Inherited or created artifacts holding complex or immense magical power are a common fantasy trope. In Patricia Wrede’s Frontier Magic series, the main character inherits a complex magical artifact. It’s a talisman given from student to teacher, and it’s layered with generations of magic, a good chunk of which hides its nature.
More famously, the One Ring in the Lord of the Rings contains a fair amount of Sauron’s power, malice, and will. He has imbued it with his dominating force, and it is both a tool and a means of corruption.
A game – or game system based around this may be interesting. Start with an artifact and then give it some hidden properties. The player can discover things about the artifact, but they can only discover as much about it as they put in. And what they put in affects more than they directly want it to. They can pick how they want to influence the artifact. This could either be over time or at something like a level up event. Putting an attribue in (something positive) might enhance it, but also enhance a hidden negative trait of the artifact.
Because games are fundamentally about making interesting choices (and about teaching), what about being able to put power in, investigate, or control the power – but there’s a limit as to how much you can do. And as you try and shape the artifact, the artifact will be constraining your choices and shaping you as well.
Additionally, if a game using this wants to, we can have the artifact – and it’s peril and possibilities – inherited by the next generation, for whom the effects may be similar, or may manifest themselves differently. Think of an eternal ruler, attempting (and mostly failing) to rule through control of others.
When thinking generationally about this, I want to know how choices affect generations over time – what are their choices like? How does this talisman shape generations over time?
I’ll flesh out this idea more later, and put it into a bit more formal of a structure.
Feel free to use any game ideas or parts thereof on this site. Take them, combine them, mix them, and implement them. Ideas are a dime a dozen, and I hope these provide some thought and maybe spark some more ideas in others.
Game Design Idea 