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Author Topic: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons  (Read 14083 times)

Boksi

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #30 on: December 26, 2011, 12:02:05 am »

If you're still looking for actual mythological names, I'll give you a couple of them:

Durandal/Durendal: The sword of the paladin Roland. Utterly indestructable.
Lævateinn: Sword from Norse Mythology.
Tyrfing: Another Norse Mythos sword. It never misses a stroke, will never rust and cuts through metal and stone as easily as cloth, but is cursed to kill a man whenever it is drawn and to be the cause for three great evils.
Gram: The sword Siegfried/Sigurðr used to slay Fáfnir.
The Lance of Longinus: Longinus was the centurion assigned to stabbing Jesus with a spear to make sure he was dead, so this is a spear that killed a god, at least metaphorically.
Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Found in the body of the Yamata no Orochi, it can control the wind.
The Sampo: From Finnish mythology, it is never stated what it is, but it can produce both salt and gold, and presumably much more.
Arondight: Sword of Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round Table. That's about it.
Spear of Lugh/Areadbhar: From Irish mythology, it is a living spear that moves on its own and has a near-insatiable lust for blood and battle. It basically had to be kept sedated between battles.
Sword of Light/Claíomh Solais: Another Irish thing, it's a sword that shines like a torch. Once drawn, no-one could escape or resist it.
Cauldron of Dagda: Since I've mentioned half of the jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann, let's continue. The Cauldron of Dagda is bottomless and never ran out of food.
Stone of Destiny/Lia Fáil: When the rightful king of Ireland puts its foot upon it, it will roar out. It can also rejuvenate said king.
Other stuff that involved Jesus: The cross, the nails in said cross, the holy grail, the shroud of Turin, the crown of thorns, I can't be arsed to describe any more stuff.

Anyway, I need to go to sleep now. Hopefully this will help.
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EveryZig

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #31 on: December 26, 2011, 01:13:41 am »

An idea that might or might not fit with the time effects in the universe:
The Eye of Fates
An indestructible crown that allows the wearer to see up to five seconds ahead in their most probable (before changes from use of the Eye) future. This is useful because the Eye more specifically allows the user to constantly and precisely know that future without being distracted by it, and if the user changes their actions based on that knowledge, the Eye instantly updates its predictions based on the wearer's new plans.
For example, in a sword fight the wearer would be able to see their opponent's counters to their planned attacks, and change their plans until they find an outcome that works to their advantage.
This advantage tends to cause a sense of invulnerability that leads its wearers into situations they cannot escape through any short-term plan.


Another idea:
The Edgeblade
A metal handle (like a sword handle, but with no hand guard or pommel) connected at one end to about four meters of perfectly straight wire that is thin to the point of being practically invisible. The wire is completely indestructible (as is the handle), completely inflexible, and able to easily cut through most mundane materials (helped by how the wire is thinner than the edge of a normal sword blade).
The main advantage is that it cleaves a huge (for a melee weapon) swathe of destruction in front of it.
The main disadvantage is that it always does so, as the Edgeblade does not come with a scabbard, and a four meter line of cutting can be quite inconvenient in, say, crowded streets or buildings.
The near-invisibility of the wire is also both an advantage and a disadvantage, as it is harder for enemies to defend against, but it is also difficult to tell exactly where the blade is pointed. And there is also the fact that the handle is completely symmetric apart from the wire, so it is extremely difficult to tell by looking which end is the cutting end.
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Montague

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #32 on: December 26, 2011, 03:49:21 am »

I'm pretty sure you have enough mythical swords, but here's one anyway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulfiqar
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Ehndras

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #33 on: December 26, 2011, 10:39:37 am »

Also, its a great idea but the whole space station in the middle of the universe thing would be totally ripping off... What was it... Was it Dead Space? Not sure. Some console-based modern space adventure/action game or other. Something about an ancient group of aliens culling all mortal beings every few millenia by having their technology and entire civilizations revolve around the station, I believe. Then they teleport in and destroy everything, then go back to sleep until the next batch of aliens populate the station.

