Artifacts (sage study)

Artifacts is a sage study in the field of Legends & Folklore which provides knowledge of magical items that possess a unique existence, with accumulated knowledge offering the various details of each item. Knowledge of one item does not necessarily extend to any other item — but through research and inquiry the character may begin to amass the sufficient tools necessary to employ an artifact safely.

The study does not provide certain knowledge or identification of ordinary magic items, since such items are not famous and thus depicted as images, are not inscribed with recognizable runes and are in fact quite common things. To understand this, consider that knowledge of great art does not provide detailed information about the work of amateur artists working locally.

However, the inherent knowledge here does give some understanding of what is not an artifact, as detailed below.

Note that there are hundreds of artifacts in the world — it would not be possible for a single individual to have complete knowledge of every one. At the same time, there are certain artifacts that possess such great fame that every knowledgeable person would likely recognize (by name at least). For the purpose of this study, however, the knowledge of any particular artifact will be considered unrelated to the fame of the item. The presence of useless, inaccurate information about famous items will tend to level the playing field with items that are generally unknown and therefore lacking in falsehoods about their nature.

Sage Abilities

The sage abilities below are those acquired by a character through the study, according to status.

Amateur Status

• Identify Artifact: determines if a given object is or is not a magical artifact.

• Studied Artifacts: a list of artifacts about which the character possesses knowledge.

• Item Significance: reveals details regarding the use of unusual items and the culture of their manufacture.

Authority Status

• Interpret Artifact: enables a full investigation of an artifact to learn its powers and malevolent effects.

• Trace Artifact: directs paths of research and reliable decision-making in determining the accurate location of a given artifact.

Expert Status

• Locate Hoard: reveals the probable location of a hidden cache, based upon evidence gained from walking over nearby ground.

Sage Status

• Rectify Artifact: enables the removal of an artifact's malevolent effect.

See Also,
Artifacts (list)
Cleric Sage Abilities
Illusionist Sage Abilities
Mage Sage Abilities