Artifact blast
An artifact may blast you for damage each time you touch it, even if wearing gloves. You will touch an artifact whenever you attempt to wish for, pick up, wield, wear, invoke, apply, or steal it. [1]
Intelligent Artifacts
Intelligent artifacts will blast you any time you do any of the above if:
- You are not of the artifact's special role (if any)
- You are of different alignment than the artifact
- You have negative alignment record
- You are in the form of something the artifact specially attacks.
If blasted by an intelligent artifact, you will take 4d10 damage (2d10 if you have magic resistance) and abuse your wisdom.
Additionally, if you are of the wrong class and fail one of the other conditions, the artifact will "evade your grasp", preventing you from using it. The primary effect of this is that you can only use another role's quest artifact if you are of the same alignment as the artifact.
Unintelligent Artifacts
Unintelligent artifacts may blast you any time you do any of the above if:
- You are of different alignment than the artifact (if artifact is aligned)
- You have negative alignment record (if artifact is aligned)
- You are in the form of something the artifact specially attacks.
There is a 1/4 chance the artifact will blast you, causing only 4d4 damage (2d4 if you have magic resistance) and abusing your wisdom.
Unintelligent artifacts never evade your grasp.
Although they are aligned, Orcrist and Sting will never blast non-orcs.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, the blast damage has been increased, making picking up artifacts even more dangerous. Intelligent artifacts do 8d10 damage (6d10 with magic resistance). Unintelligent artifacts do 8d6 damage (6d6 with magic resistance).
References
This page is based on a spoiler by Dylan O'Donnell. The original license is:
Redistribution, copying, and editing of these spoilers, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- The original contributors to any spoiler must continue to be credited.
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