I make a point of not using ideas similar or alike that of other Scifi games/books, I try really hard to make sure my ideas are as original as possible. :)
You're thinking of Mass Effect, in which an ancient race known as the Reapers created the Mass Relays to force future space-faring civilizations to follow predictable technology patterns.Damn you, Pyro :P

My idea is slightly different: the space station offers no technological incentives or secrets, it's just a giant indestructible thing. People fight wars over it because who wouldn't want a giant indestructible thing for their warships to rest at? It doesn't have star-destroying lasers or anything like that.

But hey, it's your novel and you should do what you want. I shall endeavor to come up with a different idea.

Ah yes! Mass Effect. :) Sorry, I haven't touched my consoles or 3D games in ages so I have trouble remembering names. I stick to writing and simple games like Elona, DF and SS13 these days. I've never played that game, anyway, Pyro mentioned it when I discussed the Undying idea I came up with in another RP called Worldforge. Looks damn good though, if I ever can afford a good computer I'm definitely getting Mass Effect.


Aye, I have a species called the Undying which are cybernetic remnants of a Swarm attack. When the Swarm attacked their world, they defended it rather than let it fall quickly as every other world had. With their highly-advanced technology they were able to contain significant portions of the Swarm and hold them at bay. Gradually the pillars of their civilization were quite literally eaten away by the Swarm, each territory falling in succession. The last territory, called Cybrax, bid its time and infused its population with cybernetic augments to improve their chances to survive. Unfortunately, one of their greatest technological minds was in a neighboring province when the invasion began... A genius cyberneticist called Khamora had embarked on a mission to research the Swarm when they first arrived, in order to help his people protect themselves against the new threat. Somehow this man managed to capture samples of the Swarm on which to experiment. He discovered that the Swarm were biological insectoids capable of replicating themselves via a strange nanite stream within their blood. It is rumored that he injected himself with the highly-volatile Swarm nanites in hope that he could somehow turn them away from his people... After that, the Swarm attacked him in a frenzy before the entire Cybraxian army, his screams heard across the mountains. All assumed he had been consumed, but he appeared sometime later - apparently in control of the Swarm! His organic shell had been torn to shreds in many places, showing the mechanical components once hidden beneath the flesh. Angered by what he enigmatically called "the betrayal of divine perfection at the hands of the sacred machine, our blasphemous people have failed to embrace the final stage of our evolution... There can be no other way. ", he laid siege to the few provinces not yet destroyed by the Swarm. When the Swarm had nearly depleted the last of their planet's resources and only Cybrax stood still, the Cybraxian people gathered all the power they could muster and launched their remaining starships into the darkness of space. Since then, comparable to that one nomad fleet race from Mass Effect, they've traveled the stars as nomads. Their people's technology is still far beyond that of any living species, and they survive through their technological work as well as serving the function of mercenaries. It is not uncommon to hear of Cybraxian smiths, mechanics, tinkerers and engineers here and there. Their people do not speak of their past, but remember it in a series of rituals. Though they still worship the Sacred Machine, the embodiment of necessary Force and timelessness, they are always reminded of the dangers of too much power - of too much machine in one's body, in one's life. No modern civilization knows even the name of their people... For they are the Undying, and they are One. </insert Borg joke here>
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Itnetlolor

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #34 on: December 26, 2011, 01:21:07 pm »

I've had a number of artifact weapons and so forth I've used in my uni-/multi-/meta-verse (a side project I once worked on) for a good amount of time.

