It doesn't necessarily require an artifact. Instead you could create a powerful Staff of Soul Bind, with a black soul gem at the top, that consumes several charges to absorb a soul. The value of the soul gem would determine which creatures' souls can be absorbed: 1000gp per max HD.
Adding a few lower-level, thematic spells from different spell lists would allow most spellcasters to recharge the staff; e.g. spells like Gentle Repose, Speak with Dead/Soul, Animate Dead, or Soulswitch.
Since you can recharge only 1 charge per day, the number of charges it requires to absorb a soul determine how often that power can be used.
Outsiders are already bound to their home plane. Summoned creatures make the best sphere of annihilation detectors. As effective xerox copies, resummoned creatures will have no memory of past summonings.
That's in Golarion, the baseline game world. You can GM it differently.
Assuming you're the GM, do you want vampires, liches etc. to be recurring villains or puzzle monsters, or do you want them to be ordinary monsters? This artifact changes them from the former to the latter. If you don't like recurring villains or puzzle monsters then this artifact is good, if you do then it is bad.
Well, Achaekek has the title, duty, and role of god-killer... so your artifact propbably should stop short of doing what Achaekek does.
Short of that, having some artifact that can kill a Lich isn't that bad of an idea. It's an artifact... multple quests, possibly a whole campaign based on acquiring it in the first place. By the time the party gets it, they can probably hunt down Liches without it anyways. The artifact just cuts out the BS of finding the phylactery. Doesn't change the actual combat much.
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Well, Achaekek has the title, duty, and role of god-killer... so your artifact propbably should stop short of doing what Achaekek does.
Short of that, having some artifact that can kill a Lich isn't that bad of an idea. It's an artifact... multple quests, possibly a whole campaign based on acquiring it in the first place. By the time the party gets it, they can probably hunt down Liches without it anyways. The artifact just cuts out the BS of finding the phylactery. Doesn't change the actual combat much.
We cannot support the creation of weapons focused to harm the unliving, and will retaliate in kind...
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We cannot support the creation of weapons focused to harm the unliving, and will retaliate in kind...Well, Achaekek has the title, duty, and role of god-killer... so your artifact propbably should stop short of doing what Achaekek does.
Short of that, having some artifact that can kill a Lich isn't that bad of an idea. It's an artifact... multple quests, possibly a whole campaign based on acquiring it in the first place. By the time the party gets it, they can probably hunt down Liches without it anyways. The artifact just cuts out the BS of finding the phylactery. Doesn't change the actual combat much.
You probably want your scyth back. I would not want to be playing the character holding it when you show up. :)
PS: Using mysticism and myths as a guide, A Demi god can have one godly power. That's why Hercules was stronger than anyone. When he teamed up with Thor, they kept getting stronger till they could toss Galactus off the planet. Only a demiurge has every godly power and just materializing would turn a planet into an asteroid belt. That's why they break up into Titans, Gods, and or other diefic beings.
According to the core rulebook, summoned creatures take 24 hours to respawn, but they still cannot tell you whats on the other side of a sphere of annihilation. Called creatures, on the other hand, can be slain.
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Not a fan of it personally. As said there are already way's to sort of work around the issue already albeit at a risk. The thing is if a creature doesn't stay dead they usually have a specific weakenss lich = phylactery, Baba Yaga = hidden death, Mythic = auto-ressurect unless killed by any artifact/higher level mythic being and so on. Give the players a way to bypass that and you probably are lowering the creatures CR but your also removing a lot of potential plothooks or interesting adventures. It goes from "find the phylactery and destroy it" questline to "see lich, kill lich, suck soul, profit" which to me is far less interesting.
I know if I were one of the resurecting beings and found out about such an artifact I would promptly set about seeing it destroyed which introduces the players being attacked by every such being and their minions as a storyline. To me though I prefer to be able to introduce a resurecting being and have the party figure out their weakness to prevent it over a blanket negation which your artifact would grant.
That said if you do decide to go ahead with this idea you need to consider if its "negate cheat death" or if its "negate return to life" as the difference is important. To give an example of the issues. . . .
1) Mythic being if killed auto-ressurects unless variable circumstances based on rank. They do die its just they have a revolving door policy with pharasma allowing them to come back 24 hours later.
2) Outsider unless I'm miseremembering they no longer have the sent to their home plane for a hundred years rule they're just dead now. However for these purposes we'll assume they still go home.
3) Raise dead brings back anyone killed and higher level variants even do outsiders.
