ARTIFICER’S CODEX

RULES FOR CRAFTING PERMANENT MAGIC ITEMS

BY KRISTIAN SERRANO AND JENN SUTCLIFFE

This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Sav-
age Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permis-
sion. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.
This page inserted for easier double-sided printing.
 CREDITS MASTER ARTIFICER
Requirements: Heroic, Improved Artificer
Written and designed by Kristian Serrano and
Those who take their study of crafting artifacts to the
Jenn Sutcliffe
highest level are able to make major artifacts–perma-
nent magic items that are infused with one or more
Cover art by Forrest Imel
powers and are continuously active or usable. For
example, a wielder holding a major artifact with hav-
Some artwork © Cobalt Sages Creations, used with per-
oc imbued on it can blast enemies away repeatedly
mission. All rights reserved. Daniele Ariuolo.
at-will.

INTRODUCTION CRAFTING ARTIFACTS

Fantasy settings feature diverse ways of employing
Crafting minor and major artifacts demands much from
powers through items, be it the wave of a wand or the
an artificer in the form of time, money, and personal cost.
wearing of a protective amulet. It may be fitting in a
particular setting for certain magic items to be especially
powerful, even serving as an identifying possession of REQUIREMENTS
a particular character, a key part of an adventure, or a
For an artificer to have the ability to craft an artifact, she
thread in the lore. Temporary arcane devices are less
must have the Improved Artificer Edge to create minor
compelling in these cases, as their source of power must
artifacts or the Master Artificer Edge for major artifacts.
be continuously renewed.
She must also know the power she wishes to imbue.
This supplement expands on the Artificer Edge and
Arcane Devices in Savage Worlds to allow for crafting
permanent magic items. Addition- TIME
ally, items crafted with these
Crafting an artifact requires 1d8 hours per Rank of the
rules function identically to
power imbued. If an artifact has multiple powers, roll
minor and major artifacts
for the time spent for each power. Imbuing each power
as presented in the Savage
can be performed nonconsecutively.
Worlds Fantasy Compan-
ion.
While written with MONEY
fantasy settings in mind, these rules
The monetary cost of crafting a minor or major artifact is
can be adapted for other types of settings if the GM be-
equal to half its final market value (see Pricing Artifacts
lieves such items have a place in the game.
on page 2). This represents the cost of materials, compo-

NEW POWER EDGES

nents, or tools needed to create the item.

The Edges presented in this section enable artificers to

POWER POINTS
create permanent magic items, also known as minor and When imbuing a power, the artificer also must perma-
major artifacts. nently transfer a number of her own Power Points to the
item based on the type of artifact she’s trying to craft.
IMPROVED ARTIFICER
MINOR ARTIFACTS
Requirements: Veteran, Artificer For minor artifacts, the number of Power Points trans-
Once an artificer has mastered imbuing powers into ferred is determined by the artificer, as those Power
arcane devices, she can advance to crafting permanent Points serve as a pool the wielder uses to activate the
magic items with the Improved Artificer Edge. Artificers item. If imbuing multiple powers, the artificer must
with this Edge have the ability to make minor artifacts– transfer at least the minimum number of Power Points
items imbued with powers that can recharge their given required to activate each power at the time of imbuing
Power Points. that individual power.
Minor artifacts are particularly useful for equipping The same method for activating arcane devices (see Ar-
characters without the Artificer Edge, since unlike ar- cane Devices in Savage Worlds) applies to minor artifacts.
cane devices, these items can replenish Power Points Minor artifacts recharge at a rate of 5 Power Points per
without the need for an artificer to tinker with it. hour. If the artificer wishes for the minor artifact to ben-
efit from Rapid Recharge or Improved Rapid Recharge,

1
she must have those Edges. Bestowing either of these Example: Elana is an artificer attempting to make a “cir-
Edges upon an item increases its market value. clet of subjective stepping” as a minor artifact with both
wall walker (Novice) and teleport (Seasoned). She must
MAJOR ARTIFACTS roll 3d8 (1d8 for wall walker plus 2d8 for teleport) to
Major artifacts do not require Power Points to activate determine the number of hours spent on creating the item.
their powers, but crafting a major artifact requires an She spends 3 hours imbuing wall walker with 5 Power
investment of Power Points nonetheless. The amount of Points, but she’s interrupted before she can begin imbu-
Power Points required is based on the effect to be perma- ing teleport due to some obligations required of her. Later
nently imbued, including any modifiers and limitations in the week, when she finds some downtime, she spends
applied to the power. another 10 hours to imbue teleport and an additional 5
A “passive” major artifact, such as an invisibility cloak Power Points onto the circlet. She then completes the entire
that makes the wearer invisible when worn, has a per- process with an arcane skill roll–Success! Even though she
sistent effect unless it requires a trigger to activate, such drained some of her arcane energy, she still smiles proudly
as raising the hood of the cloak to become invisible. An as the circlet shimmers in her hands.
“active” major artifact requires an appropriate Skill roll
just as with Arcane Devices in the Savage Worlds core
rules.
PRICING ARTIFACTS
MARKET VALUE
ALTERNATIVE POWER POINT SOURCES To determine the market value of an artifact, add up the
costs associated with each feature outlined below. These
The requirement of spending Power Points to craft prices assume the artifacts exist in a world in which they
a magic item isn’t ideal for high-magic settings that are relatively known and common. GMs should adjust
feature magic item shops in highly populated cities prices based on the setting.
or towns.
ITEM COST
One option is to allow the use of the drain Power
Points power to gain extra Power Points and trans- Target Object Market Value
fer them into the item. Note that the description Artificer’s Arcane Skill $500 per die type
for drain Power Points only mentions draining from Imbued Power $1000 per Rank
others with an Arcane Background or arcane de- Minor Artifact $200 per Power Point
vices, but not minor or major artifacts.
Another consideration is to include a source of Rapid Recharge $1000
magical energy in your setting from which the ar-
tificer can draw Power Points. Examples of power Improved Rapid
$2000
Recharge
sources include crystal shards, magical ore, water
from a sacred fountain, or the blood of demons or $2000 per Power Point invested,
Major Artifact
dragons. If using a power source, a Critical Failure or $3000 with a Raise
on the arcane skill roll means the substance is ru-
ined or destroyed, and the Power Points are lost.
The nature of the power source in a particular
setting should be carefully considered. How rare is
WHERE’S MY +3 LONGSWORD?
the substance? Is there a power group controlling Flat bonus magical effects are common in many
the supply? Is it dangerous or costly to acquire tabletop roleplaying games. In Savage Worlds, flat
or use? As such, the availability and value of this bonuses can offer a significant boost as they in-
resource should be suitable for the setting. crease the minimum roll result.
For those who wish to include a flat bonus as
an option, below is a new modifier for boost/lower
COMPLETION Trait that offers an easy way to add a flat bonus to
your magic items.
At the end of the crafting time, the artificer must make • TRAIT BONUS/PENALTY (+2/+4): For +2
an arcane skill roll. With a successful roll, the artifact is points, a success instead adds or subtracts 1
created. If the item is a major artifact, a Raise bestows to rolls made by the designated Trait, or 2 with
any enhanced effect the power might have accordingly. a raise. For +4 points, the bonus or penalty is
On a failure, the artificer can recover her Power Points 2, or 3 with a raise.
as normal. On a Critical Failure, the item is destroyed
and the Power Points are permanently lost.