One series of pistols (usually only comes as a 2-of-a-kind (dual-wieldable) per-version/edition) holds a quantum magazine storage unit (standard magazines allow 12-24-odd shots, these allow 24,000(,000)+ shots without reloading) and a aim-assisting auto-tracker-like control unit to ensure accurate shooting which operates at a psychic level with it's operator to make sure the intended target is knocked down or killed (also depending on the intent of the operator as well, whether they want to kill or not). They also had the option to equip magical runes on them so you can have electric, corrosive, incendiary, freezing, singularity, and etc. types of bullets (as many as there are augmentable magical spells; haste rounds were especially nasty since they travel at 5x+ muzzle velocity upon exit; a sniper pistol essentially. This thing shoots through schools.). This gun was essentially broken when it came to duels to the point that wielding such a device would be outlawed due to unfairness in combat. Quantum duplication also allowed it to duplicate rounds and turn the pistol into a shotgun; combine that with haste rounds (and the bottomless magazines), and nothing will exist in a few shots. Did I forget to mention that there's also an option to allow a slow/stop rune augment to be attached to absorb impact from firing rendering it to virtually not have any recoil every shot? Toss in a megaton rune, and you've got a cannon for a pistol that won't destroy your hand upon firing. The many rune slots allow for secondary-superpowering to render other attacks more useful/survivable to the operator.

This was just one (type of) weapon among many. I have a few ilustrations of how the gun series looks even.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2011, 01:31:07 pm by Itnetlolor »
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Ehndras

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #35 on: December 26, 2011, 02:17:13 pm »

I've had a number of artifact weapons and so forth I've used in my uni-/multi-/meta-verse (a side project I once worked on) for a good amount of time.

One series of pistols (usually only comes as a 2-of-a-kind (dual-wieldable) per-version/edition) holds a quantum magazine storage unit (standard magazines allow 12-24-odd shots, these allow 24,000(,000)+ shots without reloading) and a aim-assisting auto-tracker-like control unit to ensure accurate shooting which operates at a psychic level with it's operator to make sure the intended target is knocked down or killed (also depending on the intent of the operator as well, whether they want to kill or not). They also had the option to equip magical runes on them so you can have electric, corrosive, incendiary, freezing, singularity, and etc. types of bullets (as many as there are augmentable magical spells; haste rounds were especially nasty since they travel at 5x+ muzzle velocity upon exit; a sniper pistol essentially. This thing shoots through schools.). This gun was essentially broken when it came to duels to the point that wielding such a device would be outlawed due to unfairness in combat. Quantum duplication also allowed it to duplicate rounds and turn the pistol into a shotgun; combine that with haste rounds (and the bottomless magazines), and nothing will exist in a few shots. Did I forget to mention that there's also an option to allow a slow/stop rune augment to be attached to absorb impact from firing rendering it to virtually not have any recoil every shot? Toss in a megaton rune, and you've got a cannon for a pistol that won't destroy your hand upon firing. The many rune slots allow for secondary-superpowering to render other attacks more useful/survivable to the operator.

This was just one (type of) weapon among many. I have a few ilustrations of how the gun series looks even.

That is WAAAAAAAAY overpowered for my story, lmao. The most I'd do is include it as one of the many artifacts I'll have mentioned in historic accounts. :) I'd go for a downgraded version though, haha. The way I do it is to add multiple effects to artifacts to contrast them and make things more... Real. Every artifact has benevolent and malevolent effects. :) Since my game/nove lis carefully balanced, I need to make sure every single artifacts has a subtle balancing mechanism otherwise my players will be too strong too fast, or my story will be plain stupid.

:) Not really worrying about that yet hehe, I can add effects later. I was just working on some new Primordials, aka the immortal beings tha govern the multiverse and the source of the artifacts of mention.

For example...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
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Jopax

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #36 on: December 26, 2011, 02:53:31 pm »

Slightly generic, but I've had this idea banging around my skull for a long while now.

A weapon, bladed, not sure about the name, a rather large arrow with a big metal ring on one end. Made of obsidian, or something similar, rather dense, weighing in at several tons.

Except, there is a twist, anyone who wields it determines it's mass, as long as they are touching it, or are in some sort of connection with it (a rope or a chain). So you have this very very heavy cutty slicey thing that acts as though it has no weight as long as it's held by that ring, let go of it and say goodbye to that building it just dropped onto.
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Vector

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #37 on: December 26, 2011, 06:24:48 pm »

a. Creative projects

b. I enter the Nyoi-bo.
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MonkeyHead

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #38 on: December 26, 2011, 06:28:19 pm »

Vector

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #39 on: December 26, 2011, 06:38:05 pm »

Miyatomo Musashi's Bokken...

