Since this book is about artifacts, it helps to have a clear idea of just what an artifact is and isn't. It's not what a lot of people expect. One occasional point of confusion is that there are two different names for the same thing— artifact and relic. Artifacts are powerful magical items that have wizard, priest, or other powers and are made by gods, lichs, wizards, and other spellcasters. Relics are powerful magical items that have wizard, priest, or other powers, are made by gods and priests, and have some holy importance to a particular temple. Otherwise, the two types are identical. Throughout this book, the term "artifact" refers to both artifacts and relics. "Relic" refers only to that group of artifacts that have holy significance. A common assumption is that an artifact is any ultra-powerful magical device. This is not true. A staff of the magi is considered by many to be an ultra-powerful device, but it is not an artifact. Indeed, many artifacts have fewer powers than this staff. While most artifacts are potent (because the DM wants them to be memorable), sheer power is not a defining quality. An artifact must have three properties: it must be unique, it must have a history, and it must be important to the adventure. Unique. Artifacts are one-of-a-kind items, and that's part of what makes them valuable. There's only one Talisman of Al-Akbar. If there were more, they wouldn't be as special. In most cam¬ paigns, this means there's only one in the entire world. In those campaigns that cross to different worlds (as a SPELL JAMMER® game would), it means there's only one in all the worlds and planes. This also means that characters who are brought from one DM's campaign to another cannot bring artifacts with them. The DM gets to keep those toys. History. One of the most important features of every artifact is that it has baggage. Someone or something made it, used it, and eventually managed to lose it. The history should explain or at least hint at the reason the artifact exists and what it was originally used for. The tale may also tell what has happened to the artifact since it was made, particularly the great or wondrous fates of successive owners. Histories are important. They provide something for the player characters to research and a means for the DM to give clues about the item's vast powers. A colorful if not wholly accurate description of the terrible fate that met the last owner of the Crystal of the Ebon Flame is certain to make the player char¬ acters cautious, should they ever find the same device. Story. This is the most curious qualifier for an artifact since it doesn't really affect the powers of the item or any other aspect of the game rules. It does affect how the DM uses an artifact and the information players might gain. Purely and simply, artifacts exist to tell stories. Characters don't just "find" an artifact. They discover it because the DM put it there as part of a specific adventure. The minute an artifact turns up, smart players will know the DM has a special adventure in mind for their characters. As befits the unique nature of artifacts, adven¬ tures built around them can't be ordinary ones. The DM should make every effort to create a memorable challenge for the players. With their histories, artifacts have the tools to make good stories, but it is up the DM to finish the job. So there it is. Artifacts are unique and colorful magical items that provide adventure tools for the DM. They don't have to be powerful items, although, because of their histories, most are. One last point—artifacts are optional! No DM must include artifacts in a campaign. Even if they are used, no DM has to use every artifact listed in this book. DMs can always pick and choose those liked best and declare that the rest do not exist in the campaign. More importantly, no player has the right to tell any DM that an artifact must exist in the campaign. In a normal group, with only one DM, this is seldom a problem. It is important to remember this, however, for those groups where several DMs may be running the same player characters at different times. If Martha is DMing and introduces the Sword ofKas for an adven¬ ture, players should not insist that John let them use the Sword ofKas when he is DMing the same characters in a later adventure. If it is necessary, remember that artifacts always have an amazing ability to vanish unexpectedly, only to reappear innocently at some later date.