B&W1
Artifacts????
What are they?
Artifacts are objects that have been given power by the belief of your villagers. It may help to think of them as chargeable belief batteries. These objects can be almost any thing that you can pickup or move. Things that are alive can't become artifacts so trees, plants, fungi, animals and birds are out.
How are they made?
to create an artifact place your chosen object in a busy area of one of your villages. Outside the village store or creche are 2 good places and leave some room all around the object for the dancers.
A short while after placing, villagers will gather round either sitting or dancing this is the start of the charging process.
Depending on number of free villagers,belief and set charging rate( map makers can alter this ) your object is now becoming an artifact.
How do they work?
My theory is that the artifacts create a small field of intense belief around themselves. It is this field that effects villagers and wonders.
When are they useable?
You can use artifacts as soon as you can see a glow if you need to they will have some effect. To put them to best use you have to wait until you see your player icon floating above the fully charged artifact.
How do I use them?
The two main uses for artifacts are..
1. Helping to defeat enemy or neutral villages one or more placed in their villages, will see their belief needed counter start to drop. An average drop for an average village for one artifact is about 1 belief point every 2 seconds. Placed in busy areas this can mean an auto takeover in around 10m.
2. Building Wonders... Before starting the size of the wonder is determined by village belief the more belief the bigger the wonder. The bigger the wonder the more power it has....
To create very large wonders you don't rely on village belief alone you use an artifact/s to intensify belief in the area. The best arrangement is to place artifacts equally spaced around your chosen area just leaving room to place the scaffold in the center. A Norse wonder assisted wood miracle can yield up to and perhaps exceeding 160,000 per cast. Normal is 1000.
Some miracles are boosted more than others so it may not be an advantage building giant wonders of all types.
3. Artifacts keep your villagers entertained.
What makes the best artifacts?
I don't find any difference in use but it is generally accepted that Singing and Crying stones are best.
Singing stones are available from lands 1and 5 . The "duds" from the hippy quest can be used immediately. If you want more for use in land 2 or later, it is said that you can throw "good" singing stones through an open vortex before finishing the quest new ones will be generated so you can complete the quest.
Crying stones can be found on the beach between the Japanese and Indian villages in land3.
My personal favorites are the gate stones and the statue from land1 these look good when used enlarged.
And the worst?
A teddy may look cool as an artifact but your creature is likely to borrow it, the same for any of the toys. Cubes ,prisms etc. are OK but look out of place.
Singing/crying stones may be more powerful just because of size as you can pick up larger special stones than ordinary ones.
Artfacts 2....will have info on artifacts for other gods and some pictures.
