Artifacts of the Guild
Writer(s): Emmet Byrne (project lead) and several others (50+, see the tags at the bottom of this article for a full list)
Publisher: DMs Guild
Cost: $9.99
Product Length: 92 pages
Available Format(s): PDF and/or Hardcover
Artifacts of the Guild wastes no time getting the reader to the good stuff. At page 4—counting the cover, foreword, and table of contents—you’re already reading the first entry. Good on them! These entries continue all the way through to page 83. Pages 84 through 89 are tables for the same items by rarity as well as inserted into random item tables. And, finally, on pages 90 and 91 we get the credits. There you have it. Over 93% of the book is devoted to the magic items and most of that (76 pages) is detailed information on each one ranging from common and mundane to a potentially campaign-breaking artifact (it depends on whether you run a high magic campaign or not…I don’t mean to suggest the items themselves are unbalanced).
In the foreword, Terry Herc announces the creators’ mission:
We hope this book stirs your imagination, delights your players, and inspires your campaigns. We also hope some of the silly ones get a good laugh too!
It is my opinion that the creators accomplished their mission. There are some silly ones (a box of chocolates that restores 1 hit point each, for example) that invoke a chuckle or two. Every entry is well-written and the book is largely free of spelling and grammar errors. The production value is high. One weakness in a project like this is when you start introducing a lot of different art sources. There is a disparity between what you’ll find for free from a site like Pixabay and the stock art from DriveThruRPG you pay for. By and large, it all looks consistent. But occasionally you happen upon something that just feels a little incongruous.
Otherwise, it satisfies my lust for more magic items and you cannot ever have too much loot to consider.
Pros
- professional layout and design
- TONS of content to inspire you, delight you, and certainly make you laugh
Cons
- inconsistent art which is almost a non-issue since not every item gets its own art anyway
