My setting is a low magic one - I like to treat magic as something rare and unknown, not something that everyone sees every day. To do that would be to strip it of everything that makes it out of the ordinary, beyond the mundane - everything that makes it magical, really. But just because it's rare to see someone work magic doesn't mean that magic itself is unseen. In fact, there is magic in everything. Every rock, every tree, every blade of grass has its own life force, and that force permeates the physical world - sometimes imbuing objects with its power, and making them something more.
The details of how, exactly, this works are difficult to describe, or ascribe any consistent patterns to - such is magic. But items don't just become magical for no reason; they gain power over time, carrying the memories of every hand that used them and every use they provided their masters. Every time one uses, or so much as touches, an object, a little bit of their soul is imprinted on that object. And with enough use, that can force can build up in that object - and begin to alter its properties.
It is for this reason that magic items tend to be ancient. They might not always have been magic, but over many long centuries of use, they accumulate more and more life force. Often, this leads to them becoming especially good at the tasks they perform. If a sword has cut off a thousand heads, perhaps it will be guided toward the necks of its foes. If a ring has been passed down for generations of thieves, who always held onto it while sneaking around unseen, perhaps it will make its users' footsteps quieter - perhaps it may even evolve again to make them invisible.
Other times, an item may be imbued with a great amount of magical energy all at once. Those items that were used in great heroic deeds, for instance - those events that only happen once or twice a century - remember the heroics they were used in, and as the weave of fate is altered, so too does the item feel that, and seek to recapture its glory. Suppose, then, that that sword was used to slay an ancient dragon, one no warrior could hope to overcome - then it may develop a taste for dragons' blood, and hit those creatures harder. Or suppose that one of the line of thieves that hold that ring clutched it tight to their chest as they prepared a grand escape from an impenetrable fortress that none had ever escaped from before - then, perhaps, the ring might develop the ability to always guide its wearer toward the way out of a tricky situation.
There is a downside to the empowering of items that acquire life force, of course. The more the item grows in power, the more it may begin to develop a mind of its own. The memories and personality traits of past wielders may be imprinted upon it, and it may in turn pass those on to those who use the item next. An item with a particularly strong force of will may begin to influence the thoughts of its user, using them to achieve its own goals. They may subtly guide their thoughts to what will suit the agenda of the spirit inhabiting the item, or they may cause the user's personality to resemble the previous owner of the item. Magic, after all, is not something to be trifled with lightly.
Artifact
One such example of how magic items work in the Lunar Lands can be seen in the sword Orphys - the sword wielded by Matto the Great in the many battles and conquests that forged the kingdom of Lescatie, and which he used to slay the dragon on the site of the city's founding. Though it was forged as nothing more than ordinary steel, the great deeds the sword has performed wrote a record that caused its power to swell - and that power would only grow with time, as the sword was passed down from one king to another, remembering the actions and deeds of each.
Currently, the sword belongs to the Matriarch, as a symbol of her office as Grandmaster of the Order of the Lily. It is used to knight new inductees to the Order, and in her days as a paladin she used it to fell many a foe. It is held at the Citadel of Salvarisonnes, the headquarters of this knightly order, for safekeeping - but its power is legendary, and if one was to brave the castle's defenses to claim it for themselves, it would prove a mighty weapon indeed.
In its normal state, Orphys has the stats of a +2 longsword. It can be used without attunement in such a state. However, if attuned, the sword instead gives +3 to attack and damage rolls, does an extra 2d10 radiant damage against fiends, undead, and dragons, and can grant Advantage on saving throws against spells to all friendly creatures in a 10-foot radius if held aloft as an action. At the same time, one who is attuned to the blade also becomes under the influence of its life force - a life force composed of every great king and hero of Lescatie who has used the sword, many of them sworn to the Cult of Voltan and to the values of righteous rule and protection of those in one's charge.
When attuned, Orphys behaves as a sentient item with the ability scores INT 15 (+2), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 17 (+3). Each day the user is attuned to the blade, or if they act in a self-interested or dishonorable fashion unbefitting of an ideal king, they must make a Charisma check opposed to a Charisma check from the blade. If they fail the save, they must then make a DC 15 CHA save or fall under the sword's control.
While this happens, their INT, WIS, and CHA saves are replaced by those of the sword, and they are incapable of acting selfishly or dishonorably; the DM may veto any player actions that they feel do not fit that of a great ruler of men (if you've read Beowulf you should have a good idea) and force the player to pick an alternate course of action. This effect ends if the user drops the sword (they will not do so voluntarily if under its control) or until the next dawn; the user does not get to reroll the save if they take damage.
I like this very much.
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