Legendary Artifact

The Chromatic Nexus

Created and held by Jessica Laolu.
A bio-technological implant in Jessica's chest and right arm, the Chromatic Nexus pulses with iridescent, fractal patterns beneath her skin. When activated, it projects a holographic workspace from her fingertips. Its quantum core allows Jessica to manipulate matter and energy at the subatomic level, while crystalline light motes respond to her thoughts. This living laboratory bridges known science and eldritch technologies, transforming Jessica's body into a conduit for innovation beyond human comprehension. The Nexus doesn't just augment her abilities – it unlocks realms of possibility previously unimagined.

This capacity allows Jessica to excel at enhancing and improving devices with a perfect blend of cold logic and boundless enthusiasm. She instinctively understands the inner workings of machines, infusing them with innovative upgrades that push their capabilities beyond the ordinary or uses her own source to power them for short stints of time.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Device within arm's reach. Can be used on Alien technology. Cannot be used to improve Armor.

Lasts the next day. Your target receives 2 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +2 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice.

Upgraded weapons count as any material your opponent might be particularly vulnerable to. Upgraded Armor cannot be circumvented by called shots. Upgraded Devices do not run out of fuel or energy.

  • Upgrading Alien Devices does not add bonus dice to any rolls related to the Device’s passive or activated Effects.
  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used. The same is true for extra dice.
  • Extra dice from this Effect do not apply to Gift activation rolls.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

This 10 cm robotic spider is a top-tier investigator, capable of detecting aberrant and alien energies. It scans environments for any unusual activity, making it perfect for uncovering hidden information or tracking unknown entities. Its sharp vision and multi-functional sensors allow it to excel in finding critical evidence that others would miss. With its ability to crawl into tight spaces and quietly observe, this drone is an invaluable tool for reconnaissance and investigations.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 1 mile You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma. At the end of your investigation, roll Intellect + Science at Difficulty 6.

You learn the following information about the area:

  • You can locate the source of any Alien energy or the presence of any Alien effects on the area. Specific information about the function of these effects beyond their general type is not forthcoming.
  • You choose a specific type of event and receive a vision of the last time it occurred here.
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

At the heart of Jessica's research lies the revelation that crystalline light isn't merely an advanced concept in particle physics, but a manifestation of alien intelligence with its own will to form. Harnessing this phenomenon as a bridge, Jessica can merge alien genetic material with human physiology, yielding disturbing yet powerful biological enhancements. As she channels this ability, crystals of light proliferate across the room and patient, emanating an opalescent glow that shifts and writhes with impossible colors.

The process begins as luminescent crystal tendrils pierce the subject's skin, branching out like glowing veins beneath the surface. Affected areas undergo rapid, unsettling metamorphoses – limbs elongate unnaturally, extra eyes sprout in unexpected places, or skin becomes translucent, revealing pulsating, alien organs. Throughout the operation, the patient experiences intense fever and vivid hallucinations, a harrowing ordeal that subsides after several hours.

These alterations bestow superhuman abilities, with the enhanced flesh eventually conforming to the patient's original shape. However, occasional quivers and the development of colored geometric patterns betray the struggle of alien matter to maintain its new form within the human host. While temporary, the process leaves behind residual changes: faint, glowing skin patterns and fleeting flashes of inhuman perception serve as constant reminders of the tenuous veil between humanity and the cosmic unknown.

Exert your Mind and spend 30 minutes. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. Your target must make a Trauma roll to reap the benefits of this Effect. They may choose to Resist the Effect and not make the roll. The target can easily Resist.

You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Trauma and can have exactly one of the following Effects:

  • Specialized: You receive +3 dice to a particular non-combat, non-Effect Action.
  • Environmental Adaptation: You do not suffer harm from heat, cold, pressure, or lack of oxygen in a particular environment, provided that challenge normally exists in that environment.
  • Implanted Tool: You have access to the functionality of some common Device at all times. The selected Device can be no larger than a backpack.
  • Armor: You have 3 Armor at all times. As always, Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
  • Pouch: Part of your body functions as a hidden pocket. It can hold no more than a backpack.
  • Zippy: Your Free Movement is increased by 15 feet.
  • Maws and Claws: Your unarmed attacks do +3 Weapon Damage instead of -1.

