Do Artifacts have a market cost?

[Doghead Thirteen]

All this is reminding me of the occasion I handed the players an anti-matter bomb and waited to see what happened... all Hell broke loose when the press found out.

On subject, there's the technical problems; you're gonna need a wagon train to transport a couple million GP, and that's going to affix a big target sign on your forehead for every thief and brigand on the continent.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

On subject, there's the technical problems; you're gonna need a wagon train to transport a couple million GP, and that's going to affix a big target sign on your forehead for every thief and brigand on the continent.

Not to mention the tax collectors...

Oh, and while we are at it, what is the law regarding the transport and sale of artifacts of the country they are in? I wouldn't be much surprised if most nations claim the right to take possession of such items immediately...

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Not to mention the tax collectors...

Oh, and while we are at it, what is the law regarding the transport and sale of artifacts of the country they are in? I wouldn't be much surprised if most nations claim the right to take possession of such items immediately...

Law only reaches as far as its sword-arm. In the real world that works well since there are certain limiting physical factors that keep all people within a tight range. In D&D on the other hand power increases exponentially and doesn't have the same limiting factors. So it's best to focus on extraplanar influences. This is the time for the outsiders and such to get involved. They have the numbers, power, and resources to actually buy such a thing. Read some stuff about Cold War history then use it for inspiration. Selling an Artifact should be handled roughly on the same lines by the Powers as influencing smaller nations into the sphere of influence of the superpowers during the Cold War.

 

[Falkus]

Oh, and while we are at it, what is the law regarding the transport and sale of artifacts of the country they are in? I wouldn't be much surprised if most nations claim the right to take possession of such items immediately...

Artifacts are not exactly run of the mill magic items that turn up every day. They're myths and legends, and I'd imagine that most people view them as such. I certainly can't imagine any nation making any specific law concerning them, given the relative rarity of this sort of situation.

 

[prosfilaes]

It certainly depends on what artifacts you're talking about. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/magicItems/artifacts.htm lists artifacts from the Epic rules. Nothing on that page "could win you the war in a matter of weeks!" Looking at the artifact section of the 1e DMG, and particularly Table V: Prime Powers (pg. 163), I see some stuff that would be powerful, but nothing instantly war-winning, and Table IV and Table VI make those incredibly risky.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

It depends on the power level of the item. Not all artifacts are universe sundering engines of arcane power. I've created/seen some less powerful than many "mundane" magical items. Most of the major items my pc's posess could be counted as artifacts, simply because of their history and unique powers.

 

[DaveMage]

Another "it depends" vote here.

What I'd like to see in a write-up of artifacts are consequences for ownership. What entities or power groups are going to be hunting you if you possess the artifact? (Both planar and non-planar adversaries). Who *could* you offload it to - either for gold, destruction, safe-keeping, or other consideration?

 

[green slime]

I don't want to see a gold price tag attached to an artifact. Placing a gold price on them only encourages the idea that they can be bought and sold, in a mundane fashion.

Artifacts should have an existential reason within the campaign, other than "Wheee! Cool Powerz".

 

[Thanee]

I understand that Artifacts are powerful magical items. But do they ever have a market cost? Should they?

Everything has a price...

Bye
Thanee

 

[VirgilCaine]

Someone announces in the worldwide criminal underworld that he has a surplus Sovjet-era nuclear weapon to sell.

And various governments and organisations become very interested in both the nuke and the person selling it.

Exactly what I was thinking.