LuisCarlos17f
Legend
Indiana Jones, Lara Croft(Tomb Raider), Sidney Fox(Relic Hunter TV serie) or Nathan Drake(Uncharted) are examples of how artifacts can be the origing of epic quests, but also bloodied conflicts.
If you want an important artifacts to not be stolen, then this should be totally secret and unknown, but if there is intention to be used.
In 3.5 a relic is a sacred magic item, and even there was a craft feat to create them in The Divine Complete.
Some times I imagine some D&D "artifacts" like "soulstones" (Mage: the Awakening).
A right worldbuilding shoudl avoid artifacts to be too necessary for "Historical" events.
Some "artifacts" aren't portable objetcts but buildings, for example temples. Or to work would need a ritual or ceremony with a group of loyal wordshippers.
* But I don't like the trope of "to save the realms we have to explore the ancient dungeons with traps to find that sacred relic".
If you want an important artifacts to not be stolen, then this should be totally secret and unknown, but if there is intention to be used.
In 3.5 a relic is a sacred magic item, and even there was a craft feat to create them in The Divine Complete.
Some times I imagine some D&D "artifacts" like "soulstones" (Mage: the Awakening).
A right worldbuilding shoudl avoid artifacts to be too necessary for "Historical" events.
Some "artifacts" aren't portable objetcts but buildings, for example temples. Or to work would need a ritual or ceremony with a group of loyal wordshippers.
* But I don't like the trope of "to save the realms we have to explore the ancient dungeons with traps to find that sacred relic".