Artifact Campaign Fluff

Factions

=The Destined=
	The Good Guys

The descendants or spiritual successors of mythological and historical heroes, it is their duty to amass the artefacts in preparation for the prophesied rise of darkness, led by Merlin. With training, they can come to truly match and even surpass their ancestors in ability.

=The Agency of Supernatural Affairs=
	The Men In Black

A technically defunct secret branch of the US government, a clerical error means they continue to receive funding after being technically shut down in the 70s. They've made a few breakthroughs recently, and continue to operate out of sheer inertia and the crazed determination of their leader, Lance Stryker. They are fairly well trained, and have access to some impressive weapons. They have currently made it their mission to gather the artefacts for the US government in a bid for legitimacy.

=The Black Alliance=
	The Evil League of Evil

Led by the prodigal inventress and dark wizard, Elizabeth Takahashi and Alex Stone, the Black Alliance seeks to use the artefacts for personal gain, with an ultimate goal of world domination. An equal opportunity hiring policy with regards to genetic freaks and magic outcasts combined with a liberal application of mad science and black magic make them a formidable force even without artefacts or the intelligence not to name themselves the Black Alliance.

The Rules of the Game

When the ownership of a discovered, non-owned artifact is contested, all claimants enter into a Contest for it. All entrants must use the same amount of artifacts, as decided by the claimant with the fewest to his name. If all claimants have the same number of artifacts, this defaults to 1, but can be increased by unanimous consent.

The nature of the Contest is chosen either by the first claimant to the artifact or, if the claims were simultaneous, by the first to suggest a Contest. However, all other claimants must agree to the nature of the Contest, and may offer caveats and twists to the suggestion. Once it is decided, any claimant who did not choose the nature of the contest may elect to offer a Wager match; the winner of the Contest takes both the contested artifact and all artifacts wagered, with each claimant offering an equal number of artifacts for wager. This offer must be agreed to by all claimants.

Once an artifact has been won in a Contest, it is owned by its winner and cannot be used by any failed claimant unless they win it in another Contest, are given it, or take it when it is left unattended.

An Artifact is any object claimed by the Game; generally, they are unique items of some importance, and often are already magical. If they are not, they are granted powers when brought into the Game, and if they are, their powers are brought in line with the other Artifacts. While all Artifacts become indestructible upon entering the Game, there are many lost to all; the blade Excalibur, for instance, rests with Arthur Pendragon in Avalon, and none have managed the return journey. Many Artifacts are currently without ownership, having been hidden or safekept so that their next owner is truly worthy, but others have been passed on or unwittingly sold or otherwise ended up in the hands of a current owner, whether they know of its true nature or not.