I'm making this thread to ask what the community would think of such an object. Examples I'd like to give would include things such as Xenoblade Chronicle's Monado, which is a sword that is literally considered a sword used by gods, it was said to be used by Bionis, a giant titan that humanity actually lives on in the game once it was put into hibernation or whatever. Another example could be The Stone from Secret of Nimh, which is actually a controversial item in that it has no origin, no explanation, and has garnered fan discussion for a long while. this amulet only works when the holder shows courage, and it can pretty much do nearly anything. Long story short, it's an item that could certainly kick your ass, but while it's perfect(maybe?), the user/wielder isn't, and can be a flawed person that could either bring good fortune, or bring terrible destruction upon their friends/enemies. And of course, the item COULD have its flaws, nothing in reality is perfect, bringing back the Monado example, the Monado is a sword that can harm machinery, but outright refuses to harm human beings, it cannot be easily controlled either, so it obviously has its downsides to being an almighty god-slaying sword. Now lets consider this concept on the server, a tool that could overpower multiple people. This would certainly be a possibility in Starbound's universe, especially considering planned objects such as this thing. The thing is, this is a tricky, difficult subject to consider, and it'd require a lot of people having OOC knowledge of the tool so that the weapon would obviously do what it was meant to, be a powerful tool. I'm curious how the server would feel about such an object being introduced, and how it should be introduced to prevent as much Meta and balancing issues as possible. I don't ask this as an idea for an arc(well, okay, MAYBE, not sure yet.), but I simply ask to see how you would all react to such a concept, and I'd like feedback on how such a thing could work on the server so it'd be fun to have around for a possible arc, and cause barely any trouble for being around. Feel free to use the poll and share your opinion.
Best idea I can think of is the resident egg heads finding them or something, and poke around at them. And then release a public thing about em. Or something.
It would be an interesting idea to include some sort of powerful alien relics or technologies into the server, as it might create a sort of blood-trail after it, with people killing or attacking people just to get the item, however it would require immense co-operation between pretty much everyone, as well as accepting that if a majority thinks that the owner of the item is godmodding or playing it OP, they would have to give it up. Also, theres probably going to be a consent to death automatically if anyone has something very powerful. Just my two cents.
I was entertaining this idea during the planning stage of the TA. My first idea was a company within the Conglomerate based off of the SCP Foundation, where instead of containing artifacts, they would test them and try to abuse their power for the strength of the faction. Then when I was working on ideas for a faction colony once we'd settled in, I thought of the idea of a world where the fog and mist was so thick that technology signals couldn't penetrate the atmosphere at all. The only semblance of a modern world would be the town itself, connected to the rest of the world via a tall spire actively sucking up the nearby fog, allowing for tidbits of clear sky in the area and patchy signals. Around the town would be a wall, with large Gatling Turrets along the top. The colony's design was meant to touch a bit on the ideas: Are the walls keeping everything out, or everyone in? If they're to keep everyone in, what's outside of those walls the TA doesn't want discovered? What secrets lie on this planet where technology fails? What's lurking out there in the darkness, that even the TA is afraid of? I was holding back on the idea because of the question: Where would the TA get the resources for such a spire? Though if everyone thinks it could be a good form of RP, trying to discover the secrets (And artifacts) of an unexplored and almost unexplorable world, I could possibly bring around the idea sooner, or even make it the arrival event.
I feel the concept of an artifact that's extremely contested and very important is interesting, but it's more interesting to examine why it's felt that the artifact is important. I don't feel it'd be a great idea to have it just...give power to the subject, at least not a physical and tangible power. Many things have power, even though they're not magical, or able to turn things to dust in an instant; the Holy Grail, for all the powers it proclaimed, was an artifact that was important because of what it represented and who had used it, more than for what it could do. The Hope diamond, the original copy of the Constitution, these are things that are 'artifacts', and holding an item of authority that does little more than give the user fame and praise is something I find far more interesting than a magical item that can destroy your enemies; the lamp of a genie may give you wishes, but the Constitution has given us a nation. Just something to consider, I suppose.
I like the idea of factions either fighting over it, or allying with the owner of it, to gain its use.
Maybe we could have a faction-based event for any who want in where it is found out that an alien artifact, from a race we do not know of yet, has landed on a planet, and the factions go down and fight over who gets to keep it. It would be something powerful but on a very specific scale. Maybe some technology that allows the holding faction to increase scanner range immensely, or increases ability of weapons. It would have to be written out and agreed upon first, but done correctly it could bring an interesting twist to the server.