I reccomend reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyamoto_Musashi#Duel_with_Sasaki_Kojir.C5.8D

Shit, this one too.  That story was told multiple times in my kendo dojo.
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"The question of the usefulness of poetry arises only in periods of its decline, while in periods of its flowering, no one doubts its total uselessness." - Boris Pasternak

nonbinary/genderfluid/genderqueer renegade mathematician and mafia subforum limpet. please avoid quoting me.

pronouns: prefer neutral ones, others are fine. height: 5'3".

Zrk2

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #40 on: December 26, 2011, 11:46:04 pm »

Callandor/Choedan Kal if you want some literary references.
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PyroDesu

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #41 on: December 26, 2011, 11:46:12 pm »

Also, its a great idea but the whole space station in the middle of the universe thing would be totally ripping off... What was it... Was it Dead Space? Not sure. Some console-based modern space adventure/action game or other. Something about an ancient group of aliens culling all mortal beings every few millenia by having their technology and entire civilizations revolve around the station, I believe. Then they teleport in and destroy everything, then go back to sleep until the next batch of aliens populate the station.

I make a point of not using ideas similar or alike that of other Scifi games/books, I try really hard to make sure my ideas are as original as possible. :)
You're thinking of Mass Effect, in which an ancient race known as the Reapers created the Mass Relays to force future space-faring civilizations to follow predictable technology patterns.Damn you, Pyro :P

My idea is slightly different: the space station offers no technological incentives or secrets, it's just a giant indestructible thing. People fight wars over it because who wouldn't want a giant indestructible thing for their warships to rest at? It doesn't have star-destroying lasers or anything like that.

But hey, it's your novel and you should do what you want. I shall endeavor to come up with a different idea.

Ah yes! Mass Effect. :) Sorry, I haven't touched my consoles or 3D games in ages so I have trouble remembering names. I stick to writing and simple games like Elona, DF and SS13 these days. I've never played that game, anyway, Pyro mentioned it when I discussed the Undying idea I came up with in another RP called Worldforge. Looks damn good though, if I ever can afford a good computer I'm definitely getting Mass Effect.


Aye, I have a species called the Undying which are cybernetic remnants of a Swarm attack. When the Swarm attacked their world, they defended it rather than let it fall quickly as every other world had. With their highly-advanced technology they were able to contain significant portions of the Swarm and hold them at bay. Gradually the pillars of their civilization were quite literally eaten away by the Swarm, each territory falling in succession. The last territory, called Cybrax, bid its time and infused its population with cybernetic augments to improve their chances to survive. Unfortunately, one of their greatest technological minds was in a neighboring province when the invasion began... A genius cyberneticist called Khamora had embarked on a mission to research the Swarm when they first arrived, in order to help his people protect themselves against the new threat. Somehow this man managed to capture samples of the Swarm on which to experiment. He discovered that the Swarm were biological insectoids capable of replicating themselves via a strange nanite stream within their blood. It is rumored that he injected himself with the highly-volatile Swarm nanites in hope that he could somehow turn them away from his people... After that, the Swarm attacked him in a frenzy before the entire Cybraxian army, his screams heard across the mountains. All assumed he had been consumed, but he appeared sometime later - apparently in control of the Swarm! His organic shell had been torn to shreds in many places, showing the mechanical components once hidden beneath the flesh. Angered by what he enigmatically called "the betrayal of divine perfection at the hands of the sacred machine, our blasphemous people have failed to embrace the final stage of our evolution... There can be no other way. ", he laid siege to the few provinces not yet destroyed by the Swarm. When the Swarm had nearly depleted the last of their planet's resources and only Cybrax stood still, the Cybraxian people gathered all the power they could muster and launched their remaining starships into the darkness of space. Since then, comparable to that one nomad fleet race from Mass Effect, they've traveled the stars as nomads. Their people's technology is still far beyond that of any living species, and they survive through their technological work as well as serving the function of mercenaries. It is not uncommon to hear of Cybraxian smiths, mechanics, tinkerers and engineers here and there. Their people do not speak of their past, but remember it in a series of rituals. Though they still worship the Sacred Machine, the embodiment of necessary Force and timelessness, they are always reminded of the dangers of too much power - of too much machine in one's body, in one's life. No modern civilization knows even the name of their people... For they are the Undying, and they are One. </insert Borg joke here>


