A review copy of “Weird Artifacts I Found In The Guild” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.

Designed by: Ashton Duncan, Miłosz Gawęcki, Heath Harris, Bryan Holmes, Isaac A.L. May, Bum Lee, Chad Lensch, Cassandra MacDonald, Andrew S. Morley, Iam Pace, Micah Watt, RP Davis, Ashley May

In many fantasy RPGs, the term “artifact” is sometimes use interchangeably with magic items. But in Dungeons & Dragons, artifacts are defined as “unique magic items of tremendous power, with their own origin and history” [DMG 219].

The 100 artifacts detailed in Weird Artifacts I Found In The Guild are well-deserving of this category, offering incredibly detailed descriptions, backstories, and abilities for some of the most powerful and interesting magical items you could find.

Most magic item supplements cram half a dozen or more items on a single page, with items that take only a few sentences to describe. Not so with legendary artifacts such as Bligeárd, Crown of the Wight King, Lann Lasair, the Burning Blade, or Rundrakar, the sublime Edge of Ruin.

The backstories and descriptions alone can take up an entire page, though most of the entries disappointly lack art for the items themselves. That’s not to say the product itself isn’t gorgeous to flip through; the gold trimmings and black background make every word pop, and the frequent use of background art on nearly every page is lovely.

The artifacts encompass a huge range of awesome, high-powered gear. Magical gear that would probably break most campaigns if given before Tier 4 (and even then). The stuff entire campaigns can be featured around, like The One Ring from The Lord of the Rings.

But it’s not just raw power, they’re also a rich variety of creativity on display. The wearer of Armor of the Ages can cast Legend Lore at will, drawing upon the armor’s previous wearers – and infusing the armor with its former owner’s sentience.

Skin of the Slime Sovereign bestows ooze abilities such as acid damage and an amorphous body, as well as slicing off parts of yourself to create little gelatinous cube minions. Heward’s Mystical Organ (of the Haversack fame) requires a Performance check after each rest to bestow beneficial – or detrimental features, while the Bugle of the Ghostly Legion summons a humorous d20 table of warriors who do anything but fight.

crown of the wight king

Many of these artifacts can upgrade their abilities and become more powerful if the user accomplishes certain goals or demonstrates certain traits, not unlike the Vestiges of Divergence from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount. 

For example, Coróin Draíodóir, the Circlet of the Arcane Autarch, begins at Phase 1, which enhances a spellcaster’s ability score, attack bonus, and DC by 1, and offers the chance to convert their own life force into spell slots, up to 3rd level. By using diplomacy, cunning, and generally furthering the understanding of magic, a user can upgrade the item, increasing the initial features and adding new ones.

For Lann Lasair, the Burning Blade, the fractured artifact begins at phase one, acting as little more than a run of the mill fire sword with an extra 1d6 fire damage. The wielder must repair the fractured artifact by collecting the blood of a red dragon, ore from the Plane of Fire, and a flawless ruby, and combining them in a forge of a fiery creature, such as an efreet or fire giant.

The sword then upgrades from The Ember Slumbers to The Flame Stirs (phase two), becoming a Flame Tongue with additional abilities. The sword can be upgraded with similarly daunting tasks all the way up to phase five, granting increasing attack bonuses, fire spells, and charges, and could prove to be an excellent personal quest line for the wielder.

Injecting an air of personality into each weapon description are the 10 Bells, a Harper-like group dedicated to finding and protecting artifacts. These 10 characters are each given descriptions, quotes, and full statblocks at the end of the supplement, from Sapheliaras the nearly 1,000 year old elf wizard to Yrienthree of Many Voices, a cursed sorcerer possessed by their ancestors.

The personalities of each member shines through with fun descriptions on each artifact, and go a long way in making the descriptions and stories fun to digest, even if most DMs probably won’t use more than one of these super-powered artifacts in any single campaign.

 Pros:

  • 100 detailed, high-level artifacts.
  • Many entries include adventure hooks for different settings, along with notes on how to destroy them.
  • Some artifacts have unlockable traits or otherwise grow in power along with the wearer.
  • The artifact-hunting group 10 Bells include backstories, statblocks and commentary throughout.
  • Gorgeous black and gold layout.

Cons:

  • Less than half of the artifacts include artwork (and none of the 10 Bells).

The Verdict: From demonic flying war machines and upgradable Flame Tongues to mystical organs and inexplicably powerful bubble wands, Weird Artifacts I found in the Guild offers an astonishingly comprehensive list of 100 game-breakingly powerful artifacts that entire campaigns are built around.

A review copy of “Weird Artifacts I Found in the Guild” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.