Draft:Artifact
Artifacts are Omega's yellow & items: a separate category containing 24 kinds, from magical tools and holy symbols to the Orbs and Star Gem. They can unlock travel, supply major character improvements or advance quests, but several are dangerous even when uncursed. Most are used through Activate → artifact; a familiar shape such as a staff, helm or potion does not change that classification.[1][2]
Named weapons and artifacts
A special name does not make a weapon an artifact. Demonblade, Defender and Victrix belong to the weapon category and retain its grey ). The Orbs, Star Gem and the other items listed here belong to the artifact category.[3]
Uniqueness is a separate property. Demonblade and Defender can appear in ordinary random loot, whereas Victrix, Goblins' Hewer and the Scythe of Death are excluded from that route. Conversely, several artifacts can appear repeatedly in random loot. A restriction on random generation is not a guarantee that no second copy can exist: fixed possessions, rewards and transformations follow their own rules. For example, a newly generated high priest can carry another holy symbol.[4][5]
The distinction also changes how enchantment works. Named weapons use the weapon rules; artifacts instead restore a stripped magical power or produce a mana-storm backlash. They do not receive the normal increase in enchantment and charges.[6]
Artifact catalogue
In the source column, random means eligible for ordinary random-object generation, subject to the level filter described below. Random, once additionally means that ordinary generation stops producing that kind after its unique-generation state has been set. Special sources are separate from this random pool.[4]
Orbs
The five unused Orbs share the appearance Mysterious Orb. The four elemental lords do not carry their namesake Orbs in 0.90.4; the table gives their actual possessions. The Astral route reached through the Oracle places the lords and then the Elemental Master.[7]
| Artifact | Unidentified appearance | Sources | Principal use or risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orb of Mastery | Mysterious Orb | Elemental Master | With all four unused elemental Orbs, doubles the six maximum attributes and sets current attributes to those new maxima; also grants a wish and experience. See Using the Orbs. |
| Orb of Fire | Mysterious Orb | Random; Elemental Lord of Water | Firebolt spell knowledge, fire immunity and a firebolt attack; becomes a Burnt-out Orb. |
| Orb of Water | Mysterious Orb | Random; Elemental Lord of Fire | Disruption spell knowledge, poison immunity and a disruption attack; becomes a Burnt-out Orb. |
| Orb of Earth | Mysterious Orb | Random; Elemental Lord of Air | Disintegration spell knowledge, negative-energy immunity and a disintegration attack; becomes a Burnt-out Orb. |
| Orb of Air | Mysterious Orb | Random; Elemental Lord of Earth | Ball-lightning spell knowledge, electricity immunity, invisibility and a lightning-bolt attack; becomes a Burnt-out Orb. |
| Burnt-out Orb | Black Orb | Random; used Orb transformations | Harmful activation: erases known spells, drains levels and mana, and strips enchantments and many accessible item powers, including its own. It is not an empty, harmless container. |
The elemental benefits above require the matching activation answer. Each successful elemental activation also grants 10,000 experience. Orb effects and transformations are separate from ordinary artifact enchantment.[8]
Other artifacts
| Artifact | Unidentified appearance | Sources | Principal use or risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Ball | Glass Orb | Random | Detects monsters and objects and gives a hint; needs a known identity. A curse or failed Intelligence-and-level check causes amnesia. Cursed name: Ball of Mindlessness.[9] |
| Holy Hand-Grenade of Antioch | Metal Pineapple | Random; Guardian promotion in the Order of Paladins | One-use targeted destruction. Identify it, activate it, select a target and count to 3; unknown identity or an incorrect count can kill the user.[10] |
| Amulet of Yendor | Mystic Amulet | Random, once | Has no activation power.[11] |
| Kolwynia, the Key That Was Lost | Key | Carried by the Archmage while available | One use teaches all spells, doubles maximum Power and sets current Power to it, and grants 5,000 experience. Activating an unidentified Key kills the user.[12] |
| Potion of Death | Random potion container | Random, once | Activation kills the user directly; blessing does not make it beneficial.[13] |
| Staff of Enchantment | Scintillating Staff | Random, once | When identified, choose the white end for enchantment or black end for dispelling. Curse status changes those effects; unidentified use backfires with harmful dispelling.[14] |
| Helm of Teleportation | Strange Weightless Helm | Random, once | Activates teleportation; unidentified or cursed use takes the unsafe teleport branch. It is an artifact, not body armor.[15] |
| Potion of Life | Random potion container | Random, once | One use doubles maximum HP and heals to that new maximum.[16] |
| Juggernaut of Karnak | Crudely Carved Monolith | Random, once | One use clears a line through terrain and creatures. Unknown identity makes activation fatal; cancelling the direction after identified activation preserves it.[17] |
| Star Gem | Strangely Glowing Crystal | Prime Sorceror in the Circle's demesne, while available | Grants lasting illumination and transports the user to Star Peak. Used in the LawBringer and Circle routes; activation on an unavailable date makes it vanish.[18] |
| Sceptre of High Magic | Extremely Heavy Stick | Throne square in the Archmage's court, while available | Makes the throne usable and can open a portal to the court once per date. Throne rewards share that use marker; a declined portal or an attempt in the Astral Plane or Circle's demesne also spends that date's use.[19] |
| Amulet of the Planes | Octagonal Copper Amulet | Demon Emperor at HellWell Volcano, while available | Travel to a selected world destination. Requires at least 1 mana and removes up to 100; cannot escape the Astral Plane or Circle's demesne in normal play. A blocked or declined trip still spends the mana.[20] |
Names, appearances and initial random-generation eligibility come from the artifact definitions. Life and Death instead receive shuffled appearances from the same pool as ordinary potions.[1][21]
