Talk:Artifact (fantasy)

Latest comment: 2 years ago by RMCD bot in topic Move discussion in progress

A new list

edit

I have only seen a list of artifacts in D&D and was thinking that maybe a more general list could be created (e.g. List of fictional artifacts). Perhaps, starting with something simple:

And that's only the artifacts that have their own articles. I'm sure more could be added. --Koveras   14:36, 9 June 2006 (UTC)Reply

like it :P oh yea i fixed some typos, i saw them so easily and i was just skimming the page —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Yo mama 1.0 (talkcontribs).

Source of the name

edit

I suspect the term was invented by D&D. I have certainly never read anything that uses it prior to the advent of D&D. Can anyone produce a reference to earlier?

(Sure there are things we call artifacts in earlier literature. The question is whether they called them artifacts.) Goldfritha 03:13, 9 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

What do you mean by "the term"? In non-fantasy usage, an artifact is just an object made by humans.
([Origin: 1815–25; var. of artefact < L phrase arte factum (something) made with skill. See art, fact], according to dictionary.com).
Describing a fictional or mythological magical item as a magical artifact seems like a natural extension of this meaning, such that (I imagine) it would be hard to say who if anyone "invented" the useage.
On the other hand, if you mean the *use* of the term to mean "a magical object with some marvelous and alarming power, so great that it cannot be duplicated by any known art allowed by the premises of the fantasy world, and cannot be destroyed by ordinary means", then I suppose that particualr meaning could be a D&D invention.
Indeed, is it really correct to simply say that "In fantasyliterature" "artifact" means that? I'm sure I've read some fantasy literature that used "magical artifact" to mean simply "magical item", not "ultra-powerful one-of-a-kind magical item of world-shattering importance". Indeed, given that "artifact" has a conventional meaning, I'm sure it is possible for a work of fantasy to use the term without any magical implications at all (especially if no adjectives like "magical" were used).212.159.79.130 23:30, 29 March 2007 (UTC)Reply
D&D used the term in its archaeological sense. That is, an artifact of previous civilization... something with a link to the past, which represents a culture. In D&D's case cultures tend to center around magic, and the most long-lived items tend also to be the most powerful. In that sense, it was only logical to use the term. However, in the sense that "artifact" now means "very powerful magic item" in roleplaying games, I do believe that D&D introduced that definition. -Harmil 15:26, 30 March 2007 (UTC)Reply

A proposal for artifacts and magic items

edit

I'd like to propose overhauling all articles relating to magical items, resulting in the following articles:

That's roughly the plan. The goal is to more closely link "magic item" and "artifact" so that they can both be explained, while moving the RPG stuff out to its own set of articles. Any thoughts? -Harmil 15:47, 30 March 2007 (UTC)Reply

Move discussion in progress

edit

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Magic item which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 23:37, 2 April 2022 (UTC)Reply