D&D 5E Help me balance crazy over the top artifacts

[AmandaBarbarian]

Okay, so I have been world building and game creating for the first time. I have an artifact and a bunch of ideas for more of them.

here is my first:
Ruat Caelum Fiat Justitia Ecce Lex Rex "Though chaos reign, let justice be done. Behold! Law is king."


Helm of the forbidden one
An attuned spellcaster can carry the helm as a spellcasting focus that adds 1 to the DC of all saving throws and 1 to attack rolls. All radiant damage rolled also gains +1 damage. Then 1/long rest as a bonus action the attuned caster may glimpse the future… (roll 3d20 choose 2 and record the result, as a reaction at any point until this power is used again you can replace the roll you or a creature within 50ft makes with one of these rolls, when you do this once the glimpse is gone) (so roll 3, keep 2 but only ever use 1)


Anyone can attune and place the helm on their head when they do they wildshape into an arcmage as per the MM. In this form they have the spells and abilities and HP of the archmage, any items you have that may help the archmage get added but armor and weapons other than daggers vanish. This effect MAY end when you run out of HP or when you take a action to shift back removing the helmet.

Danger: every time you done the cap you risk the spirits inside it taking you over. If the spirit chooses to take control (aka DM) both when you put on the helm AND when you turn back you must make a Cha save DC 16. IF you had just put it on, you become an NPC until it runs to 0hp but most likely will teleport off… if it was from you hitting 0hp your body contingency teleports to a divine domain and awakens them in control, if you had attempted to remove the helm they take control instead.

When the spirit takes over it is also an achmage but with double HP an divine essence 3 (so +3 to all attacks saves and AC, and regen 3 that doubles to 6 when at half hp or less) and is immune to non magic damage, and resistant to magical weapon damage. BUT vulnerable to psychic damage and anything that would stun the spirit instantly reverts you to you… and it gains glimpse but more powerful, the DM rolls 5d20, records 3 of them, and when the 3rd one is used the spirit can use a bonus action to again roll 5 but this time only record 2 when the 2nd is used the spirt may again as a bonus action roll 5 record 1 but once that has been used he can’t use it again until he takes a long rest
The spirit can take short rests as 15min and long rests as 2 hours and has no need to eat or drink or sleep

 

[HammerMan]

Um wow that is a lot.

I made a heman/shera sword that worked like the main power once and it worked well.

As it stands now I would almost never use this unless it was “omg the bad things hit the fan”. I do. Like your divine essence can you explain that more is it like divine rank?

 

[nevin]

can't be balanced as written. If you are running a very high level game then what you have is a mythic doppelganger. If the players are all 15+ and you have multiple casters in the party it's ok as written. Otherwise it's just a screw the party tool. If you want it balanced for any other level. Simply start with magic Jar spell, assume the relic prevents the soul from dying if the body dies and start a new item from there.

 

[Moonmover]

This isn't about balance but - it would be more interesting if they transformed into a specific archmage with a name and a history. His ghost haunts this helmet. Like the pharaoh in the puzzle in Yu-gi-oh.

 

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

Okay, so lots to unpack here.

first: you need an ongoing save. Like every day or every week you can repeat the save to remove the helm. This is why in Young Justice even though fate CAN take a host it prefers a willing one. Maybe make the mental stats still matter too "a magic host is better"
Second: I agree with @Moonmover don't use the MM stats but use them as a baseline, give this forbidden one more personality
third: this is a CR 12 you are letting the player take on, and lets be honest there are plenty of Cha casters that can have a good Cha save, so 16 could become "oh I can use this" instead of "Oh this is dangerus"
fourth: you need a way to bargin and talk to the spirit, to make deals with it.

 

[AmandaBarbarian]

I made a heman/shera sword that worked like the main power once and it worked well.

I would love to see this, can you post it?

As it stands now I would almost never use this unless it was “omg the bad things hit the fan”.

that is the feel I want

I do. Like your divine essence can you explain that more is it like divine rank?

I had another DM I am stealing it from, it was from an older edition, maybe it was rank he called it not essence, but you could be a 0 and get stuff then it ran 1-20. I was useing it as short hand as like innate godly defense and knowledge.

 

[AmandaBarbarian]

can't be balanced as written. If you are running a very high level game then what you have is a mythic doppelganger. If the players are all 15+ and you have multiple casters in the party it's ok as written. Otherwise it's just a screw the party tool. If you want it balanced for any other level. Simply start with magic Jar spell, assume the relic prevents the soul from dying if the body dies and start a new item from there.

thank you for your thoughts, I am not willing to completly forgo my idea though, tweeks would be cool but I am not trashing it for something else.
the game starts at 1st level but I figure the Helm can't come in until 5th at least.

 

[AmandaBarbarian]

This isn't about balance but - it would be more interesting if they transformed into a specific archmage with a name and a history. His ghost haunts this helmet. Like the pharaoh in the puzzle in Yu-gi-oh.

Okay, so lots to unpack here.

first: you need an ongoing save. Like every day or every week you can repeat the save to remove the helm. This is why in Young Justice even though fate CAN take a host it prefers a willing one. Maybe make the mental stats still matter too "a magic host is better"
Second: I agree with @Moonmover don't use the MM stats but use them as a baseline, give this forbidden one more personality
third: this is a CR 12 you are letting the player take on, and lets be honest there are plenty of Cha casters that can have a good Cha save, so 16 could become "oh I can use this" instead of "Oh this is dangerus"
fourth: you need a way to bargin and talk to the spirit, to make deals with it.

okay ongoing saves make sense... maybe every day that is why the spirit can take long rest quicker to recover while it still has the body.
making it's own stat block/spell list I will think about but YES this spirt has a name and a background I will put that in a later post
I didn't think of a bard (that we will have) being able to shake this off too easy must consider this.
yes, a ritual to commune with it maybe.

or maybe it can always choose to speak to an attuned holder making it also partially a way to get info, like Bob the skull from the Dresden stories.

 

[AmandaBarbarian]

This isn't about balance but - it would be more interesting if they transformed into a specific archmage with a name and a history. His ghost haunts this helmet. Like the pharaoh in the puzzle in Yu-gi-oh.

maybe more like the millennium ring with the grave robber... remember this is supposed to be dangerous not an always on buff

 

[AmandaBarbarian]

Boltizar the forbidden one

Once a powerful lord of order, one that was in charge of insuring that magical effects stayed within the limits of the gods wishes. (arcane, divine, and primal)When he saw the forces of chaos amassing for war he and a few others tried to get the lords of order to do the same. They were out voted.
Boltizar did what no lord of order had ever done before, and disobeyed the collective will of the democracy of order…
He didn't just prepare for a war, he built a weapon that could end one. A mystic mine that could kill even a god, or maybe multi gods at once. He also created spells. He was not the first lord of order to make a weapon, not even the first to make one that should never be used… but he was the first to knowingly go against the will of the majority make a weapon and also want to use it, and when confronted felt 0 remorse.
The Mystic Mines (yes plural, this guy made god killer bombs plural) where taken apart and disjoined, and he was removed of most of his power. Now a mortal mage with minor divine essence, the Lords of Order thought Boltizar would be no threat. They were wrong.
He continued to make weapons, armor and ways to fight the lords of chaos, and even tried to rally the other mortals to do so with him. IN the end the lords of order took the closest vote they ever had, it came down to 1 voice, Valaria, his ex lover… but the vote was made and his soul and power were locked into one of his own inventions, a helm that could glimpse the future.

His name was stricken, and when the old gods left, he remained, now the new gods do not know the danger hidden in this mystic helmet.