Story artifacts, on the whole, provide players with the capacities they need in order for the story to take the shape and have the emphasis that the players and the game master want it to. They allow players to surmount obstacles which would be otherwise insurmountable or tedious and disruptive to the story. Giving the players a story artifact is a big deal that will have an important impact on what they can do - by contrast, giving the players a luxury artifact is no big deal and could happen frequently without major impacts on the direction of the story. There are five classes of story item: transportation, communication, convenience, keys, and mcguffin.
1 - Transportation
Transportation artifacts make it easier for players to travel from place to place. If your story involves players traveling between two very distant places, you may want to provide them with some magical means of expediting that travel in order to get them to the exciting parts of the adventure. However, if you want the challenge of the journey itself to be a big part of the adventure, don’t give them these artifacts, or alternatively give them less powerful versions of these artifacts built by you. Remember to change the specific details (the flavour and mechanics) of these items to suit your campaign - these are only examples.
FOLDING BOAT - This object appears as a small ornate wooden box. You can speak the command word “Keelhaul!” to have it transform into a rowboat with a pair of oars that can hold four persons comfortably. You can speak the command word “Ahoypolloi!” to have it transform into a 35m long schooner with two masts that can comfortably accommodate 15 persons on a sea voyage. Saying the command word again while the boat is unoccupied will cause it to transform back into a box.
PORTAL CHALK - These enchanted pieces of chalk are were invented by the red wizards of Thay, to make it easier to travel home quickly in cases of emergencies or after long expeditions. If you flick the chalk with your right index finger it magically resonates, moving to the nearest flat surface and drawing a magic circle that opens a portal to a specific location, which was designated at the time it was created as part of the ritual which created it (investigating the chalk for 5 minutes will reveal the location that it opens a portal to). The portal is a circle 3m wide, and it remains open for ten minutes, or until the person who activated the chalk by flicking it claps three times in quick succession (whichever comes first).
RING GATE - The ring gate is a set of two metal hoops, circular in diameter and 1m wide - one gold and one silver, both etched with mystic runes. Taking either hoop, pressing it to a surface, and speaking the command word “cardamom” causes it to stick to that surface, and it cannot be removed from that surface by non-magical means. When both hoops are affixed to a surface in this way, a portal between them opens, allowing a person entering one hoop to exit the other hoop. Once affixed, the gold hoop can be removed from the wall by speaking the command word “sesame”, and when the gold hoop is removed in this way the silver hoop disappears. The silver hoop reappears in its previous location when the gold hoop is affixed to a surface, or when someone holding the gold hoop speaks the command word “nutmeg”.
NAVIGATION ORB - This navigation orb allows its wielder to psychically command the movements of Fort Skygard, a flying castle perched on a magical cloud. The wielder knows where fort skyguard is, and can command it to move as they like with the following limitations: the castle can move up to 15km/h, can ascend as high at 1000m above the ground or sea below it, and drop as low as 200m above the ground below it. While holding the orb and standing beneath Fort Skyguard, its wielder can teleport themself along with anyone linking arms with them (up to 10 persons simultaneously) to the interior of Fort Skyguard by speaking the command word “Crescendo”, and while speaking the command word within Fort Skyguard the wielder can teleport in the same manner to a safe place directly below the fort. Fort Skyguard has four turrets with square bases, each one 10m on a side and 20m tall, with one turret on each corner. The turrets are connected to each other by stone walls that are each 50m long, creating an enclosed area. Exterior to the walls is cloud, which while magically capable of supporting the castle will not support creatures walking on it. The enclosed area has a courtyard with a stone floor, an extensive garden, a fountain, and a keep in the centre. The keep has a square base that is 25m on each side, and it has three floors with 5m high ceilings. Details of the fort not mentioned here can be filled in by the GM as they become relevant.
2 - Communication
Communication artifacts make it easier for the players to get information, or convey information to their allies. These items have two ordinary purposes in the story: first, they can allow the players to keep in contact with people without having to take a big detour in their travels to move to their location. If you feel like this kind of detour would be uninteresting, consider giving the players an item from here that obviates the need to make such a journey. Second, they can allow the players access to information that drives the story which they would otherwise have no access to. If your story requires the players to have knowledge of something which they would not otherwise find, consider giving them an item that gives them access to that information. Remember to change the specific details (the flavour and mechanics) of these artifacts to suit your campaign - these are only examples.
SCALE OF BAHAMUT - This holy relic, about the size of a heater shield, is a scale of the god Bahamut. When struck, it rings with divine music audible to ordinary folk within 10m and celestials within 10km. Once per day while holding the scale of Bahamut you may perform a holy ritual to commune with the god, asking one question which Bahamut will answer with “yes”, “no”, “unknown”, or “malformed question”, depending on what he thinks is fitting as a response. Note that Bahamut is not omniscient.
ROD OF THE PACT KEEPER - Each rod of the pact keeper serves as a badge of office for the servants of great demons and other such powerful otherworldly entities. While the rod is in your possession, the master that the rod is associated with can see through your eyes, hear through your ears, and telepathically communicate with you. You always sense when they are using any of these abilities. Once per day while holding this rod you may invoke the master’s power to perform a great deed somehow related to the abilities of the master. You can perform this great deed so long as it would normally cost 1 or 2 adventure points to perform, but you pay no adventure point cost for it.
