artifact that will defeat or stem the tide of evil that threatens to oversweep the land. Alternatively, the player characters could be faced with the worst of all situations—one in which the artifact is in the bands of the enemy and the players must get it away from tbem. Each of these creates an adventure or, more likely, a series of adventures centered around the device.
Once the adventure is over, it is best for you to find some way to get the artifact out of the players' hands. In essence, the artifact was a MacGuffin—the thing that made the plot go-not something you want to remain in your campaign now that the need for the item is gone. This is very much in keeping with the nature of artifacts and relics, since they have a maddening habit of disappearing once their task is done. To leave the artifact in the campaign is to mvite abuse by the player characters, perhaps for noble ends, but abuse all the same. There are, even in a fantasy Seme, "some things man was not meant to know."
Because of their grand impact and titanic significance in the scheme of things, artifacts should be used sparingly, mere are only so many times the characters can save the world before it becomes old hat.
Don't be too eager to introduce these items into play and don't bring them in too often. Artifacts and relics represent the epitome of magical items. They are going to lose a lot of effect fevery king in every kingdom has one in his treasure cham¬bers. If characters only find one artifact in their entire careers, it will be enough. Well-played for all its drama, it will lead to an

Designing an Artifact or Relic
When you do decide to introduce an artifact or relic, you design it specially for your campaign. Some examples are given at the end of this section, but artifacts should always be made to fit your campaign, not the other way around. In this way, the players will never know what to expect-not its shape, its history, its powers, or its purpose. All these things will make the discovery and use of the item more exciting. In addition, you will have the knowledge that you have cre¬ated something major, perhaps the most significant thing, for your campaign. That is no small accomplishment.
Appearance: The first step in creating an artifact is to decide its form. It could be anything: a weapon, a hut with chicken legs, a book, a mask, a crown, a tooth, a throne, a mechanical nightingale, a crystal orb, a plain ring, a wand, or whatever.
History: After you know what it looks like, create a his¬tory for it. This history will guide you in deciding what powers the artifact has and what it is used for. In this his¬tory, decide who created the item and what their reasons for creating it were. Then, outline what has befallen the item over the centuries—where has it surfaced and what has happened at those times? Finally, embellish this his¬tory with clues to its powers and the erroneous legends that have come to surround the item.
Alignment: Choose an appropriate alignment for the arti¬fact (all artifacts are heavily identified with an alignment).
Minor Powers: After you have a history of the item, begin to assign it powers. Artifacts normally have a number of relatively minor powers and one or two major abilities. Some minor abilities are:
• Cast a given 1 st-level spell at will
• Cast a 5th-level or lesser spell once per day or week
• Cast a spell of 3rd level or less once or twice per day
• Cure serious wounds, disease, blindness, or deafness one or more times per day
• Detect good/evil, invisibility, charm, or magic at will
• Double the character's movement rate
• Freedom from hunger and fatigue
• Fly
• Grant the possessor immunity to one type of harm: poi¬son, fear, disease, gas, normal missiles, acid, normal fire or cold, etc.
• Grant water breathing when held
• Improve the wielder's Armor Class by one or more points
• Increase an ability score by one point
• Paralyze at a touch
• Regenerate 2 hp per turn
• Speak with dead once per day
• Speak with plants or animals at will
• Turn undead as a cleric of the PC's level
• Understand any spoken language
• Understand any written language
Major Powers: After choosing minor powers, you can select the major powers. There should normally be no more than one or two of these. The major power must be in
A Chapter 10
<8>
keeping with the history of the item. If you describe a sword wielded by a bloodthirsty and depraved tyrant, it makes little sense for the major power to be to resurrect others once per day. Rather one would expect something terrible- deliquescing an enemy or summoning some extra-planar beast to kill upon command. Some suggested major pow¬ers are:
• Automatically warn of impending danger
• Bestow magic resistance of 50°/o to 70% when held
• Cast a 9th-level spell or less once per day or week
• Death ray with no saving throw once per day
• Permanently raise all ability scores to their maximum
• Polymorph self at will
• Restore youth upon touch once per month
• Summon a djinni once per day
• Summon and control elementals once per day
• Teleport at will with no error
• Total immunity to all types of fire or cold
• Total immunity to all types of mental attacks (charms, etc.)
Dangers: After designing the beneficial or useful powers of the artifact, create the dangers inherent in its use. All arti¬facts have grave risks—such is the nature of their power. The item was originally used by someone of great will and power, and even they placed themselves in danger to use the power the artifact possessed. For the player characters, such danger is nearly inescapable. These dangers are usu¬ally drastic physical side effects that affect the character. Again you want the drawbacks of the artifact to mesh with the history you have created. Some suggested drawbacks include:
• Alignment gradually becomes that of the item
• All plants within 10 feet of character wither and die
• All who see the artifact covet it
• Artifact always causes user to attack specific creature types
• Artifact drains one level of experience from user when¬ever a major power is used
• Character is controlled by artifact if saving throw is failed
• Holy water burns the character
• User ages 3d 10 years with each use until he is reduced to a zombie
• User causes fear in all who see him
• User contracts an incurable disease that reduces ability scores by 1 point each month
• User has a 5% cumulative chance per use of being stricken by incurable lycanthropy
• User's touch causes petrification
Corrupting Effect: As if this weren't enough, all artifacts have a corrupting effect. Characters become suspicious of others and possessive of the item. They begin to see threats where none were intended. Ultimately they will turn upon their friends and companions, seeing them as schem¬ing enemies out to destroy them and steal the artifact.
As with the drawbacks, this effect is caused by the fact that the player character is not the one the artifact was first intended for. His personality is different, and no matter how great he is, he lacks the force of will of the great hero, arch-wizard, high priest, or demigod, who originally wielded the item.
Weakness: Finally, prepare some method by which the artifact can be destroyed. Destroying an artifact is never easy-in fact, it's nearly impossible. Artifacts and relics are impervious to all normal harm and magical attacks. They cannot be crushed, dissolved in acid, melted or broken normally.
At best, the physical form can be disrupted for a period of time, but within a century or less it will re-form in some new location. To truly destroy an artifact, the characters must fulfill some exacting set of conditions as unique as the artifact itself. Possible ways to destroy an artifact include:
• Carry it to the Outer Planes and presume upon the deity that made it to strip it of its power.
• Cast it into the searing flames of the Sun.
• Crush it under the heel of an honest man (harder than it seems).
• Dissolve it in the Universal Solvent (which eats through anything).
• Expose it to the blinding light of the Lamp of Pure Rea¬son.
• Feed it to the Earth Serpent who coils at the base of the World Tree.
• Melt it down in the heart of the volcano where it was forged.
• Place it at the very bottom of the Well of Decay.
• Utter aloud its 5,000,001 secret names.
• Weld it into the Gates of Hel.
Once all this is done, you will have an artifact or relic ready for use in your campaign.