So we have 3 different sets of rules already how would your artifact work with them. Does it prevent someone being ressurected by "normal" magic, does it prevent outsiders being sent to their home plane? For mythic beings Baba Yaga doesn't just have the usual 24 hours ressurect clause but is specifically called out as having hidden her death meaning she can't die. This mechanically is represented as an additional clause meaning no matter how she's killed she comes back rather than the usual ways of killing a mythic being (personally I prefer the idea of her being literally unable to die and just falling into progressively greater negative health numbers) however would your artifact override that special unique ability?
The more you spread out the artifacts effects the more you need to consider how it interacts with things for example if it negates a mythic characters ressurection does it also negate a normal raise dead spell and if it does how does it affect an intelligent undead who is essentially existing in a state of cheat death. If your using old school outsider rules then they don't actually die they're more banished as killing one on the prime plane has different effects to killing them on their home one. So how does the artifact work when they are either (a) not actually killed (like old school vampires) or (b) actually killed and stay that way.
Maybe Baba Yaga somehow found out how she will die and took steps to prevent it. It's a Celtic death destiny.
This reminds me of a weapon enchantment I saw in 3.0 D&D, I want to say it was in a Swords & Sorcery book? Called 'trueslayer', counted as a '+3'. Living creatures killed with a weapon like that could be raised if a DC 20 caster level check was made, but if it was failed, that caster would have to wait a level to try again. Undead like vampires and liches if brought to 0 hp with the weapon had to make a DC 20 Fort save or still wind up destroyed regardless of coffins and phylacteries and whatnot.
Perhaps the item attacks wherever the soul is, so with a lich it becomes a sunder attempt. A creature that astrally projected to the material plane would have it's silver cord attacked.
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I was unaware the Mythic characters got the ability to return from death. You bring up goods points, and I have been wondering on those questions myself. I was not thinking this would prevent the ability for magic to return them (raise dead, reincarnation etc.), but as for the rest I have no idea. I knew from the start this would be one of those ones that has a lot of technicalities involved, and am at a loss for how to go about any of it.That said if you do decide to go ahead with this idea you need to consider if its "negate cheat death" or if its "negate return to life" as the difference is important. To give an example of the issues. . . .
1) Mythic being if killed auto-ressurects unless variable circumstances based on rank. They do die its just they have a revolving door policy with pharasma allowing them to come back 24 hours later.
2) Outsider unless I'm miseremembering they no longer have the sent to their home plane for a hundred years rule they're just dead now. However for these purposes we'll assume they still go home.
3) Raise dead brings back anyone killed and higher level variants even do outsiders.
So we have 3 different sets of rules already how would your artifact work with them. Does it prevent someone being ressurected by "normal" magic, does it prevent outsiders being sent to their home plane? For mythic beings Baba Yaga doesn't just have the usual 24 hours ressurect...
Yep Mythics get it at 9th tier first they need to be killed by a mythic or higher being with a crit/coup de grace or a crit/coup de grace with a weapon that bypasese epic DR then only by a crit/coup de grace with an artifact. For Baba Yaga she has a unique ability that only allows her to be killed after you find and retrieve her death. Its not like your characters are likely to be fighting them but its just one of several "death" conditions.
Perhaps the item attacks wherever the soul is, so with a lich it becomes a sunder attempt. A creature that astrally projected to the material plane would have it's silver cord attacked.
I don't think you'd want to go that far as that's moving it from artifact to plot McGuffin considering that's the whole point of Githyahnki blades and they will hunt you to the ends of reality if they think you've got ahold of one of those. Plus its not just attacking silver cords but its also attacking phylacteries, mistforms and a lot more. Like I said even for an artifact something that does all this would need to. I feel its too overpowered and will crimp storytelling more than it'll help it. Assuming all these special conditions apply you've got one object that . . .
1) Prevents resurection magic.
2) Prevents resurection abilities (like a Tarrasques).
3) Negates near capstone mythic abilities.
3) Prevents phylacteries from working.
4) Negates a racial ability to turn to mist and retreat to a safe place (or it would if that was still a thing for vampires).
5) Negates astral projections ability to keep your real self safe.
6) Allows outsiders to be killed on the material plane (if that's still a thing).
even given several of these are gone in pathfinder to my knowledge its at a minimum negating normal resurection magic, mythic resurection abilities, potentially negating spell effects, negating different entire creature features (phylacteries for lichs and Tarasque's special kill requirements).
@The Petty One
Why do you want this artifact anyway? What's the context in game behind it because there may be other ways to get the effect you want without introducing a "kill anything" item.
"YOUR PALTRY MAGIC IS NOTHING AGAINST THE PERFECTION OF UNDEATH! Make your artifacts all you want, you are PATHETIC compared to the Might of the Swarm"
What if your Artifact is basically like a "reverse phylactery", where it traps the target's soul either with Trap the Soul or Soul Bind once they reach the required negative HP equal to Con. BUT, before any soul-storing or body-swapping shenanigans like contingencies, cheat death, phylacteries, spirit jars/magic jar, clones, soulswitch, w/e, your artifact metaphorically pounces all over that Soul like a jaguar, and prevents all shenanigans and chicanery and traps their soul.