SENDING STONES - Sending stones come in pairs, with each stone carved to match the other so the pairing is easily recognized. While you touch one stone, you can telepathically communicate with the bearer of the other stone. The message can travel any distance and even across planes of existence.
3 - Convenience
Convenience artifacts trivialize a problem that the players would otherwise face, such as the need to eat or the need to haul something large across a long distance. In some stories, these challenges can be interesting and fun, but if you or the players find these challenges uninteresting and would like the campaign to focus on other things, these items can solve those problems. Remember to change the specific details (the flavour and mechanics) of these artifacts to suit your campaign - these are only examples.
BAG OF HOLDING - This bag has an interior space considerably larger than its outside dimensions. The bag can hold up to 2000kg. The bag weighs 5kg, regardless of its contents. If the bag is turned inside out, its Contents spill forth, unharmed, but the bag must be put right before it can be used again. Breathing Creatures inside the bag can survive up to a number of minutes equal to 10 divided by the number of Creatures (minimum 1 minute), after which time they begin to suffocate.
CORNUCOPIA OF PLENTY - This cornucopia daily produces enough fine food to sustain a large group of adventurers. Once per day the wielder of the cornucopia may speak the command phrase “And so we shall feast!” and create 20kg of food and 20L of drink. The food can be of whatever kind or quality suits the person speaking the command phrase (within reason - it must be recognizably food. The exact limits of this are determined by the GM). The drink can be water, beer, or wine, or some combination of the the three kept separate. The food is produced on ceramic mugs and dishes created by the cornucopia, and the dishes along with any food left uneaten disappear six hours after the command word is spoken.
4 - Keys
These artifacts are “keys” that allow players to open particular “locks”. Rarely should these items be literal keys that fit into literal locks - rather they are items who’s only real utility is that they allow the players to get past some kind of barrier present in the story that would otherwise be impassable. Some stories are constructed such that they centre around players getting a particular “key” item. Some smaller parts of stories or dungeons likewise require the players to obtain such an item. Remember to change the specific details (the flavour and mechanics) of these artifacts to suit your campaign - these are only examples useful for illustrating how to construct new key items.
SCALE MAIL OF WATER BREATHING - This coat of scale mail shines as though it were made of mother of pearl. A person wearing this coat is able to breathe underwater. Some of the scales are removable without compromising the integrity of the coat as armour. If a scale is taken from this armour and remains within 1km of it, the person holding it is also capable of breathing underwater.
MANSHOON’S TUNING FORK - These forks were created to make collaboration between Manshoon and his underworld contacts easier, but they are the greatest point of vulnerability in his lair’s defence. While holding this tuning fork, you can perform a ritual which takes ten minutes to teleport yourself and anyone you are linking hands with in a chain (up to 10 creatures) to the demiplane of Manshoon the wizard, which is otherwise inaccessible.
DEMONHIDE CLOAK - This unsettling cloak is made of a demon’s hide, magically cured such that traces of the demon’s vital essence still remain within it. While wearing this cloak, you and any creature you designate within 10m of you is treated as a demon by magical effects. This allows you to pass through magical barriers which only demons would be capable of passing through, among other things.
MACE OF OVERFLOWING LIFE - This mace shines like platinum and glows faintly in the darkness. Its head is filled with a replenishing supply of holy water, which leaks from it at a slow but constant rate. This mace was crafted by smith-clerics of Lathander for the purpose of killing the demon lord Orcus. While the demon lord Orcus is within 100m of this weapon, he is not immune to weapons and other damaging effects as he otherwise would be.
CIRCLET OF MIND PROTECTION - This ruby-encrusted silver circlet emits a magical field that nullifies mind-controlling powers, such as those of Aazethoth the lich, who this circlet was built to protect from. While wearing this circlet, you and those creatures you designate within 30m of you are immune to magical effects which would control or influence your minds.
5 - McGuffin
These artifacts are, like keys, necessary for certain sorts of stories to work. McGuffins are incredibly powerful artifacts that are only useful for very specific purposes or contexts such that they do not provide any real utility to players in their adventures, but nevertheless they are desirable if for no other reason than to keep their terrible power out of the hands of others. Players don’t simply find McGuffins - they set out on quests in order to find them. Remember to change the specific details (the flavour and mechanics) of these artifacts to suit your campaign - these are only examples useful for illustrating how to construct new McGuffins.
THE PURPLE DRAGON CROWN OF OLD - In ancient days this crown was worn by Faerlthann Obarskyr, and whoever has the blood of Faerlthann Obarskyr flowing in their veins and wears this crown is the monarch of Cormyr. All creatures who see such a wearer and are not immune to being magically charmed must acknowledge this fact. If this crown fell into the hands of Cormyr’s enemies, it could spell the doom of the kingdom.
THORAX OF THE FASTING LOCUST - Long ago there was a horrible plague ravaging the sword coast. The wizard Cadgore sealed the wasting plague away into the body of a giant locust and split it into several pieces, of which this is one. When the pieces are recombined, the wasting plague will again be unleashed.
TARASQUE CONTROL GEM - This gem was taken from the brain of the tarasque - a horrible and neigh indestructible monster. The tarasque hibernates in the plane of Limbo having been banished to there in ancient times, awaiting orders from the control gem. A person who possesses this gem can order the tarasque to hibernate, rampage, or follow passively. All other commands are rejected. The gem can only be destroyed by placing it into the mouth of the tarasque which it controls.