I used to love those Rube Goldberg flow-charts for understanding technological artifacts as presented in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and 1-2 ed Gamma World. I want something of that flavour for deciphering the weird remnants of the pre-Burn civilizations of Athas. I actually considered drawing up my own charts, but that seemed to be taking things a bit too far. Here's my first draft for Artifacts. If my hypothetical readers find it too harsh, too easy, or too pointless, let me know :
The various pre-Collapse civilizations left many relics behind. Athas is littered with the detritus of the past. One might say that these artifacts range from the mundane to the wondrous except that even something as relatively mundane as a stainless steel dagger is a wonder in a world where most weapons are made from stone and bone. Despite the frequency of finding such items, very few know how to use any whose purpose is not obvious (such as a dagger). Any attempt to decipher an artifact is potentially rewarding, but always difficult and sometimes dangerous. When a character attempts to understand an artifact, he must make an INT Save. Most artifacts have a difficulty of Very Difficult (-4) but can range much higher.
If the Save roll is
The various pre-Collapse civilizations left many relics behind. Athas is littered with the detritus of the past. One might say that these artifacts range from the mundane to the wondrous except that even something as relatively mundane as a stainless steel dagger is a wonder in a world where most weapons are made from stone and bone. Despite the frequency of finding such items, very few know how to use any whose purpose is not obvious (such as a dagger). Any attempt to decipher an artifact is potentially rewarding, but always difficult and sometimes dangerous. When a character attempts to understand an artifact, he must make an INT Save. Most artifacts have a difficulty of Very Difficult (-4) but can range much higher.
If the Save roll is
- 15+: Artifact purpose and function is deciphered in (20-Roll) rounds.
- 11-14: Artifact purpose and function is deciphered in (20-Roll) hours.
- 7-10: Artifact purpose or function is deciphered, but not both. May attempt to decipher again after one day of further study with a +3 to the next roll.
- 3-6: Artifact remains a mystery and something bad happens: a weapon discharges upon user or companion, an important piece breaks, etc. May attempt to decipher again after one week of further study.
- 2-: Artifact forever remains a mystery and something bad happens: artifact broken, a companion is vaporized, etc.
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