An Introduction to Artifacts

Artifacts are empowered items that inhabitants and psychonauts can wield to extend their capabilities in the Shadowlands

How Artifacts Work

To use the High Magick, a psychonaut must seek out the representatives of the Wild Folk and the Green People as they are in the Bonelands. But this works only once the Psychonaut Sorcerer has first met with the appropriate Witch or Wizard and through their guidance met and made their pact with the Demon which grants the use of that spell.

As such, the spells of the High Magick are hard to obtain and hard to obtain the fuel needed to use them. But the pay off of this high cost is that the High Magick is impressive in its power. By contrast, the Artifacts are relatively easier to obtain and relatively easy for which to obtain fuel. Of course the cost of being easier to obtain and use means that the power contained in the Artifacts is less impressive than the effects of the Spells of High Magick.

Types of Artifacts

If you've played other tabletop or computer based Role-playing Games, you'll be familiar with the concept of magic items. A key difference here however, is what items can be enchanted and imbued with magic. In most other games, the most common types of magic items are weapons and armor.

In the Shadowlands, weapons and armor are immune to the enchantment process of creating Artifacts. It is important that a Sorcerer (and especially the Storyteller) realize that this is not a technical limitation with textual loopholes. Something cannot be made an Artifact if it is intended for use as a weapon or armor, intended to attack or injure another, intended to protect the bearer or another.

The only way that this prohibition can be worked around is if the sorcerer finds a way to indirectly use the artifact offensively or defensively. Anything designed to directly attack or defend will simply fail to function.

Find Artifacts

The Shadowlands are littered with the legendary artifacts of story, ready to be re-enchanted by the Wild Folk and Green People in their role as the protectors of the Artifacts. The Artifact will be found either in a Quest that retells the tale of a previous user's acheivement, or an expedition to a location associated by myth to the artifact itself (typically its creation or destruction or greatest use).

Enchanting Artifacts

An Artifact is always found 'in the rust', its power drained and abilities depleted. In order to be used, the artifact must be re-enchanted. The process of re-enchanting the Artifact is identical to the process of charging a Spell of High Magick. The appropriate animal must be found and marked (typically photographed) by the Sorcerer. The important difference is that the Spell require a new charge before each Incursion use, while the Artifact need only be re-enchanted for each new user.

Charging Artifacts

Whereas the Spells of High Magick needs to be charged between Incursions and uses, Artifacts need only be re-enchanted. A probably enchanted Artifact can be used once per incursion.

List of Artifacts

• The Five Clans
  • The Magus - The One Leaf People 
  • The Scroll of Truth
  • A rolled scroll that, when a yes/no question related to the Incursion objective with burn to a cinder if the answer is no, and crumbles to dust if the answer is yes. The scroll will be whole upon next incursion.
  • The Scholar -  The Two Leaf People 
  • Incense Oil
  • A vial of Oil (ever full once re-enchanted) that, when lit, enables normal automatic success on a single Mind oriented action. This can be used once per incursion.
  • The Mediator - The Winter Leaf People 
  • The Hunter's Hook
  • A bone and cordage hook with a cordage line that, once per incursion, if thrown and hooked to a denizen prevents the denizen from fleeing the area.
  • The Messenger - The Water Green People 
  • The Message Trap
  • A Fish Trap that allows a psychonaut to leave a verbal message of 25 words or less. The trap returns to the psychonaut upon activation. This can be used once per incursion.
  • The Fortuneteller - The Blade Green People 
  • The Digging Stick
  • A wooden root digger, that allows the psychonaut to pierce the earth once per incursion and see an important event that happened at this spot previously.
• The Caretaker - The Village Treaty People 
• The Aura Basket 
• Once per Incursion this prevents shattering of aura, psychonaut can't take other actions beyond moving.
• The Locust - The Stone Crack People  
• The Fire Seed
• Although it does no damage or injury to any living thing (Other plants included), the fire seed will grow explosively into kudzu vines that shatters all cracks and weak spots in the surface that it is dropped/planted upon. This can be used once per incursion.

• The Seven Clans
  • The Magus - The Free Folk 
  • The Pendulum Compass 
  • Points towards Incursion objective at all times.
  • The Scholar -  The Cold Folk 
  • The Seeing Lens 
  • Translates written words in any language found in the Shadowlands. This can be used once per incursion.
  • The Mediator - The Silent Folk 
  • The Soft Moccasins 
  • Removes sound made by the psychonaut, including voice- must remove moccasins to speak.
  • The Messenger - The Wise Folk 
  • The Crystal Bee
  • Delivers non-verbal message to target instantly, message delivered by motion of the bee. This can be used once per incursion.
  • The Fortuneteller - The Swift Folk 
  • The Climbing Claw
  • A pair of gloves decorated with wolf claws, which enables climbing up any vertical or near vertical surface. Psychonaut must remove gloves to hold any object or manipulate anything with the hands.
  • The Caretaker - The Gentle Folk 
  • Spine Bone Ring
  • A bone ring carved from a single piece of spinal column of an ungulate, which enables normal automatic success on a single Hands oriented action. This can be used once per incursion.
  • The Locust - The New Folk 
  • The Salt Charm
  • Acts as bait and draw a particular type of denizen, must have some piece of something related to prey. This can be used once per incursion.
•  The Sea Folk
  • The Magus - The Old Folk 
  • The Scaled Bracelet
  • A beaded bracelet decorated with large fish scales. Once per incursion it grants a normal success on the next Scoundrel action attempted.
  • The Scholar -  The Constant Folk 
  • The Blood Bowl
  • If the character fills the bowl with salt and water (or salt water), and then bleeds into it, they can ask any one question and see a vision within the same realm of the Shadowlands that best answers the question. There is no audio and no context provided. This can be used once per incursion.
  • The Mediator - The Strong Folk 
  •  The Peace Pipe
  • Can be used once per Incursion to to remove oneself from any conflict by smoking the pipe.
  • The Messenger - The Clever Folk 
  • The Charmed Vambraces
  • A set of leather vambraces worn on the forearms that enables normal automatic success on a single Body oriented action. This can be used once per incursion.
  • The Fortuneteller - The Singing Folk 
  • The Pig Bone Pan Flute
  • Playing the Pig Bone Pan Flute before an open flame will cause the smoke from the fire to form into the shape of the chief opposition for the current incursion. 
  • The Caretaker - The Dancing Folk 
  • The Shaman Drum
  • Playing the Drum grants a normal success on the next Hero action attempted. This can be used once per incursion.
  • The Locust - The Ghost Folk
  • The Oil Lamp
  • Lighting the Oil Lamp grants a normal success on the next Villain action attempted. This can be used once per incursion.