The Blue Pearl Ring

This artifact is a silver ring with claws clutching a blue pearl. Cantrik glyphs inscribed around the inside of the band give an incantation for the protection spell. The ringbearer enjoys a +1 to AC and saves, and a magic-user can use the ring as a talisman to cast protection. The ring's normal effect, the talisman spell, and the magic-user's own spell can all stack together, if desired.

The ring was round in the tomb of the Agha-yin prince Mayna-yood-sashai, in the catacombs beneath the temple of Zhothaqquah.

The Ring of Shadows

The Ring of Shadows is a blood-red gem set in silver, with a Vhoorlish glyph for "shadow" inscribed. Inside the band is another inscription, in the script of Agha-yin, which translates to an imperative: "Do not see me," or possibly just, "Ignore me!" Speaking this message aloud activates the talisman, which casts a spell of invisibility on the ringbearer. 


The ring was found in the tomb of the Agha-yin prince Mayna-yood-sashai, in the catacombs beneath the temple of Zhothaqquah.

Seeker: a Rune-sword

This rune-sword was created to seek out and destroy the supernatural forces that may threaten the world. It possesses a kind of will, and may overwhelm a weak spirit. The self-discipline typical of Lawful alignment is the best bulwark against Seeker's arcana; wielders of other alignments had best beware, as the effort of mastering this rune-sword will be exhausting and may well prove deadly!

Seeker grants a +1 bonus to Attack Power and Damage. Against spell-casting enemies, the bonus increases to +2. The sword can be commanded to sense arcana three times a day.

Seeker has Int 7 and Psyche 7, with a Will of 14. Its optimal alignment is Lawful.

Artifacts with Will

Edit: I'm refining this material a little. When I do, I'll probably delete this entry and post a new one entirely. 

For the most part, a magical artifact is a tool or object with supernatural powers, and is detectable as arcana. Very rarely, an artifact may possess a will of its own. Most are subtle, with psyches that can't really be called minds, and intelligences that aren't quite human; any direction or communication will seem like intuition. A few have such clear personalities that they can carry on extended conversations with their bearers. All artifacts with will use the same system.

Such an artifact is rated with an Intelligence score, a Psyche score, and a Will score. Will is Int + Psych, modified by the artifact's magical powers. A bearer's Will score is Cha + Wis, modified by Str. The difference between these Wills is called the Control Factor, or CF. A positive CF indicates that the bearer is normally in control, but this control may be tested from time to time - particularly when the bearer has been injured or weakened. A negative CF means the bearer is normally allowed free reign, but the artifact can and will seize control whenever it desires.

 Control is tested when the bearer first picks up or attempts to use the artifact. It will be tested again when the artifact has an opportunity to pass to another, more desirable bearer, or when the bearer attempts to discard or replace the artifact. If the artifact has a special purpose or motive, it will test control whenever it has chance to pursue its ends. It will also test control when the bearer first falls below maximum HP, and again when the bearer falls below 50% maximum.

When a test of wills is indicated, dice will be rolled: 1d6 if the bearer is at less than maximum hp, or 2d6 if the bearer is at less than half maximum. If the bearer is the wrong alignment, roll an additional 1d6+1. Thus, if the bearer is of the proper alignment and unharmed, then as long as the CF is positive, the artifact is unable to exert any control. If the CF is negative, the bearer will automatically fail any test of wills.

Any artifact with will has an optimal alignment. This alignment may or may not reflect the artifact's own purpose; it is simply the alignment best suited to maintaining control over the artifact. Sometimes there is a true arcane compatibility at issue, but in other cases it's simply the fact that a mind that works a certain way can best curtail a given artifact's attempts at dominance. Wrestling with the artifact's will can be exhausting; a would-be bearer of the wrong alignment will lose 1d6 or 2d6 HP to exhaustion, depending on how much his alignment differs from the optimum. (This loss of HP will affect the test of wills, making it very difficult to successfully master a hostile artifact.)

Legends of Partholon: Rune-swords

There is a legend that tells of a time long ago, when humanity was still young. The elder race of Agha-yin had long fallen to decadence, worshiping obscenities and things from Outside. The sorcerer-kings of Arkhemea embraced wilder and darker magicks in their endless struggle for primacy. These litanies and incantations echoed across the chasms beyond space and time, and terrible things turned their attention to this small realm of light and life. 

Out of the north came a sage cloaked in grey, and with him he brought three great secrets. The first was the secret lore of wizardry, a more constructive magic that attuned its user to the harmonies of the cosmos. The second was the secret artifice of the rune-swords, that would give any stalwart soul the means to battle the spawn of chaos. The third secret has been lost to time. 

There are other legends, of course. There are texts that were written in scripts more ancient than any human tongue, and fragments still survive, copied and annotated in tomes of forbidden lore. Among those scholars and sorcerers who have read these passages, there are those who have claimed that rune-swords were known to these pre-humans, and that even the princes of Agha-yin had rune-swords of their own.  

The Alicorn Spear - the Artifact

The Alicorn Spear is an artifact weapon best used in the hands of a cleric, but of some use to a magic-user of the order of Wizardry.

The spear has a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls. This bonus improves to +2 against the undead. Like any spear, it can be used to fight from the second rank. However, the spear's greatest quality is as an implement of healing.

A cleric or wizard holding the spear can heal wounds with a touch, as the cure spell. Any individual can benefit from this power only once per day, and the power is limited. The healing touch can be used only thirty times before it is exhausted. Fortunately, a cleric or wizard can restore this power via sacred rites, but this requires six days and 3,000 silver worth of ritual components.

The spear's aura interferes with sorcery and most other forms of magic, but wizards and clerics have no difficulty with their spellcraft. However, a wizard's arcane aura will interfere with the spear's attack and damage bonus.

The Alicorn Spear - Crafting

 The delving party found an alicorn, a unicorn horn, amongst the junk and refuse of a goblin storage room. Bill's player is interested in making a magic item out of it. 

After some consideration, I believe Bill may be capable of creating the Alicorn Spear but it is an expensive, involving, and uncertain project. Bill would need to spend 6,000 silver on equipment and rare materials for the rituals and construction, and would have a 45% chance of success. He can improve the odds by acquiring rarer and better quality components: 12,000 silver would give a 70% chance, or 18,000 silver for an 85% chance.

It will also require time. Bill can go into seclusion for about a month and a half, doing nothing else, and spend all the costs at once. Or, he could work on this project in his spare time, paying the costs gradually as funds become available. However, this start-and-stop procedure is much less efficient, requiring about 60 days total devoted to the work.

Additionally, since the horn was in the possession of goblins, there's a good chance it had been taken by force, and may have been tainted by a unicorn's murder, or corrupted by its time in the underworld. Bill would be well advised to seek out a unicorn to purify the horn. If he relies on his own rituals to purify it, there is a small chance (call it 15%) that the result could be a cursed artifact, warped by the powers of chaos.