Artifacts:

Artifacts are extremely powerful. Rather than merely another form of magic equipment, they are the sorts of legendary relics that whole campaigns can be based on. Each could be the center of a whole set of adventures—a quest to recover it, a fight against a opponent wielding it, a mission to cause its destruction, and so on.

Artifacts can not be created; the method to create them are unknown. Artifacts can not be suppressed by dispel magic or antimagic field. In addition, each artifact can only be destroyed in one way, unique to that artifact.

These are a few sample artifacts; GM's are encouraged to invent their own.

The Cloak of Might:

The Cloak of Might grants its wearer immense magical power. The wearer gets the following magical effects:

-The wearer gets a +6 enhancement bonus to Int, Wis and Cha (+3 if the wearer is not epic).
-The wearer is under the effect of Arcane Power at all times.
-The cloak acts as a +10 Grimore/Icon (+5 if the wearer is not epic).
-The wearer gets an extra spell slot of each level they have a spell slot for.

To destroy the Cloak of Might, it must be worn for 1 year by a character of at least level 21 who has no spellcasting abilities at all; even 1 rank in Arcana or Religion counts as spellcasting abilities. After this year is up, the cloak degrades into dust.

The Blade of Light:

The Blade of Light is a very powerful blade for good. The blade is a +10 longsword. However, the holder of the blade also gets the effect of the feat Divine Pledge; if they already have Divine Pledge, they can declare a smite attack once per minute instead.

However, these effects only work in the hands of a good aligned character. When wielded by an evil character, the blade is a -5 longsword (i.e. attack and damage rolls with the sword suffer a -5 penalty). For characters who are neither good nor evil, the blade is just a longsword made of magic materials.

To destroy the Blade of Light, it must be used to injure a good aligned god/goddess. If this is done, it turns into the Blade of Doom (see below). If the blade is used to injure both a good aligned god/goddess and an evil god/goddess in the same round, the blade degrades into dust.

The Blade of Doom:

The Blade of Doom is a very powerful blade for evil. The blade is a +10 longsword. However, the holder of the blade also gets the effect of the feat Divine Pledge (special evil version); if they already have the special evil version of Divine Pledge, they can declare a smite attack once per minute instead.

However, these effects only work in the hands of an evil character. When wielded by an good aligned character, the blade is a -5 longsword (i.e. attack and damage rolls with the sword suffer a -5 penalty). For characters who are neither good nor evil, the blade is just a longsword made of magic materials.

To destroy the Blade of Doom, it must be used to injure an evil aligned god/goddess. If this is done, it turns into the Blade of Light (see above). If the blade is used to injure both a good aligned god/goddess and an evil god/goddess in the same round, the blade degrades into dust.

Deck of Fate:

The Deck of Fate is a powerful force for chaos. The holder of the deck can, as a free action, declare a number of cards to draw. That many cards draw themselves from the deck and take effect. After the final card is drawn and resolved, all cards are returned to the deck and the deck teleports away to a random location on a random plane.

There are 21 cards in the deck. Their effects are as follows:

* Ace of Clubs: The character drawing the card gains exactly enough XP to advance to the next level.
* Ace of Diamonds: The character drawing the cards gains 20,000 gp in gems.
* Ace of Hearts: The character drawing the cards may choose 1 character to bring back to life.
* Ace of Spades: The character drawing the cards dies instantly. All remaining draws are lost.
* King of Clubs: The character drawing the cards may choose any one question to learn the answer to. The answer learned will be correct.
* King of Diamonds: The character drawing the cards gains ownership of a small castle. They are teleported to this castle.
* King of Hearts: The character drawing the cards has their Constitution score increased by 2.
* King of Spades: The character drawing the cards is teleported to a random location on another plane. They are unable to leave that plane for one year.
* Queen of Spades: The character drawing the cards has their Agility score increased by 2.
* Queen of Diamonds: The character drawing the cards gains a +5 weapon of their choosing.
* Queen of Hearts: The character drawing the cards has their Strength score increased by 2.
* Queen of Spades: The character drawing the cards gains exactly enough XP to advance to the next level; they must take this level in Commoner.
* Jack of Clubs: The character drawing the cards learns their fate for the next year. The actions of those aware of this prediction can subvert it.
* Jack of Diamonds: The character drawing the cards gains the loyalty and services of a small army (500 level 3 fighters and 5 level 5 fighters). This army is teleported to the character.
* Jack of Hearts: The character drawing the cards has their Dexterity score increased by 2.
* Jack of Spades: The character drawing the cards has their most valuable object destroyed.
* Ten of Clubs: The character drawing the cards gains the feat of their choosing as a bonus feat (they must qualify for the chosen feat.
* Ten of Diamonds: The character drawing the cards gains a +5 armor of their choosing.
* Ten of Hearts: The character drawing the cards is automatically resurrected (as Raise Dead 5th level) the next time they would die within 1 year; this cancels the effect of the Ace of Spades if it is drawn later.
* Ten of Spades: The character drawing the cards must draw two more cards then they declared.
* Joker: The character drawing the cards may either create the effect of the spell Wish 3 times (as an 8th level spell, ignoring all material components) or destroy the deck of fate; if they destroy the deck, any remaining draws are lost.

The only way to destroy the deck of fate is using the Joker card.