Hey all

So I've always thought the mystical stuff like sith artifacts was very cool, and I figured I'd try and sort some stats for them and could use some feedback. I'm also very interested to see anything anyone else has worked on.

So this is for Exar Kun's amulet. I should start by saying this thing is exceedingly powerful so would at best be a one of a kind at best and should only turn up after a pretty major quest to find it. What I've come up with for this is based on the comic book stuff.

This would effectively be a beam weapon of pure dark side energy. It would have a medium range, critical rating of 3, have burn 2 as a special rule and have an encumbrance of one. It will also use ranged (light) for its skill check.

The real reason that anyone would want this artifact though is the damage. We see Exar Kun blast a hole through one of the more horrific dark side creations, so it's safe to assume that this amulet is pretty deadly. For this reason I'm thinking about setting the damage somewhere in the range of 30. Now that may seem pretty overpowered, but there are some pretty serious downsides to this weapon that I think balance it.

So the first disadvantage is the conflict for using the artifact. Simply wearing it adds 1 conflict to the user per session, and activating its attack adds an additional 4. This is based off the Bardottan Sphere adding 5 for use, and I figured obliterating someone with pure dark side energy is a little bit less sinister than literally stealing the soul out of a person.

The second setback is controlling the amulet. In the comic Exar Kun nearly lose control over the amulet on Yavin 4. So it's safe to say that considering he was arguably one of the most powerful Sith going that a player trying to use this would struggle as well. Activating it is easy enough, but every time an attack is made a formidable discipline check would have to be made. That may seem a bit high, but if this amulet has the equivalent firepower of a vehicle mounted weapon it makes sense it would be hard to control with one hand. Success means you roll ranged (light) as usual. Failure means that the player has lost control of the amulet and a force dice has to be rolled. White pip means that the player is able to direct the beam harmlessly or at least so it doesn't have a negative effect on their goals. Black pip is more down to the Gm's preference, it could hit a team mate, or have another negative effect on the situation.

There is also the issue of the injuries that the amulet causes. Exar Kun notices that the amulet burns his skin when he uses it, as quite a lot of sith artifacts seem to. Because of this, each time the amulet is fired would inflict one wound on the user. They would not feel pain, but the injury would still occur. The burns themselves would be permanent as well. The wounds can be removed as usual, but as they're inflicted by the dark side scars like that don't go away easily. Perhaps if a player gets mastery in heal or finds a second artifact, then they can be healed, but using the amulet puts them right back there.

I'd also say a character should also have a force rating of three to use it. Using the amulet is also meant to multiply a characters anger a bunch of times, but that's more of a cosmetic effect.

So yeah, looking for feedback or just general comments on the idea for this. Thanks in advance!

On the damage side, I think it should be a little different (having not read the comic). Wounds seem to represent being knocked about and bruised and beaten and burned, etc, but crits are the things that kill you. It sounds like effectively a ranged lightsaber, so why not go with breach and some vicious and much lower damage (though maybe still higher than lightsaber, especially if you add difficulty). 30 damage means you take almost any target out of the fight immediately, but pretty much never kill them. Could it be used frequently, or should slow firing be added? Suggest rather than two rolls (always try to avoid rolling twice when one will do in this game), that you just use Discipline rather than Ranged Light (or Ranged Light/Willpower rather than Agility), and maybe if it's damage is high that you add one difficulty dice, and maybe also upgrade, as the potential for disaster is always there. Maybe despair can always hit a team mate within medium range?

I like the idea of using breach and viscous, I'll add that into the stats and reduce the damage. Maybe 15-20 would work better as that's only a bit more powerful than a thermal detonator.

I think it would make sense to add breach 3 and viscous 4, but also slow firing 1 to represent it charging up.

I think you're right about trying to use only 1 roll, the reason I'd used both was the beam would still need to be aimed. I think it would make sense for it to still use discipline but to upgrade the check twice to represent the difficulty of wielding the amulet. Crit fail could be losing control as you said. Thanks for the advice!

Ok, so I came up with a few other artefact ideas and I figured I may as well share them here.

So as a big fan of the KOTOR and KOTOR II games I figured the triumvate could do with an artefact or two. I should say that these artifacts are what I'd described as cursed artifacts, because they may seem powerful at first glance, but they do more harm than good to a character. That seemed to be the general trend for the sith in the KOTOR II game so it seemed like a good thing to copy. Having said that they are still very powerful.

The first idea is Darth Nihlus's mask. This one seemed pretty straightforward to me. I liked the idea of the mask capturing a small fragment of his power, as well as his hunger. I was thinking that the mask would give the wearer give the user access to the harm force power tree. The mask would give the user 2 ranks in range, 2 ranks in magnitude, the tier 2 control as well as mastery in the skill. These powers can be built on in the usual way of spending XP, but these come free with the mask. Removing the mask removes these upgrades.