Holy symbols
Every religion has a distinct holy symbol. A symbol taken from a priest is not automatically authorized for the player, even when it represents the player's own patron. High-priest promotion converts the required offering into an identified, authorized symbol of the player's religion.[22]
| Artifact | Unidentified appearance | Priest and temple | Promotion offering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Symbol of Odin | Silver Gallows | High Priest of Odin; Temple of Odin | Used for Set or Druidism promotion; received after Odin promotion. |
| Holy Symbol of Set | Jet Scarab | High Priest of Set; Temple of Set | Used for Odin or Druidism promotion; received after Set promotion. |
| Holy Symbol of Athena | Gold Owl Pendant | High Priest of Athena; Temple of Athena | Used for Hecate or Druidism promotion; received after Athena promotion. |
| Holy Symbol of Hecate | Obsidian Crescent | High Priest of Hecate; Temple of Hecate | Used for Athena or Druidism promotion; received after Hecate promotion. |
| Holy Symbol of Druidism | Sprig of Mistletoe | Archdruid; Temple of Druidism | Received after Druidism promotion; is not itself the required offering. |
| Holy Symbol of Destiny | Blue Crystal Pendant | High Priest of Destiny; Temple of Destiny | Used for Destiny promotion and received in authorized form afterward. |
The symbols share an activation effect: an identified, authorized symbol of the current patron heals, cleanses and restores mana to at least the normal maximum. Reusing it in the same clock hour shatters it and leaves 1 HP. Activating an identified unauthorized symbol can destroy accessible possessions, drain mana and leave 1 HP; an unidentified symbol doing nothing does not establish safety. See Handling the symbol for the full conditions.[23]
Generation
The initial ordinary random pool contains 13 kinds: seven repeatable kinds and six kinds limited by unique-generation state. The remaining eleven start reserved for special sources. A Burnt-out Orb can be generated directly as well as produced by using another Orb. The Amulet of Yendor's lack of an activation power does not make it an unused definition.[4]
| Ordinary random availability | Kinds |
|---|---|
| Repeatable | Orbs of Fire, Water, Earth and Air; Burnt-out Orb; Crystal Ball; Holy Hand-Grenade of Antioch |
| Initially eligible, then blocked after ordinary generation | Amulet of Yendor; Potions of Death and Life; Staff of Enchantment; Helm of Teleportation; Juggernaut of Karnak |
| Initially excluded; use special sources | Orb of Mastery; Kolwynia; all six holy symbols; Star Gem; Sceptre of High Magic; Amulet of the Planes |
Each random-object attempt first selects a category, then a candidate. A candidate that fails the level or unique-generation checks restarts the whole attempt. Higher item levels are harder to obtain from a low-level source, but the level filter has a rare acceptance branch, so these are not absolute minimum dungeon depths. Monster random treasure additionally rejects non-common kinds, and Knight's Pawn Shop excludes every artifact from automatically generated stock. Fixed possessions and the Paladins' grenade reward bypass those random-pool restrictions.[24]
Normal acquirement cannot select the artifact category, even when blessed. A potion, staff or weapon choice does not reach an artifact merely because its name describes that shape.[25]
Identification and activation
Use identification before experimenting. A unique-looking appearance may let you infer an identity, but some powers explicitly check whether the particular item is known. Kolwynia, the Holy Hand-Grenade and the Juggernaut kill an uninformed user outright; Crystal Ball refuses to operate, and the Staff and Helm have adverse unidentified-use branches. Identifying an item does not remove its curse or make an unauthorized holy symbol safe.[26]
Press A, choose a for artifact, and select it from accessible inventory. An item stored only in the pack must first be moved to an accessible slot. Life and Death are activated this way despite their potion appearances; the ordinary drinking command rejects them. Cancellation at the activation or item-selection prompt skips the normal turn, but later prompts and failed effects have their own rules.[2][27]
There is no single artifact recharge or consumption rule. Life, Kolwynia and a successfully released Juggernaut are consumed; successful Orb use replaces the activated Orb with a Burnt-out Orb. Crystal Ball, Staff of Enchantment, Helm of Teleportation and holy symbols compare the current clock hour with their last-use marker, while the Sceptre and Star Gem compare the date. These hour checks are not elapsed-time timers: returning at the same hour on another date can still meet the old marker. Each hour-based marker is shared by copies of that kind; all six symbols share one marker.[28]
Using the Orbs
Keep all four elemental Orbs unused if you want the Orb of Mastery's combined reward. Carry one of each in inventory or the pack, activate Mastery and choose m for the mixed sequence. Mastery consumes the four elemental Orbs, doubles all six maximum attributes and sets current attributes to those values, grants a wish and 20,000 experience, then becomes a Burnt-out Orb. A wrong answer or a missing elemental Orb is fatal. Check the full set beforehand: a failed attempt can consume the Orbs found before the missing one.[29]
Individual elemental use instead requires f for Fire, w for Water, e for Earth or a for Air. It spends that Orb for its own benefit and leaves a Burnt-out Orb, so it competes with the Mastery route. Do not rely on the element of the guardian to identify the Orb. Before spending Mastery, consider the Duke's request at Rampart Castle: the final nobility promotion requires presenting the unused Orb, but lets you keep it afterward.[8][30]
Use a separated single Orb: burnout replaces the selected object with one Burnt-out Orb and can lose unused copies in the same stack. Mastery removes one of each material without granting their separate spells or immunities. Its full collection and quest sequence and each elemental page explain the tradeoff.[31]
Enchantment and disposal