Let's call this artifact the Cloak of the Soulveil.
The cloak holds a tangerine-sized opal at the brooch that captures a fallen enemy's soul, and then once your Artifact has captured a soul, you can appear exactly like that person, as if using the spell Alter Self as a standard action. You may do this once per day, and the amount of times you can use this per day increases as you level
Lvl1-7 Trap Soul once per day
Lvl8-13 Trap Soul twice per day
Lvl14-20 Trap Soul thrice per day
Additionally, the Cloak of the Soulveil provides a Resistance Bonus to all saves of the wearer depending on their current character level.
Lvl1-4 +1
Lvl5-8 +2
Lvl9-12 +3
Lvl13-16 +4
Lvl17-20 +5
Remind your GM that is only possible with an artifact weapon and the
original owner, weather Pharasma or her right hand assassin, will probably want it back. It would be a shame if some PC used contact other plane and ended up spilling the beans.
Balancewise such a weapon is not going to be to strong at all and it's ability is mostly flavor to most groups. It will prevent some enemies from coming back, but this just causes the heroes to fight something else instead.
You could look up the sword of Kas from the Greyhawk setting an artifact weapon made to slay the lich/deity Vecna for inspiration.
There are also other ways to prevent targets from being resurrected. The easiest way to do so would be to create undead from them and take them with you. If you turn your victim into a shadow or similar incorporeal Undead, you can have that Shadow come with you and until it is taken down no resurrection.
It all depends on how you implement it. Being an Artifact there should be some plot highly focussed around it and it should play a visible role in the campaign.
If it's just a plot device to explain your assasin, that would be somewhat lame. If it gets a bigger role, that would be interesting IMO:
- Maybe the artifact indeed steals the souls of it's victims. The only way to free them is to destroy the artifact. To find out how you have to locate it's creators a powerful coven of nighthags in the river of souls, who then to have it broken it sundered with a Holy Avenger in a Dragon Graveyard.
- The artifact is just a weapon, that ages everyone it hits instead of dealing physical damage.
- The artifact actually raises it's victims as an (Advanced?) Allip. Driven mad by their new form the assasin has these creatures wander aimlessly and barely recognizeable. Only if one finds and slays those beings can the victims be resurrected.
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The context of this question comes from a homebrew campaign me and a friend are working on. One of the npcs in particular is an assassin who successfully killed several characters with a cheat death ability and I had thought maybe the reason for the assassins success was an artifact that could counter their ability to come back. There is some other minor details that tie into this, but that is the main thing.
In that case perhaps instead of "weapon that slays all" have the assasin possess a contact/item that reveals the way to counter them. That way you still have to find the death/set up a trap on the coffin/follow them to their home plane but the assasin will know what they need to do to ensure killing them sticks.
In seriousness, I strongly suggest against an item or artifact that overrides all "cheat death" abilities. I'd suggest a specific item per each type of monster or unique individual, requiring the PCs to investigate, research, and pursue these options instead of a boring blanket "nope" power which really cheapens the monsters.
"Nope" would probably be a 9th level spell if not epic.
I have a recurring theme/villain in a lot of fantasy games called Grandfather Death, the first killer or first assassin, god of death etc...
It's been a person, a weapon, a deity and a punk metal band so far.
typically has some power like this. In play, its kind of moot, since if a villain needs to come back, they're coming back no matter what, but its a nice thing to have in-world to kind of creep out the players, especially in games where resurrection is so common (like Pathfinder), but then in those games there are already upteen ways to keep a person from coming back, so...
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I appreciate all the feedback on this, and after hearing it all, I think an Artifact like that counters cheat death would be too potent an Artifact for the context of this campaign, though it is definitely a thought for a different campaign.
As an alternative how about an Artifact, hear me out, an Artifact that delays the amount of time for self resurrection? Say you use it on a Lich, so instead of them revving in 1d10 days, it instead happens in 1d10x2 days, or 2d10 days, would that work you think? I am just spit balling.
I think the power is less the issue than the broad reach of the item. I'd have it affect a specific lich, one type of lich, all liches, or all undead even. But not all creatures with "cheat death".
In order, I'd suggest:
A CL15+ magic item or high level spell (specific lich), CL20~ magic item or spell (type of lich), minor artifact (all liches), major artifact (all undead). Or similiar.
The broader the item is, the more enemies with a very pressing need to take possession of it the PCs should encounter. Similiar to an orb of dragonkind.