*Sigh*

The Quarian Migrant Fleet is the one from Mass Effect, and they were not you basis/infusion, your basis/infusion into the Undying from me was me telling you of the Forever from Ayreon.

Yes, I'm a stickler for this kind of thing.

Also, another Artifact Idea (or two):

An obsidian fragment, with a barely-visible glyph on it that, no matter what test is run on it, a machine will say that it does not exist. It has no mass, no heat, no radiation, nothing. Yet it exists, you can touch it. It does, however, exist in multiple places, and each one is... connected. Place your hand on one, and you get a view from inside another. But it also works in reverse, and other owners of such stones may already know how to use them...

A hexagonal emerald inlaid into a pentagonal diamond, all inlaid into a circular sapphire about an inch in diameter. When worn, will activate a small shield that disintegrates anything that enters it, if a high-speed object approaches it. Downside is, the dust that's all that's left of the object still has the same inertia!
« Last Edit: December 26, 2011, 11:49:29 pm by PyroDesu »
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alway

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #42 on: December 27, 2011, 12:01:41 am »

Something with effects similar to the ascension machines from SG-1 may work as an artifact; though not necessarily with the ascension bit. Short description of the effects: it gives you knowledge and/or powers/intellect which increase dramatically over time, but culminate with the user's certain or near certain death a while later (typically a few days in the case of the series, though they managed to use plot shields to avoid death). Condition may only be cured through things like other mega-artifacts or GM deus-ex-machinas, so it gives PCs and NPCs a lot of pause before daring to tinker with it.

All sorts of plots could emerge from such a device. On the small scale, tragic accidental use causing the death of an individual. On the large scale, a planet-wide society whose peaceful culture surpasses that of any other, protected by a small self-sacrificing warrior caste who gain nearly godlike abilities through use of the device before going into battle, crushing their foes, and dieing from the effects of the device shortly after.
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PyroDesu

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #43 on: December 27, 2011, 12:43:48 am »

Something with effects similar to the ascension machines from SG-1 may work as an artifact; though not necessarily with the ascension bit. Short description of the effects: it gives you knowledge and/or powers/intellect which increase dramatically over time, but culminate with the user's certain or near certain death a while later (typically a few days in the case of the series, though they managed to use plot shields to avoid death). Condition may only be cured through things like other mega-artifacts or GM deus-ex-machinas, so it gives PCs and NPCs a lot of pause before daring to tinker with it.

All sorts of plots could emerge from such a device. On the small scale, tragic accidental use causing the death of an individual. On the large scale, a planet-wide society whose peaceful culture surpasses that of any other, protected by a small self-sacrificing warrior caste who gain nearly godlike abilities through use of the device before going into battle, crushing their foes, and dieing from the effects of the device shortly after.

Not the device Rodney McKay got hit by? Oh great...
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Vector

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Re: Mythical Artifacts & Weapons
« Reply #44 on: December 27, 2011, 01:02:32 am »

Honeybug, I think you can be nicer than that >:I
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"The question of the usefulness of poetry arises only in periods of its decline, while in periods of its flowering, no one doubts its total uselessness." - Boris Pasternak

nonbinary/genderfluid/genderqueer renegade mathematician and mafia subforum limpet. please avoid quoting me.

pronouns: prefer neutral ones, others are fine. height: 5'3".
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