Artifacts

The world of Artifacts is one of the most interesting and fluid fields of study in the realm. I should know, I specialize in the procurement and appraisal of centuries-old artifacts. These relics are clues of civilizations long since ruined. They’re by no means magic items items, that is a whole different field of study. Artifacts tend to have absolutely no compatibility with Congruence in any special way. They are just interesting technologies from times long passed. Whether these artifacts have any practical use is obviously determined on a case-by-case basis, but the historical implications of these marvels are worth their weight in cores.

In my experience, artifacts tend to fall into one of four categories:

Useful:

These artifacts have found a practical use in modern society. Whether this was the item’s original intended use is anybody’s guess, but these artifacts often sell for quite a bit of money, and are often integral parts of some towns. A great example of one of these is the Crusher. This artifact is about three people tall and two heights wide. Through an extraordinary system of internal cogs, the user can spin a wheel to move a massive block of metal. This block comes down to meet with another block. Between these blocks, any manner of materials can be crushed down to a much smaller size. The town built around the Crusher use this artifact to compact trash, crush metals into pliable thicknesses, and turn more fragile items into useful dust. Every now and again, they’ll use the Crusher for a good old fashioned execution. It’s quite the spectacle to see the lowest of criminals be slowly crushed until they pop like a spore sack. It’s barbaric, but it’s one of the best forms of entertainment in that tiny little town.

Possibly useful, but we can’t figure them out (Called Rarities):

These dang items give me a world of trouble. These are artifacts that I can swear had some sort of very important use long ago, but I can't seem to figure them out. These artifacts can vary in price. To the right buyer, this is a puzzle to be solved. To the wrong buyer, it’s just a trinket of no value. I have one artifact in my cart right now that I’ve been crafting a theory on. They are a pair of metal wire wraps that look like they’re designed to be worn on the arms. My theory is that these arm wraps were created to help channel some form of ancient magic. Maybe through some form of resistance. People tell me I’m crazy, but I think I’m definitely on to something there.

Trinkets:

These are items that clearly have no use, or if they did, they’re beyond the point of use now. These are neat little trinkets that are fun conversation starters, but you might be better selling them to Ophidians. Those Ophidians love traveling around and collecting oddities, and they’ll pick up pretty much any artifact trinkets you got. They may not give you much, but at least it’s money in your pocket.

Blueprintables:

These artifacts might have had some important function, and we can repurpose them today. You’ll want to take these kinds of items to a historic engineer, and they can create a blueprint of the item in question. For example, there have been a few cases of old world weapons showing up around the world, like a hooked sword. This sword seems designed to hook under scales and natural armor and pry it off. While the artifact itself was not usable, the finders recreated the weapon and forged an updated version.

Artifacts in the World

Trinkets

• Broken Ring: This ring may have had some cultural significance, but it is no longer of any value. You’re better off selling it to an Ophidian collector.
• Broken Hilt: This is a common hilt, made of wood and leather. Useless
• Note to Writers: We can come up with a lot of these. I see these items as incidental quest rewards, relatively common, acting as selling fodder to gain some in-game currency

Rarities

• Wire Wraps: Thick metal wire spun in the shape of forearms and hands. They may have had important functions in a past world, but now they are a collectors item.
• Note to Writers: These items I see as sidequests, items that are either specifically requested by NPCs, or have treasure maps leading to them. Usually sold for a mix of materials and money. More valuable than trinkets, but specifically tied to quests

Blueprintables

• Hook Sword: A sword from antiquity, still in good enough shape to create a blueprint. This sword seems to be made to pry off armor from creatures and humans alike.
• Razor Whip: A long, flexible piece of metal connected to a hilt. Seemingly designed to wrap around the neck of its victim and lacerate it. Can also be fashioned into a lasso.
• Note to Writers: These are designed to become usable weapons and armor, but you have to take them to an NPC to create blueprints, and then take the blueprints and materials to a blacksmith to create a usable weapon.

Useful

• The Crusher: A large set of blocks that are designed to crush debris and other materials. A small community was built around this artifact. See above in the “Useful” section. This is marked on the map with an O.
• The Hull: This artifact is a massive abandoned space ship from many ages ago. This ship stands 50 ft above the ground, and an unknown depth below the ground. An entire scavenging community has taken up residence in the above-ground section and the area surrounding it. People come from far away to delve into the depths of this craft, hoping to find untold treasures. They also brave some terrifying creatures as they descend further. The Hull is marked on the map with an X. (This could be a very cool series of dungeons, possibly a “Pit of 1000 trials” sort of thing)
• Note to Writers: (These Useful artifacts can have a much wider variety of forms, I just put two constructs here)