By transplanting a body part from an Alien being, you can grant an intrinsic Effect from that part to the subject. Its power level should be limited to one Gift Point or less.

The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see your flesh ripple and split open, revealing a pulsating lattice of crystalline light intertwined with writhing, alien tissue.

  • The systems for any Powers or Effects granted by splicing from other creatures are subject to Playgroup Leader approval and may be adjusted from their NPC counterparts.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • Remember: A Contractor’s Body rating is reduced by 1 for each Battle Scar after their fourth.
  • You may not augment targets with pouches or implanted devices that are larger than they are.
  • Targets without Body ratings may have a maximum of 4 augmentations.
  • Example environments for adaptation: space, all saltwater, all fresh water, all water under 50 feet deep, all water deeper than 50 feet, the jungle, radioactive areas, a specific alien world, etc.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Crystal Architect allows Jessica to conjure intricate structures of Pink and Blue Sapphire Crystal Glass. These ethereal creations, despite their delicate appearance, possess the strength of reinforced concrete. As Jessica weaves her crystalline designs, the surrounding area becomes bathed in an eldritch, prismatic glow. The light shifts in impossible hues, casting unsettling shadows that seem to move of their own accord.

The conjured crystals gleam with an otherworldly polish, their geometrical faces precisely cut like the finest jewelry. Yet, there's an underlying wrongness to their beauty – angles that shouldn't exist, reflections that don't match reality. Observers often report a sense of vertigo and unease, as if the very fabric of space is being warped by these crystalline manifestations.

Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a Location within arm's reach.

Select one of the following alterations to create out of Pink and Blue Sapphire Crystal Glass originating at the target:

  • Dome: Create a dome or other simple, enclosed structure made of Pink and Blue Sapphire Crystal Glass up to 40 feet in radius, 24 feet high, and 24 inches thick.
  • Sculpt: Sculpt a surface made of Pink and Blue Sapphire Crystal Glass up to 80 feet by 80 feet. You may make aesthetic changes or minor functional improvements like a ladder or stairs. You may sculpt windows, doors, and similar alterations into structures you created with this Effect.

The alteration begins to form when you activate this Effect and finishes forming on your initiative in the next Round. Until it finishes forming, it is not guaranteed to function.

This alteration lasts indefinitely but may be prematurely destroyed or altered. Your alterations may be broken through with appropriate tools. Anyone attempting to break through must roll Brawn + a relevant Ability. A cumulative Outcome of 12 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.

After activating this Effect, you may maintain Concentration for 3 Rounds to reinforce your alteration. If you do, it becomes as sturdy as concrete and just as difficult to break.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see reality fracture as impossibly perfect glass structures erupt from nothingness, their facets reflecting kaleidoscopic shards of crystalline madness.

  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • Attempting to break any alterations with inappropriate tools may damage or destroy the tools at the GM's discretion.
  • Any structures you create leave precise gaps for obstacles in their path or push them out of the way. You cannot directly destroy objects or structures or damage beings by creating walls or domes.
  • Tool guidance for GMs:
    • Difficulty 9: Brawn 5, no tools.
    • Difficulty 7-8: One-handed tools or makeshift tools (like a sword). Mythic Brawn without tools.
    • Difficulty 6: Appropriate manual tools. Crowbar, sledgehammer, armor-shredding attacks.
    • Difficulty 4-5: Power tools, vehicles, explosives.
  • This Effect produces the substance you are controlling unless it is drawn from the environment via “Required Environment” Drawbacks.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.
Print / PDF
Learn about Gen-Wyld - Hide fake ads

Community Artifacts

Automatic Defense Turret Kit

Created and held by Bob Hope.
A small drawstring bag containing the materials for a Automatic Defense Turret

This Advanced Remote Drone Artificial Kit can provide the materials and know-how to create a very advanced, shoulder-mounted turret.

Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: Assemble a turret from parts. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.

Summon a single Tiny Shoulder-Mounted Turret at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most 1 minion active at a time.

  • Attacking: Minions can make ranged attacks at targets up to 30 feet away with 5 dice to attack and +1 Damage.
  • Body: Minions have 4 Body.
  • Movement: Minions cannot move.
  • Intelligence: Minions have dog-level intelligence, and cannot communicate back to you. They cannot actively use Equipment.
  • Actions: Minions cannot dodge or Defend. Any Perception checks they make are rolled with 3 dice.

