All,
I'm coming to the community for some advice on building a plot artifact that my players will be acquiring in the next game. I basically need to get advice on some fun uses for this plot device.
Small backstory
Players are running a Ultimate Campaign in the Dark Sun setting that is having terrain/food/water problems. Their small kingdom is based well outside of the major city-states and is sheltered from normal merchant/mercenary traffic. They have a small slave army that they are trying to keep growing to one day overtake the BBG sorcerer-king's armies.
In the next session, they are going to be killing a big baddy corrupted Spirit of the Land/Elemental guarding an epic druid artifact gem that has a one-shot use of changing a landscape hex into another type of landscape (desert/mountain/swamp/plains/lake/forest).
There will be a limited number of these artifacts hidden throughout Athas that the players would be questing for, but this will be their first encounter with one.
My question is:
-What other minor powers could the artifact can provide that would be handy/advance a story in this type of campaign/setting without being over-kill?
Create water at will is a powerful (in Athas) but limited ability that could help explain how the artefact grows forest/swamp etc. Or perhaps a spell related to rain, or plant growth.
The ability to retard the effect of defiling magic or make terrain resistant to defiling? -2 to Caster level and/or -2 to save DC for defiling spells and the defiling radius is 1 foot less. Defilers may feel pain when near the artefact or have their true selves revealed.
Is the artefact a necessary part of the transformation into an avangion?
I'll have think about others.
I really like the plant growth ability and the defiling magic terrain resistance.
I've thought about making this artifact sentient of some sort as well as some long ago consciousness that was used in the Green Age or something prior to the Sorcererking's coming about.
I appreciate your caution, I haven't been swayed one way or the other about a sentient-state, so I will gladly take it into consideration.
I could see a grander plot with collecting more of them for completing the full consciousness of the item. Could be pretty cool to see.
The main theme I want to stay with in the game is kingdom building, terrain improving, slave freeing, and army building. With that in mind, what would be great additives to these artifacts to help along those lines?
Could be that the crystal's powers to renew the world aren't just restricted to the land. An almost unknown, hidden power is that each crystal is also linked to one of the lost races and was created by their gods as a last ditch 'Ark' for their people before they were destroyed.
Each time a crystal is used, every sentient creature within one mile must save or begin a transformation into that race. Maybe roll on the Reincarnate table to see what race that crystal is linked to and replace any still existing races with humanoids that were wiped out. Can't remember which ones off-hand; orcs, trolls, pixies, bugbears, gnolls. The transformation takes 1 month if not reversed with remove curse or something. At the end of the month, the creature makes another Fortitude save and if successful, holds off the transformation for 1 week. They must save again each week.
If used close enough to a large populace, this could be the sustainable resurgence of a race long thought lost, though the PCs likely have no way to know which race is linked to the crystal unless they can observe someone failing their save and after maybe 2-3 weeks into the transformation, though it's only cosmetic and attitude-wise until the full transformation is complete.
I think you meant "sapient". Sentient would mean anything with an Int score.
The Main Power I want is for this artifact to change a landscape from one form to another. That is going to be a one use ability and will never allow it to be used again.
Though I do want the artifact to have other abilities that can continue to be used. I want to stick to the restoring the world to it's former glory, with a small step at a time, but no powers that are game-changing. I want the players to be able to keep this artifact with them, much like a wizard with a magic staff.
What about minor powers like Druid/Cleric abilities?
I don't want the powers to be combat oriented by any means, but perhaps something that improves diplomacy with animals, elementals, etc. Or grows plants faster, provides sustenance to others, perhaps a small transportation/teleport ability.
I dunno, looking for something cosmetically cool for the party to have that would help give people viewing them using this power from the artifact as memorable to their fame.