Dungeon Master's Guide

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Property
76-80 When you become attuned -o: e artifact, one
of your ability scores is reduced ':>Y 2 at random.
A greater restoration spel restores he ability to
normal.
81-85 Each time you become attuned to the artifact,
you age 3d10 years. You must succeed on a DC 10
Constitution saving throw or die from the shock. If
you die, you are instantly tra nsfo rm ed into a wight
(see the Monster Manual ) under the OM 's control
that is sworn to protect the artifact.
86-90 While attuned to the artifact, you lose the ability to
speak.
91 - 95 While attuned to the artifact, you have vulnerability
to all damage.
96-00 When you become attuned to the artifact, there is
a 10 percent chance that you attract the attention
of a god that sends an avatar to wrest the artifact
from you. The avatar has the same alignment as its
creator and the statistics of an empyrean (see the
Monster Manual). Once it obtains the artifact, the
avatar vanishes.
DESTROYING ARTIFACTS
An artifact must be destroyed in some special way.
Otherwise, it is impervious to damage.
Each artifact has a weakness by which its creation
can be undone. Learning this weakness might require
extensive research or the successful completion of a
quest. The DM decides how a particular artifact can be
destroyed. Some suggestions are provided here:
The artifact must be melted down in the volcano,
forge, or crucible in which it was created.
The artifact must be dropped into the River Styx.
The artifact must be swallowed and digested by the
tarrasque or some other ancient creature.
The artifact must be bathed in the blood of a god
or an angel.
The artifact must be struck and shattered by a special
weapon crafted for that purpose.
The artifact must be pulverized between the titanic
gears of Mechanus.
The artifact must be returned to its creator, who can
destroy it by touch.
the blazing heart of a great volcano. With the aid of
:\1oradin, the dwarven god of creation, he first crafted
four great tools: the Brutal Pick, the Earthheart Forge,
the Anvil of Songs, and the Shaping Hammer. With
them, he forged the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords.
Armed with the artifact, the prince returned to the
dwarf clans and brought peace. His axe ended grudges
and answered slights. The clans became allies, and
they threw back their enemies and enjoyed an era
of prosperity. This young dwarf is remembered as
the First King. When he became old, he passed the
weapon, which had become his badge of office, to his
heir. The rightful inheritors passed the axe on for many
generations.
Later, in a dark era marked by treachery and
wickedness, the axe was lost in a bloody civil war
fomented by greed for its power and the status it
bestowed. Centuries later, the dwarves still search for
the axe, and many adventurers have made careers of
chasing after rumors and plundering old vaults to find it.
Magic Weapon. The Axe of the Dwarvish Lords is
a magic weapon that grants a +3 bonus to attack and
damage rolls made with it. The axe also functions as a
belt of dwarvenkind, a dwarven thrower, and a sword of
sharpness.
Random Properties. The axe has the following
randomly determined properties:
2 minor beneficial properties
1 major beneficial property
• 2 minor detrimental properties
SAMPLE ARTIFACTS
The artifacts presented here have appeared in one or
more of D&D worlds. Use them as guides when creating
your own artifacts, or modify them as you see fit.
AxE OF T H E D WARVISH LORDS
Weapon (battleaxe), artifact (requires attunement)
eeing the peril his people faced, a young dwarf prince
came to believe that his people needed something to
unite them. Thus, he set out to forge a weapon that
would be such a symbol.
Venturing deep under the mountains, deeper than
any dwarf had ever delved, the young prince came to
Axe oF THE
DwARviSH LoRDS