Of course though, there are catches to using this. Wearing the mask adds 2 conflict per session, and each use of it provides an additional 5 conflict. As well as this, wearing the mask removes 1 from your wound threshold per day it is worn. The only way to regain this loss in threshold is to use the masks powers to sap the force from a set number of victims. This is 5 times the number of points lost. So if 1 point of wound threshold is lost, you need to kill 5 people to regain it, 2 means killing 10 people etc. This is meant to represent the hunger that destroyed Nihlus. Cosmetically, letting the hunger consume the player would result in their body slowly beginning to disappear the same as Nihlus's did.

The second artefact I've finished is Darth Sion's glove (he didn't have a lot of stuff on him to really work with so I went with that). Again, this would represent the siths power, and the weakness of it. The gauntlet would effectively render the player wearing it unkillable. Other that something very permanent like falling into a volcano and the character will be able to get back up after an amount of time determined by the GM. It's a pretty straightforward power to be honest.

Again though, there is some serious issues with using it. Wearing the gauntlet gives you 1 conflict per session, and reanimating yourself adds an additional 7 (based on the harm mastery rules). The real kicker of this power however is that the effects of any critical injury after 'At the Brink' (so 'Crippled' and Upwards) become permanent. This means that the injury cannot be healed, and the player has to live with it as long as he has the glove. Additionally, any critical injury above 'Head Ringer' (so 'Fearsome Wound' and above) may have their effects removed as normal, but the critical wound counter is permanent while the player is in possession of the glove. This is mean to show how Sion ended up more and more battered over time, being held together by sheer willpower. This does mean that the player can die and carry on, but before too long his character is going to be severely hampered, and ic in a lot of agony. The only way this can be healed is by removing the glove. However if the character has died while wearing the glove, he will die for good when it is removed with no chance of saving themselves.

So I forgot where this thread was so hadn't posted for a while, but I think that I have a new artefact idea:

Kreia's Lightsabers: Like Darth Sion, Kreia or (Darth Traya, Lord of Betrayal) doesn't have a lot of items of not on her person. The exception to this is the three purple bladed lightsabers that she fights with. These would make up a three part artefact that I had the idea for. We see Mitra Surik and Kreia form a powerful force bond, where they feel each others pain and can also use the bond to help each other in difficult situations. I felt that this would be an interesting concept to play out.

First, the benefits of the artefact. One person who hold the lightsabers lets them add half of their force dice rounded up to the force check of the holder. If one of them has a higher force rating than the other they may also act as a mentor, reducing the cost of force powers.

We also see Kreia mention that the force bond could be lethal to one if the other dies, so another benefit I felt would be appropriate is that when one holder heals strain or wounds, the other also benefits. They receive half of the healing that the first does rounded up thanks to their bond. So if someone recovers 8 wounds, the second person recovers 4.

This artefact does have some drawbacks though. Just as you recover wounds when the other holder does, you also suffer half the injuries that they take. This represents the paint that Surik felt when Kreia lost her hand.

I also think that it would be an interesting feature for the same effects to apply to conflict. Again it would be half the conflict gained by one would also be given to the other. This would show the corruption of the darkside leaching across the force bond, and could lead to a dangerous spiral for the holders of the lightsaber.

Unlike the artefacts of Sion and Nihlus, the setback of the artifacts (not including the risks above) is more sublte and a lot more rp based. For the holders of the lightsabers to survive and make full use of the artefact, the holders have to make an active effort to work together and be in sync. Of one keeps running blindly into combat they'll get them both killed. If one keeps using the darkside as an easy way out will drag them both down that path.

There's also risk if the holders fall out. Traya is the lord of betrayal, and if one turns against the other it could be catastrophic for both. Adding the third lightsaber would only complicate things for them, and make it more risky to form these bonds.

My next plan now I've done artefacts for some sith is to look at doing some for some jedi, see what I can come up with.

As usual, feedback is very much appreciated! Also if anyone else has other ideas for relics etc, that'd be very interesting!

Revan's Mandolorian Mask.

Upgrades social checks with Mandos.

May add Force dice equal to rating to Knowledge Warfare checks.

If user is between 30 and 70 morality add 1 light and 1 dark pip to force rolls.

Just thinking while bored at work.

4 hours ago, SithArissa said:

Revan's Mandolorian Mask.

Upgrades social checks with Mandos.

May add Force dice equal to rating to Knowledge Warfare checks.

