Magic crosses over into our world in the form of 40 new magic items ranging from the marvelous (The Anubis Battery) to the mundane (Toby Wilson's Ice Scraper). Artifacts From the Edge features detailed descriptions, illustrations, and adventure seeds for magic items with a modern slant.

Detailed background information for each, designed to give the GM a feel for the item's history and potential. In some cases this information is presented in story format, delving into the item's origin or describing it's recent past. A full excerpt for one of the items is presented below

Adventure seeds- over 2-dozen suggestions for incorporating Artifacts From the Edge into your modern campaign.

For use with modern d20 settings.

Artifacts From the Edge
92 Pages / PDF $3.99 / Softcover $11.97
This product is available by download through either of the links below.


Professor Fredrick Godsey was a respected member of the Cryptozoologist Society of San Francisco. The society had a number of influential members and wealthy backers, which were two of the reasons he found himself there that night, attending a clandestine auction of things that weren't supposed to be. The third reason was Lot 23: The Iraqi Specimen.

The last few days had been nerve-racking. The nameless organization that held these auctions made it a habit to keep the location a secret until only a few hours before the event.

At exactly 12 midnight, on the 29th going into the 30th of June, he found himself in Madrid sitting in a sports club at the bottom of a large indoor swimming pool, drained of course (both the pool and him from his sudden flight halfway round the world), waiting patiently through the other lots. If the specimen were here, really here, and real, really real, he was about to set the entomology world, as a whole, on its ear.

He waited patiently through the lots of aluminum foil type metal with strange glyphs that would unfold back into their original shape when crumpled and wadded into tiny little balls. He waited patiently through the lots of prototype engines that ran on alcohol, hydrogen, salt water, chocolate, or nothing at all. He waited patiently through the lot containing rough drafts of Hamlet, King Lear, and Othello written by Sir Francis Bacon and the lot involving 12 dozen stone tablets found with the Dead Sea scrolls baring an intact map of the human genome in it's entirety.

Finally, there it was Lot 23, encased in a rough hexagonal chunk of amber, the Iraqi Specimen, the heretofore-unknown largest insect in the world. At a length of 18" inches and an estimated wingspan of 15" inches it easily beat out both the stick insect and birdwing moth, the two previous record holders, respectively.

Professor Godsey gasped at the sight of the thing, the sound echoing off the pool's tiled walls. This would be his Baird's tapir. This would be his Przewalski's horse. This would be his coelacanth. He couldn't care less about the story surrounding how it came here, the belief of it to be the last vestiges of the Sumerian god Pazuzu eternally encased in a golden tomb. Please. Didn't Pazuzu have a bit part in that Exorcist movie? Professor Godsey was a man of science. A cryptozoologist. He cared little for ancient myths and even less for the sensationalized versions of them.

His hand was up even before the auctioneer had finished presenting the item. He didn't bat an eye when the opening bid started at a million even. He didn't even notice the attractive young woman of Middle Eastern descent sidle up next to him until she spoke.

"I know why you're here." She whispered anxiously.

He ignored this. Wasn't it obvious why everyone was here?

"You must win." She added.

"I intend to my dear," He muttered, eyes locked upon the auctioneer, ears focused upon the ever-increasing amount.

It was then he felt the barrel press into his ribs. He allowed himself the slightest of glances downwards. A revolver. Ceramic. Snuck through the door and past the thugs with their sensor wands and an almost supernatural sense of paranoia.

"You don't understand." She hissed. "333, Choronzon, the female half of the Beast. 107, Oval, the messenger of the Beast. 107 + 333 = 440. You don't understand. There are those here who must not have it. It must not fall into their hands."

And Professor Godsey suddenly fancied himself to be Alan Quartermain or Indiana Jones. And there was the slightest of buzzing next to his ear. "What is that? Kabala?"

The girl was almost hysterical now, eyes darting about like angry wasps, scanning faces in the crowd around them. "440! To annihilate, cease, disappear! The number of the great dragon ATEM. The world slayer! The Beast of the Apocalypse!"

He had missed the relevance of all this. "What?"

The buzzing near his ear had grown louder. Some in the crowd had suddenly started making swatting motions, motions that distracted the auctioneer. A chaos was slowly building. The buzzing grew louder, echoing off the tile walls, sounding as though coming from everywhere at once.

"Pazuzu's number is also 107! Pazuzu is the messenger of the Beast!" The woman wailed.

And then there were insects, a great flurry of flying, crawling, burrowing, biting, stinging, insects that instantly flooded the pool. It left 5 dead. It left 15 traumatized. It took Professor Fredrick Godsey's left eye. And it simply took the attractive young lady of Middle Eastern descent along with her ceramic revolver.

And in the aftermath of this plague of insects it was discovered that the God in Amber had vanished.

Things like this happen at these auctions all the time…

Once a creature has remained in physical contact with the God in Amber for one hour, the artifact will consider the creature their owner. In order for another creature to gain control of the artifact they must remain in physical contact with it for one our during which time the current owner must remain more than 100 feet away from it.

The owner of the God in Amber gains the following abilities provided that they remain within 100 feet of the artifact:

Spider Climb: The owner can climb walls as though they were under the effect of a continuous spider climb spell (as described in the d20 Modern™ Core Rulebook).

Spell Abilities: The owner can cast insect plague and web (as described in the d20 Modern™ Core Rulebook) up to 5 times per day.

Bitting Swarm: The owner can inflict light wounds (as described in the d20 Modern™ Core Rulebook) up to 10 times per day. The target feels as though they were bitten by dozens of tiny bugs.

Deafening Buzz: The owner can cast shout (as described in the d20 Modern™ Core Rulebook) up to 5 times per day. The spell functions the same as described save that the sound produced is a loud buzzing.

Minons: The owner also has the ability to create up to six Acolytes of the God in Amber. An acolyte can be any humanoid creature touched by the owner while they are in contact with the artifact. Acolytes gain the ability to cast web and spider climb 3 times per day. They can venture further than 100 feet away from the artifact without losing their abilities, however their powers must be renewed each day through physical contact with the owner and the God in Amber. The owner can also communicate with the acolytes through telepathy provided the owner is in contact with the artifact. This communication is only one way.

All spells function as though cast at 10th level.

Text: Matt Kline ~ Art: Todd Coss

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