A beneficial enchantment restores an artifact's stripped activation power when it differs from its normal power. If the power is already intact, the result is a mana storm rather than an upgrade. This does not turn a Burnt-out Orb back into an elemental Orb: burnout changes its identity, and the drain is its normal power.[6][8]
Avoid using destruction as a casual way to dispose of a dangerous artifact. A failed attempt to break one can inflict unavoidable damage equal to ten times its item level. Selling or leaving an unwanted object avoids that particular retaliation; preserve quest objects until you have resolved the relevant delivery or alternative use.[32]
The Sceptre and Star Gem start with a last-use date of 0. A new game's starting date is randomly selected, so a character starting on date 0 must wait for another date before first use: the Sceptre and throne give no benefit, while activating the Gem makes it vanish.[33]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 defs.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 673–685; defs.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 739–765; iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 388–434.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 command2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 73–128; item.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 639–657.
- ↑ iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 220–254; defs.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 673–685; iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 388–434.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 item.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 7–41; item.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 264–273; iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 220–254; iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 388–434.
- ↑ mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 543–551; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 611–615.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 effect1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 54–114.
- ↑ minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 297–305; lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 376–381; gen2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 412–433.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 369–569.
- ↑ iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 400; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 216–240.
- ↑ guild2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 782–799; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 242–290.
- ↑ iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 404; item.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 556–562; itemf1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 16–19.
- ↑ mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 563–570; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 611–615; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 292–308.
- ↑ itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 350–356.
- ↑ itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 310–330.
- ↑ iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 412; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 332–347; effect3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 503–534.
- ↑ itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 358–365.
- ↑ itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 111–173.
- ↑ env.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 195–218; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 49–91; inv.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 381–402; aux1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 399–435.
- ↑ env.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 260–268; lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 450–460; move.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 857–888; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 23–46.
- ↑ minit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 295; lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 376–381; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 8–20; effect3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 574–624.
- ↑ omega.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 437–455.
- ↑ mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 543–551; mon.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 611–615; priest.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 401–441; priest.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 476–502.
- ↑ iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, lines 416–426; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 176–212.
- ↑ item.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 7–41; lev.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 376–393; site1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 1043–1054; guild2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 782–799.
- ↑ effect1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 666–769.
- ↑ effect1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 494–547; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 111–347.
- ↑ command1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 105–107; inv.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 548–608.
- ↑ itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 23–59; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 111–240; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 292–365; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 395–547; omega.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 96–103.
- ↑ itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 509–547; inv.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 1631–1659.
- ↑ guild1.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 254–291.
- ↑ iinit.h in Omega 0.90.4, line 398; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 396–547; inv.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 1631–1659.
- ↑ command2.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 896–931.
- ↑ omega.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 118–120; omega.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 355–361; itemf3.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 23–59; move.c in Omega 0.90.4, lines 881–888.