If user is between 30 and 70 morality add 1 light and 1 dark pip to force rolls.

Just thinking while bored at work.

Oh I see what we're doing.

@Rabobankrider despite having run a darkside campaign for years now. No one has ever found an item of the sort of level that you're describing so I have no idea! I'm excited by the concept.

If it was at my table...to find anything that powerful..or useful (not as you've written it just within the lore generally) would be a tall order and hard task. I imagine whatever they got out of it would be OP on purpose due to the immensely high risk involved with acquiring it.

However I imagine the artifacts of the sith to be like amplifiers or focusing items. I don't personally see it as a weapon in the way you do so it's damage scale, if i designed it, would have to do with your willpower or force rating. I like the setbacks and stuff you added though. Cool stuff.

So I'm running an Old Republic campaign right now and have introduced a few Force imbued objects into the plotline.

One is a mask that looks very much like Revan's as far as color scheme goes but has been revealed over time to be a Sith Lord's that was rivals or on unfriendly terms with Ajunta Paul. The mask alters shape to fit the wearer's face snugly and seems to not come off. Offers up visions of the past here and there as a way of communicating to the wearer.

The other object has been revealed to be the sword of Ajunta Paul. The item has a voice it projects to the wearer and requires a Hard (2 red, 1 purple) Discipline check to remove it from your person. The stats are custom and are essentially thus:

Damage: +3

Crit: 2

Skill: Melee (Lightsaber if Force Sensitive)

Features: When wielding this weapon, if you are non-Force Sensitive, you gain boost dice equal to your ranks in Melee to the attack. If you are Force Sensitive, instead of adding boost dice, you roll your Force Rating in the dice pool. You may spend Light points to add +1 damage each and dark points to add +2 damage each. Pierce 2, Vicious 1, Cortosis.

Both items cannot be held at the same time, due to the rivalry between the two Sith. If one should ever hold the sword, the mask would fall off or not adhere to their face.

I really like this topic. I very well might use the amulet of Exar Kun that Team Rabo Bank mentioned earlier- perhaps with some modification. I'm also playing with the idea of developing it's counterpart that was wielded by Ulic Qel-Droma but I need to think about this more first.

In my last campaign I created an artifact that was originally wielded by a night brother shaman but was stolen by our PC during a ceremony. Its main purpose was to draw out 'the sleeper' for ceremonial purposes but I also gave it a power that, when worn, it simply added a dark side pip to any force power check of the wearer. What I liked about this is that it was a continual pull to the dark side as it offered easy force pips but at a cost. In that campaign, the PC that wore it was sort of continually pulled to the dark side and was really more of an antihero. We think that after the campaign ended he may have went on to investigate the mysteries of the dark side...

@SithArissa I like what you're doing with Revan's Mask, nice take on it.

@Luahk , yeah, all the items I've come up with would be quest items or one offs. Plus some of the risks added will hopefully make them more interesting to use. I was thinking most items should probably have a force rating requirement to be used, sort of like protect/unleash.

@GroggyGolem , liking the mask idea, I imagine that would make for some very interesting narration and rp moments. I'm liking the sword as well, most artefacts I've been looking at was from the jedi civil war, so it's cool to see something from before that time.

@VadersMarchKazoo , I've also been thinking of working on that amulet, I'd be interested in seeing what you come up with! I was thinking of some kind of area attack for it. The shaman artefact is pretty good as well!

I'm currently thinking of doing an artefact for:

• Cay Quel-Droma (I'm thinking basing it around his cybernetic arm).
• Vodo-Siosk Baas (I do want to create his staff, it's not particularly fancy, but it could be pretty fun).
• Nomi Sunrider (Something to do with her cutting people off from the force, maybe a souped up version of suppress).
• Plo Koon (Not sure what yet, but he deserves something).

You might consider custom Force talents or power upgrades as well, stuff that can only be learned through gameplay and not at all by simply purchasing with xp.

@GroggyGolem , I would definitely like to try my hand at some custom powers, but I do suspect that it's going to be a lot harder to do than the artefacts. Having special force powers as rewards or quest items does seem pretty cool though and would probably be worth the effort. Ideally I'd like to throw the stuff that people are coming up with on here into a pdf or something for everyone to use as they see fit.

Ok, going to sort do a simple one to start with, Vodo-Siosk Baas's Quaterstaff:

I know that in the legends stuff the staff was destroyed upon his death, but this is for an rpg, and the gm and do what the **** they like. Maybe the staff was remade in honour of the masters death? Whatever works for the setting really. Maybe there's a quest for the players to actually find the shards and rebuild the staff.

