Rules Index | GM Screen

Items / Relics

Triumphs

Source Pathfinder #128: Songbird, Scion, Saboteur pg. 77
As she adventures, the wielder of a relic might achieve great deeds, called triumphs, tied to the item’s associated cause, which she can apply to the relic to increase its power. Each volume of the War for the Crown Adventure Path indicates which deeds qualify as a triumph for the relics of old Taldor. Each PC involved in achieving a triumph can apply that triumph to up to one of her carried relics, unlocking the next set of abilities for that item.

An individual relic can attain only the triumphs for which it is present, so if the PCs achieved two triumphs before finding Koriana’s Blade, the sword wouldn’t gain the benefits listed under First Triumph until the PCs’ third triumph. To be present for a triumph, a relic needs to be worn, held, or carried (as opposed to being stored in a bag of holding, for instance), and the PC carrying it must have been involved in the triumph in some way. Some triumphs improve on existing abilities, such as granting more uses of an ability per day or increasing a relic’s enhancement bonus from +1 to +2. All other triumph abilities are cumulative with the item’s base abilities and with each other. For example, a relic that has attained two triumphs grants both its first-triumph and second-triumph abilities along with its base abilities.

Increasing DCs: Some effects have DCs that increase as the relic attains more triumphs; these are indicated by a note such as “DC = 15 + 1 per additional triumph attained.” An effect with such a DC counts neither the triumph that the effect came from nor any previous triumphs. For example, if a relic’s first triumph granted an effect with a DC of 15 + 1 per additional triumph attained, that DC would be 15. When that relic attained a second triumph, the DC would increase to 16.

Fading Glory: When the PCs discover a relic, the power of the item has faded significantly since it has gone many years without being used for its cause. In most campaigns, it’s unlikely that enough time will pass for the discovered relic’s power to fade again. However, if years pass without a relic being used for its cause, its triumph abilities begin to go dormant, starting at the highest level and descending from there. This can vary by item and is ultimately determined by the GM, but a good benchmark is one triumph entry lost per 1d4 years.

Archives of Nethys

Rules Index | GM Screen

Triumphs