Help on a New Artifact

[147]

Fune you are nasty!
I really like all those suggestions. I'll name it "Devourer of All" in ancient Draconic. I can definitely use the splitting up of loot to give clues to the other PC's. I can just picture the taciturn dwarven fighter trying to pilfer rings under the nose of the party's rogue and wizard - should make for interesting role-playing session.
And the binding is a great hook - perhaps an ancient evil dragon bound to the ring just itching to get back its consciousness. Oooohhhh, you are now on my xmas list Funeris.

 

[Crothian]

I didn't see it mentioned, but alklow the artifact ring to detect other magical rings. That way it can know where they are to get the person it controls to steal their power

 

[Funeris]

Fune you are nasty!

Hehe...yeah my players think so too. Plus the awesome thing about having an evil bound to the ring...if the players destroy the ring, odds are it releases the evil spirit...and he/she/it can then attempt to return to reality in some physical form.

And I definitely agree with Crothian's idea of the artifact being able to detect other magical rings. That's just a given.

If I think of anything else...I won't hesitate to drop my ideas...hehehe



~Fune

 

[Jolly Giant]

The potency of the ring is such that the powers stack.

If it absorbs two Rings of Protection +1, does it function as a Ring of Protection +2? That could soon make the ring a game-breaker, you know... (Doesn't really sound like that's what you have in mind, but I just want to make sure.)

Assuming we're on the same page about that, I think you might have the basis for a whole campaing with this ring. There are just so many cool directions the story can go with an item like that! Just be careful that you don't make the campaign all about the "ringbearer". Keep the other players in mind and make sure they're involved. They need their spot-light time too!

 

[Dread October]

It certainly sounds like a very evil ring to me. I would even go so far as to say that right off the bat it confers some mundane powers that any character would want and could benefit from but wouldn't raise any eyebrows:

+ to Diplomacy
+ to Sense Motice
+ to Charisma

What you need is a way for the character to actually believe that the taking of these other rings is the right thing to do. Unless the ring send her and his friends on adventures looking for other rings, the rings will have to be taken from other people. Maybe it demonstrates the know alignment ability but it also lies like a rug. It points out rings worn by evil characters so the wearer has the incentive to acquire the next ring.

If it's a good character with a ring, this artifact can help the wearer believe that this is in fact an evil character. Rings worn by the wearers friends need not count. They will always be there to be devoured later, when the ring is much more powerful.

 

[Crothian]

What if the rings personality was shapped by the rings it absorbbed? if it absorbes a ring of protyerct, its a defensive ring and gets defensive about stuff. A ring of shooting stars might make it bright and quick to act, etc

 

[Funeris]

Another interesting idea Crothian...you must be a very, very advanced AI program to respond so often and quickly with such creative ideas

I was thinking about the history of the ring...so here's a couple of options:

1. The creator is the inhabitor of the ring. He was attempting to make a phylactery and completely botched...it kept him alive in an extremely limited capacity and he's learned to use what little abilities he has. The botch could have been caused by disinformation planted by a rival or just a common mistake.

2. The creator was a good being/good deity. The purpose of the ring was an eternal prison for the evil soul. Unfortunately (through lack of sight, a loose grasp of how powerful the soul actually was) the prison kept the soul contained but able to manipulate reality (with some practice). The soul learned its limits within the ring and constantly tests them.

3. The creator (and inhabitor) was already a lich. He/She was testing if his soul could be split into more than just one phylactery...so as to assure his permanence indefinitely. Of course, there was an error in the experiment...and his soul was split into two. One piece is in a phylactery somewhere else...probably the lost-to-time former layer of said creator (on any plane).

So now you have both "good" and "evil" reasons for the artifact's origin. Of course, the ring serves as a reverse phylactery. Once broken, it releases the being back into the world. Options 1 & 2 allow the creature to return as a living being. Option 3 permits the return of an undead being (assuming the original phylactery is still intact).

If you go with Option 3, the ring may also encourage its owner to seek out the original phylactery. Then the party may have to question why they quested through hundreds of miles of underground dungeon all for a "lucky" rabbits foot. You may wish the artifact to have the ability to sense its phylactery (or phylacteries in general). If it can sense all phylacteries...bingo you've got yourself quite the hook there. The imprisoned soul may wish to destroy all the phylacteries belonging to other liches to make sure he reigns supreme when he does reemerge.

And hey, if you're feeling corny, you could name said spirit Themal. And then you'll have one ring to bind Themal.

Either way, the balance you need to worry about is truly making sure the other players don't feel left out as stated earlier.

And another thought, as the ring regains sentience, it could "possess" (a.k.a. manifest) like a ghost through its user. The user could also suffer nightmares of assumed past "lives"...acts truly committed by the ring's prisoner...etc.

All-in-all, it should produce some nice adventures and possibly wind up a plot thread that the party focuses upon heavily....and in doing so neglects the "real" plot and end up all the more f-cked for it.

~Fune

 

[Steel_Wind]

Might I suggest that an Item such as this is ideally suited to be an "Item of Legacy"?

As the power of the character grows, the Ring scales with the character (how fast and through which means is up to you the DM). The ability of the wearer to access those powers requires feats, rituals, sacrifices and other balancing tricks that serve to prevent the item from becoming the One Ring to Rule Them All in the hands of a 6th level PC.

They also provide further excuse to details the Ring's history, what powers the Ring has previously absorbed and, in general, help you fill in the backstory as well as provide ready hooks for adventuring in the future. Designing such items in and of itself is a lot of fun for any DM and can have you happily chuckling and typing for hours.

I found Weapons of Legacy to be a rather inspiring book, despite contrary opinions from many here on ENworld. The rules for Legacy Items presented therein, while imperfect, are quite serviceable - and seem ideally suited for the powers of The Ring you have outlined here.

 

[147]

Crothian / Funeris - Yes, the Ring will be able to sense other magical rings, albeit slowly at first and then with increasing vigour (as INT, EGO and consciousness increase).

Jolly Giant - No, two (or more) rings of protection +1 will not make a +2 ring. It can have innumerable rings of the same magic/potency but they will not increase the level of that specific power, HOWEVER, it will still increase EGO and INT everytime an individual ring is added - something I hope the player learns to his definite disadvantage
I hope to have other unique artifacts for the other players. In one case I'm thinking of some sort of armour that's actually the molted skin from an ancient legendary dragon. I'm still working out the history and mechanics.

Dread - Ouch! Very Machivellian. Friends are always there to be devoured at a more convenient time?

Funeras - Themal! That hurt. That really, really hurt! And I'm getting weird looks from the people outside my office because I'm smiling and snickering at nothing in particular while I read that.

Steel Wind - Thanks for the suggestion, I'll peruse it the next visit to the store.

 

[Funeris]

Funeras - Themal! That hurt. That really, really hurt! And I'm getting weird looks from the people outside my office because I'm smiling and snickering at nothing in particular while I read that.

Yeah, my associates stare at me strangely as well.

But I like to play with words like that for my players...just because they give you that I-hate-you-and-want-to-devour-your-soul-for-smacking-me-with-something-so-obvious-a-five-year-old-could-figure-it-out-but-I-didn't look. And then I laugh, a cold, mean-spirited laugh...and promptly change the subject.