40d:Legendary artifact

Dwarves in strange moods will create legendary artifacts: unique, "named" items which are of unsurpassable quality (and usually cost). An artifact is the ultimate expression of a dwarf's desires, fears, memories and hopes in art form, and each dwarf will produce only one in their lives (or die trying). Dwarves that create an artifact are always granted the status of legendary unless they were possessed.

Dwarves drop artifacts in the workshop or in an appropriate stockpile as soon as they are made. They can then be used just like other items. However, be warned that when a dwarf equips an artifact item (as a weapon or armour) he will never drop it, and may even carry around several artifact weapons in each hand^{v0.27.176.38c}. Of course, you might not see a champion swordsdwarf wielding eight artifact adamantine scimitars at once as a bad thing.

Artifacts cannot be destroyed unless lost in a chasm or dropped to the magma. They can be stolen by marauding parties; an artifact lost to you will have a note to that effect in the Artifacts screen(press l).

Construction

Dwarves will use anywhere from one to ten items in their construction. If you view (q) the workshop a dwarf has seized while the dwarf is in it, you can see what materials he or she plans to use (see strange moods for further details).

Workshops which normally require fuel (Forge, Glass furnace) do not require and will not use fuel to make an artifact at that shop. Magma versions which lose power, however, will immediately cause the moody dwarves mood to end (with disastrous consequences).

Usage

Currently, some artifacts can be used just like all other items, except that it cannot be traded to caravans. Artifacts of types which can be built (furniture, animal traps, chains, etc...) can be built as normal. Object types which are used for storage in stockpiles (bins, barrels) will be used by your dwarves without regard to their status.

Object types which require a dwarf to wear or use the item will generally not be used by your dwarves, with the exception of artifact weapons and armor. Artifact weapons and armor can be used by elite and champion warriors, although these warriors will refuse to relinquish ownership of the item even if you instruct them to wield different weapons or wear different armor - only their death will free up the artifact for reassignment. This means that an artifact axe can be wielded by your elite or better axedwarf, but could not be used for woodcutting. Similarly, an artifact pick will never be used by your miners.

Quality

Artifact items have a quality modifier of 120×. This is applied on top of the item's base value, its decorations and the value of all materials used in its construction. (From testing, an artifact piece of furniture will raise the value of any room to Royal, for example.)

Artifacts will automatically have one "free" decoration of the same type as its base material. For instance, a "Perfect Ruby" might have "Images of mangrove trees in Ruby". This decoration doesn't consume additional materials: in the above example, only one ruby was used.

Item types which normally require multiple objects to create (such as Platemail) will cause the moody dwarf to acquire that number of objects, but each such object will also contribute a decoration - basically, the item receives multiple free decorations. For example, artifact gold platemail will use a minimum of 3 objects (3 bars of gold), and have 3 gold decorations.

Artifacts can range in value from 2,400☼ to 7,200,000☼ (full-decorated adamantine Platemail). Since immigration totals are - among other factors - based on your fortress's "Created Wealth" (and held/worn items count double in the total), expensive artifacts are often the driving factor behind how many immigrants show up in the first years.

Artifact armour and weapons have a high damage/protection modifier, at least greater than a similar iron item of basic quality. Though even steel artifacts will not surpass basic quality adamantine items. Note that the material of a crossbow, artifact or not, does not change its shooting abilities, only its viability in melee. However, higher quality crossbows shoot better. For example, a masterpiece crossbow will shoot better than a finely crafted one.^[Verify] Only dwarves with hero status^[Verify] will use artifact weapons or armor.

It is possible artifact makers may occasionally glitch in the number of goods needed, with a corresponding increase in value (eg, this monstrosity).