You may only use this Effect once per day.

Spear of the Hunter

Created and held by Wolf.
Currently Destroyed.
a spear made of bone, covered in Feathers and Teeth

Hunter's spear

1

Soul Splinter

Created and held by Damian Wyatt.
A beautiful shortsword made of the amalgamation of magic and life, with a titanium carbide blade that has a silver sheen across the blade with many intricate designs that are constantly changing shape and moving around the blade, with a slim crossguard designed for the protection of the user's hand, a form fitting handle made of a leather with rubber in-lining to diminish the force that returns, and a small gemstone-like object within the sword's pommel. My name is written on it somewhere probably, the name keeps moving so I can never be too sure. it is also a very modular blade with...

The bracelet on my wrist transforms into the blade in a slithering, almost wet manner, denoting from the sword's gimmick of it being alive. Once it has rested on my hand, it relaxes into shape, the shape being of a short sword with a crossguard, a small crystal in the pommel of the blade and with a simple silver glint on the actual blade.

My first-ever attempt at artifice, it is a simple sword with nothing too special about it besides its ability to condense in size.... Except for a few things:
• The ever changing formless handle that changes size and shape depending on the way I need to grip it, sometimes the blade grows long or shorter depending on how many hands are holding it.
• the small crystal on the pommel. It is in fact not for decoration but it is a small exposed part of the sword's true form, one that can sense my life force and can draw itself back to me within a certain range.
• a side of the sword that is sharpening and serrated, purely designed with the intention of tearing through armour that can't be cut in one go.
• the blue essence inside the blade's fuller. It is actually more of my life force that has been conjoined with the blade permanently hence why it works best with me, though I don't deny the idea that if it were taken in my death that it'd be willing to accept anyone else as its master.
• and finally, in its bracelet form, it has a single magical crystal, I suppose it's for keeping the blade in that form unless needed.

This Artifact can be used as a sword / axe. It is roughly the same size as a sword / axe but can be collapsed into a bracelet and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.

Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +5 Weapon Damage. The target's fully effective

This item is a living thing. When targeted, it counts as a Living Creature in addition to its other target types. If destroyed or abandoned for more than two days, it dies and becomes unusable.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Mjolnir: You may call your weapon back to your hand as a Quick Action if it is within 50 feet of you. Can only be used on melee weapon that you have wielded in the past hour.
  • Shredder: If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. This penalty lasts until the armor is repaired.

  • If there is not enough free space to expand the object, it cannot be expanded. You cannot expand this Object as an attack.
  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used.

The Gavel

Created and held by Terra Abaddon.
A sawn off shotgun dawned with iron studs and glowing orange seams cracked into it.

Terra's shotgun forged from the firearms of some of the most evil to have lived fires pellets of darkness soundlessly into their target that ignite in rage and punishment upon impact burning into the skin painfully

This Artifact can be used as a Shotgun. It is roughly the same size as a Shotgun and just as difficult to conceal.

Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal 2 Weapon Damage +3 Bonus Damage. The target's Armor is reduced to 1/2, rounded up against this damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Silencer: Shots you fire can be made silent at will.

Memories of an Old Lover

Created and held by Doc Henry Holliday.
A golden locket with only a picture, meaning nothing to most, but to me it fuels my power.

When I grab my locket, the injuries of one person are transferred to another.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select two Sapient targets within arm's reach. If a target does not consent to the transfer, you must roll dexterity + athletics at Difficulty 6 to use the effect on them. They can resist by rolling either Body or Mind at Difficulty 6, depending on what you are attempting to transfer to them.

You may choose one each of as many things as you like from the following to transfer between your two targets:

  • A single Injury and any Battle Scars it caused
This Effect cannot be used again for the next hour.

Possession of this Artifact causes the following Battle Scar to manifest over the course of a day: Blisters on the hand where it was grabbed. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next day.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Stock Legendary Artifacts

The Axe of Legend

This electric guitar has one edge sharpened into a deadly blade. It can be used as either sort of axe.

This Artifact can be used as a sword / axe. It is roughly the same size as a sword / axe and just as difficult to conceal.

Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Mjolnir: You may call your weapon back to your hand as a Quick Action if it is within 50 feet of you. Can only be used on melee weapon that you have wielded in the past hour.
  • Shredder: If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. For material armor, this penalty lasts until it is repaired. For intrinsic armor, it lasts until the end of Combat and any relevant wound is healed.

  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used.

The Scepter of Ang-Kapal

Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach with at least half its skeletal structure remaining. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma.

Your target rises as an Animate being. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They cannot communicate. They will follow any command you speak.

The creature lasts for eight hours or until it dies again. It is revived at full health. Any Injuries it had in life are not accounted for when determining its penalties or progression towards re-death, though they may affect its ability to perform certain actions at GM's discretion.

Raised creatures have their Abilities set to the same that they were in life. Their Charisma and Intellect are set to 1, but their Dexterity, Brawn and Perception are the same as they had in life. A raised creature cannot use any Effects.

Destroying one of your zombies requires a called shot to the head or heart. All other Injuries zombies suffer result in Battle Scars only, limiting their mobility and effectiveness in other ways.

Your revived targets deal 2 Weapon Damage with their unarmed attacks.

If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.

  • The called shot requires 4 Outcome dealing 4+ Damage or 6 Outcome dealing 2+ Damage.
  • The sacrificial Injury received from activating this Effect cannot be prevented by any means or healed before 1 day has passed. It is shared with all Effects that use sacrifice. This Injury does not requires Stabilization or cause Battle Scars when it becomes Severe.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

The Bug-out Bag

No hiker would bat an eye if they saw someone wearing this 80 liter backpacking pack in the backcountry. Those who look closer find it's made of a curious mix of modern materials and what appears to be rawhide stitching.

This Artifact holds 5 times what it normally could inside of it. Objects stored inside are weightless.

Living things can be stored in this Artifact. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the Artifact in the process.

If this Artifact is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.

When scanned or investigated without opening, the contents of this container appear normal and unremarkable.

If anyone other than you opens the container, it appears empty. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents.

  • A container of holding cannot be placed inside another created by the same Gift.
  • There is no cost to use this container.

This Artifact cannot be broken. If this Artifact is lost and in no one else’s possession, it finds its way back to its true owner during the next Downtime.

By default, the creator of this Artifact is its true owner. The true owner may formally bequeath this Artifact onto another person within arm’s reach, after which they are its true owner. If the true owner dies or is destroyed, their ownership ends. If this Artifact has no true owner, anyone may spend one day attuning to it to become its true owner.

This Artifact's true owner is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.

  • "Cannot be broken" means that damage cannot render the Artifact's Effects unusable, nor can it cease to be used for its primary mundane purpose, if it has one.

The Bug-out Bag

No hiker would bat an eye if they saw someone wearing this 80 liter backpacking pack in the backcountry. Those who look closer find it's made of a curious mix of modern materials and what appears to be rawhide stitching.

This Artifact holds 5 times what it normally could inside of it. Objects stored inside are weightless.

Living things can be stored in this Artifact. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the Artifact in the process.

If this Artifact is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.

When scanned or investigated without opening, the contents of this container appear normal and unremarkable.

If anyone other than you opens the container, it appears empty. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents.

  • A container of holding cannot be placed inside another created by the same Gift.
  • There is no cost to use this container.

This Artifact cannot be broken. If this Artifact is lost and in no one else’s possession, it finds its way back to its true owner during the next Downtime.

By default, the creator of this Artifact is its true owner. The true owner may formally bequeath this Artifact onto another person within arm’s reach, after which they are its true owner. If the true owner dies or is destroyed, their ownership ends. If this Artifact has no true owner, anyone may spend one day attuning to it to become its true owner.

This Artifact's true owner is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.

  • "Cannot be broken" means that damage cannot render the Artifact's Effects unusable, nor can it cease to be used for its primary mundane purpose, if it has one.

Recharging Sheild

You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You have 6 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.

Your Armor cannot be destroyed, and it always provides a minimum of 2 Armor regardless of any Armor shredding or penetration. It cannot be circumvented with Called Shots. When shredded, it returns to full potency in one hour.

Any time your Armor prevents Damage, your Armor rating is temporarily decreased by 2. Whenever it goes five Rounds without preventing any Damage, it is restored back to its full value.

  • Armor recharging happens automatically and does not require an Action.
  • This Effect’s Armor rating cannot be increased by any other Effects.