Admittedly the staff isn't going to be as exciting as some of the other artefacts that we've seen really, but it can still be a very useful tool for the party, and has the potential to add a little bit of story to a campaign. Additionally, although it may not be as powerful as things like Exar Kuns gauntlet, it is still a pretty deadly weapon in the right hands.

So, the base stats for the staff would be pretty simple. Encumbrance 3, +2 to melee attacks and also has a defensive 1 for melee combat. On it's own it's pretty much just a staff used for walking.

However, master Vodo-Siosk Baas could imbue the staff with the force to increase the combat effectiveness. The user can commit a force dice to imbue the staff with 1 ranged deflect, disorientate 2 and cortosis quality. Baas's staff effectively replaced his use of a lightsaber, so I would say that it should also get breach 1 and sunder.

To represent Baas's mastery in weapon creation and as a jedi guardian, the user may commit a second force dice to gain access to the 'imbue item' talent.

The staff is handy because to anyone watching, it's just a normal staff. Not many opponents would see it as a real threat to them, so it'd be pretty easy to keep it on your person.

After all, you would not part an old man from his walking stick'.

When you commit the force dice to it during combat, it can hold up against a lightsaber quite nicely.

Not sure what else to do with this one at this moment, so as usual feedback will be appreciated!

2 hours ago, Rabobankrider said:

I know that in the legends stuff the staff was destroyed upon his death, but this is for an rpg, and the gm and do what the **** they like. Maybe the staff was remade in honour of the masters death? Whatever works for the setting really. Maybe there's a quest for the players to actually find the shards and rebuild the staff.

You mean, as GMs we can be Disney!?!?!?! ?

3 hours ago, Rabobankrider said:

So, the base stats for the staff would be pretty simple. Encumbrance 3, +2 to melee attacks and also has a defensive 1 for melee combat. On it's own it's pretty much just a staff used for walking.

It seems that the base stats could be modeled after the "training stick" in NoP. The description of the stick is very similar to Master Baas's staff. Base stats- Uses 'Lightsaber"; Dam : +1, Crit: 5, Accurate 1, Disorient 1, Stun Damage (defensive 1 isn't listed but I'm a little surprised)

I really like the Imbue for it to gain Cortosis and allow it to Reflect. I would allow this as a maneuver of course.

I was thinking more about Ulic Qel-Dromo's amulet. I think I would keep it simple. It has some narrative roles I'm my campaign but basically, it would give the wearer +1 force rating but would give the wearer 5 conflict when used. This is because when he wore it it magnified his anger by also made him feel more powerful. It would also add 1 conflict per session just for being carried. I like this because +1 force rating is rather tempting:)

@Varlie , as GM's we ARE Disney, who doesn't love a good power trip? ?

@VadersMarchKazoo , I did wonder about that, but I figured that the training stick had more of a sword feel, while the staffs primary function was to just help him get around in his old age. I do think though I'd use the crit 5 as it is just a stick in that form.

Sounds good for the force amulet so far, would you do anything with the lightning attack (if I'm remembering it right) that it gives off?

good topic @Rabobankrider I like this

@Luahk , I'm glad it's gotten some interest! Any ideas you want to add please feel free to.

I'm working on an idea for a sort of fan made splat book based around artefacts, relics etc. Just add that extra bit to force specific and old republic games.

Since my campaign is set in the era I've got dreams of eventually going to Yavin to face off with Kun's spirit. So This article was actually very fun for me to think upon.

@Luahk , glad to hear you like it!

I'm going to try and sort the Quel Droma idea this week, fingers crossed!

Ok, I've been going over ideas for Cay Quel-Droma's cybernetic arm, and I think I've got a pretty good idea for what might work:

It would use the same base stats as the repulsor fist in Special Modification for its base. After all it was just a droid arm he used to replace his own with. However that's not very exciting on its own, so I've got a couple of little bits to add to it. I was thinking of adding cortosis to the arm to make it more of an effective weapon on combat, but it was cut off in the comics so that didn't fit really. Of course if a gm want so say the arm was upgraded later with cortosis, that workds perfectly fine.

I was thinking however that with Cay's love of machines etc that some of this would have been embodied by his cybernetic when he died. For this reason, I was thinking that having the arm would upgrade all mechanic and computer checks by 1 rank, as well as providing the talents energy transfer and overcharge.

I know that at the moment this may be a good piece of tech, but it's not very artefact or relic like (fluff set aside). Because of this I was thinking that due to Kays love of machinery, the user of the arm can add 1 lightside pip to all manipulate force checks. I'm not sure if adding that with the other stuff is a bit much, but as it would (like the others) be a unique and/or quest item that it does sort of justify the extra stuff.

As usual let me know what you think, and I'll make a start on the next one!