"Dangerous"?

[Kristoffer O]

> Also why have so many of the unique artifacts got drawbacks?

Because I bought the rpg Powers and Perils sometimes in the 80's!

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OK, that was not entirely fair!

Named Items (unique artifacts) in that game came with a drawback. It could be anything from not being usable unless under certain circumstances to lethal effects like cunsuming the bearers will or life force.

In literature the same phenomenon is also not unheard of. The One Ring and Stormbringer are clearly not beneficial to the bearer.

All in all I find it fitting and fun, and it makes it more difficult to make an uber SC or something similar. I actually dislike powerful items without drawbacks. Too easy to make winner strategies that way. Less fun thematically. Less fun incidents with insane commanders

[Jazzepi]

I'm glad many of the powerful items have interesting drawbacks.

Jazzepi

[Kristoffer O]

We have a Winner!

[Meglobob]

Kristoffer O said:
> Also why have so many of the unique artifacts got drawbacks?

Because I bought the rpg Powers and Perils sometimes in the 80's!

No this is more than fair enough.

I bought book of traps 1,2 and 3. The next 2 entire groups of adventurers died in hideous fashion. I finally relised I was being too harsh, when in a constantly shifting maze, filled with trap, after trap the 3 remaining members of my adventuring party commited suicide rather than take another step.

I was then promptly sacked as gm for a year...and I only got the gig back after selling my books of traps at auction at a roleplaying convention...

[Kristoffer O]

Sounds like a fair sacking

But you should have kept the book (hidden).

[Meglobob]

Kristoffer O said:But you should have kept the book (hidden).

Nah thats no fun, one of my favourite tricks was to descibe the setting then pick up a book of traps and 'accidently' let a bit show above the GM shield, no traps there of course. Another was put a perfectly mundane item in a treasure hoard and leaf through, encyclopedia magica, whenever they examined that item.

[jutetrea]

I find it well worth its weight in gold (slaves). I just throw it on a throwaway summoned unit, not even a high MR special. It makes a banelord pretty brutal in and of itself. I'd equip it with generic items, nothing I'd be too afraid to lose. If you lose it, shrug. Maybe one of the enemy mages is now horrormarked. Or even one of their brutal SCs that will even be more nasty... for a limited time.

If you're lucky it goes away and you can rinse, repeat.

Its a tad annoying when the unit's insane at a critical juncture, but usually survivable.

Its definitely a fun toy, just don't get too attached to either the item or the unit.

[Saulot]

I'm a big fan of the old-school dnd methodology that KO is using, that great power comes at a price. As that flavor goes, most artifacts were designed to be used by a deity of one sort of another, and in anyone else's hands were too much for them.
Something to consider:
Perhaps in this vein pretenders or the demon lords may suffer less drawbacks from the artifact class items?

[Kristoffer O]

Hah, I see what you are trying to do! No way artifacts will have less drawbacks Especially not for the already great.

[PvK]

Drawbacks of the most powerful magic are one of my (many) favorite aspects of Dominions.

Gift of Kurgi I tend to use to launch horrors at enemies. I give it to someone disposable, and just try to get my blood's worth in horrors, which usually works out (i.e. torments my foes) nicely and economically.

I bought an evil traps book as a GM and would let my players know it, but I don't remember actually using anything from it, especially not the super-evil stuff. Not that I didn't have plenty of my own evil stuff - just in my own style. But reading the savage ideas I did find interesting and got me thinking of different kinds of possibilities.

PvK