Hmmm.. not sure I know what you mean by "fit in " , I would think the definition of a home brew campaign would lend itself to any number of odd rule defying objects of mystical power. :)
the book defines artifacts as " the sort of legendary relics that a whole campaign can be based around"
I would think it depends on your own imagination, but I can understand if you are trying to gather some ideas for inspiration.
here is one of mine
The Pointed Silver Hat of Von Vole VacK: Major artifact
This heavy triangle shaped hat looks like a perfect silver cone. weighing 15 lbs it is almost 2 feet long and lined with a thick felt on the interior. Deeper in the hat is a length of chain with a strong metal ring the size of a fist that looks to be attached to the interior apex of the hat. It was crafted by the master diviner Archibald with the help of the his patron god Prometheus.
Aura : Blinding divination
slot : head
The hat may look ridiculous , but many have underestimated it's power
the wearer may cast any divination spell of 5th level or lower at will. The hat grants a +1 enhancement bonus to the caster level of divination spells and adds a +10 competency bns for any divination skill check or knowledge planes check.
Lastly the hat when placed point first into the forehead of the bearer can open a portal into any plane or pocket dimension in existence. This ability functions similar to a gate spell except it only works as a one way portal to that chosen dimension. The wearer of the hat may enter the portal ( feet first ) as a full round action. Once through the portal the wearer automatically pulls on the interior chain to close the portal and return the hat to normal " with a loud popping sound" . this ability may be used 3x a day.
optional : the hat is a great responsibility, granting the bearer the vision of a god and thus has the potential to drive the wearer mad if worn for prolonged periods. As the gods see reality in a fractured pathway of colliding possibilities and unexplored chances racing towards the most apocalyptic of singularities. The bearer of the hat may find there sanity slipping with surprising speed. ( effect is Dm's discretion )
currently the hat is owned by a npc who shows up and pushes my plot along , the players are just starting to discover that the crazy diviner from the hills may have a greater hand in the events of their world.
The Npc Archibald resides in the hills of Von Vole Vack , and typically is not in a lucid state. the hat is a hold over from a much more silly game , but i a have resurrected it for my current campaign.
Archibald was once a powerful wizard with a driving desire to shape and control the future and one of 13 founders of a sacred order of philosophers ( the order of Isosceles ). the order was lead by the great seer Isosceles the first man to teach magic to other men ( created the study of arcane magic for wizards ) eventually Isosceles granted each of his 13 disciples with a "secret " , Archibald wanted to have godly knowledge. Unfortunately it drove him mad.
enjoy :)
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In a Forgotten Realms campaign I ran many years ago, one of the major antagonists (a priestess of Auril, the goddess of winter) possessed a minor artifact that was being used to seal a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire located in the volcano near the city of Neverwinter, effectively removing Neverwinter's heat source and causing it to finally experience the cold climate that the outlying areas were subjected to. The PCs had to enter the volcanic caverns, battle their way to the portal chamber, and defeat the priestess/destroy the artifact before it was too late.
Heart of Winter
Aura strong evocation; CL 20th
Slot none; Weight 1 lb.
Description
The heart of winter is an incredibly clear crystal approximately 6 inches in length that is devastatingly cold to the touch. Creatures who touch the heart suffer 6d6 points of cold damage and 1d6 points of Dexterity drain per round so long as they remain in contact with it. Additionally, creatures who suffer 6 or more points of Dexterity drain from this effect lose the use of the limb in contact with the heart as the extremity is utterly frozen, becoming brittle and glass-like. Creatures who fully resist or are immune to the cold damage do not suffer the Dexterity drain. The heart radiates such intense cold that outsiders of the fire subtype are subject to a dismissal effect each round they remain within 20 feet of the artifact. Even if they successfully save against this effect, they suffer 2d6 cold damage. The heart of winter can also be used to close planar portals to the Elemental Plane of Fire within 20 feet simply by being in proximity. For every ten minutes the heart remains within 20 feet of such a portal, the artifact makes a dispel check against the portal as though it were a targeted mage's disjunction. The heart gains a cumulative +2 bonus on this check for every ten minutes after the first, meaning that, inevitably, the heart will succeed so long as it remains undisturbed.
Destruction
The heart of winter can be destroyed by hurling it into the Elemental Plane of Fire.
My artifacts are normally not that shiny, but yes, artifacts do exist. They are remnants of the work of gods.
My favorite:
Cagesplinter, it's like a quarterstaff made out of a black material. It doesn't seem to emit any aura, thus can't be identified. But it is impossible to break, has a hardness of a 200 that can't be overcome by normal means. It's immune to magic.
It was used once by gods to cage something in an orb, but it broke free and there are splinters to be found.
I agree that it is not that "awesome".
Other uses of artifacts are annoying talking objects that, mostly weapons, that are very good but kill your ennemies as well as your nerves.
Cagesplinter, sounds very cool. your right it's not flashy but the concept is pretty wicked.
I agree that artifact weapons need to be very thought out. That is why I prefer more utilitarian items.
My game takes place very early in my campaign world where artifacts have yet to be created or discovered.
I will be adding a sort of super weapon to my list that will be "death incarnate " but it's a fluff item that will kill it's wielder in short order after it's use . Haven't got a name for it yet , but it needs to be something primal and utterly evil sounding. I also have a very good story reason for such a weapon.
The scenario is like this , ( please pardon the epicness of what is to follow, but i am in the process of creating my future campaign world )
The "sword of ending " ( working tittle...Lame!!)
Created from the Nephalim , a block of the purest Abyssium alloy, made from the melted souls of a entire pantheon of gods. The sword is so black that the eye almost cannot even focus on it. light flees from it's surface and a effect similar to darkness is created by it's presence.
when the wielder beholds the weapon for the first time they are asked to "choose my shape " and the weapon becomes fixed in what ever weapon type the wielder chose. Missile weapons or bows are always at hand and/or loaded.
regardless of the weapon shape the effect is the same. the wielder must make a touch attack to strike a target , the target must succeed on a dc 30fort save or be slain as their body is converted to abyssium ore. ( a material composed of pure elemental Law ) effects that prevent insta death are eliminated on the first hit but leave the target not dead , if a item prevented the effect then it must make the save or be destroyed.
The nature of the Nephalim effects all creatures equally ( incoperal, constructs undead ect..) any target struck but not destroyed must make a will save dc26 or be panicked, they also take damage as though they were struck by a critical hit for the weapon type selected at a +1 crit multiplier max damage.
the "sword" cannot be enchanted or augmented, any spell used on it is wasted , but the sword will not protect it's wielder from the harmful effects of other spells cast at them.
the wielder of the weapon is poisoned the first time they hold the "sword" and will die a permanent death in ( base con x days ).
This is a story intensive item with 1 use in mind , and I have some additional rules to make sure even if it is abused the item vanishes fairly quickly. other than this I don't think home brew should ever use weapons as artifacts unless there is a good reason.