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 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).

Usage

Currently, artifacts can be used just like all other items, except that it cannot be traded to caravans. A dwarf carrying a job item artifact, such as a pick or an axe, will use it to perform that job. A dwarf with an artifact weapon will use it to great effect in battle if drafted or forced to engage in combat. Artifact weapons won't be used by recruits and normal warriors, only by elites and champions.

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.

Artifacts can range in value from 2,400☼ to well over 100,000☼ (for the curious, the limit is 648,000☼ if adamantine isn't used). 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.