Unique Items

Item Types: Animal Parts | Common | Gems | Materials | Usable

Unique items are legendary and/or mysterious artifacts of history and power. They bring prestige to whomever manages to secure them for himself, because they are so rare and whomever owns one must be powerful.

Uniqueness

Why are unique items valuable? Because they are unique. And we don't mean the way the word "rare" is taken in some deteriorated circumstances in which it means "about half a million top guys have it". Every unique item exists exactly once. Well, for per island.

As a result, if you want to be the owner of the "Big Book of Bugfixing", the only way to get it is to find the current owner, and make him part with it. There is absolutely no way to find a second one or a duplicate. See, "unique" means exactly what the dictionary definition makes you think it means.

Acquirement

Unique items are, by their own natures, precious artifacts long forgotten inside the civilization circle. They were lost to the wild, and some eventually claimed by the unholy walkers of the wild, the Undead, or by monstrous beasts for their lair and treasure, the largest and wildest of Monsters.

Unique items are not of the same thing as those common items, which adventurers can gather in a routine basis.

Unique Items can be gained by defeating undead champions or the largest of monsters. These can be encountered while hunting, though the exact circumstances when and where a champion/big-one is encountered are still unknown. On extremely rare occasions, adventurers have been known to find a unique item while investigating a region for monsters and undead, without having to defeat a champion at all.

Unique Items can also be built by Sages. They require certain common items to build a specific unique item (disclosed only once the item is built). Speculation: There is also a chance of failure in that the sage comes up with nothing unique or valuable.

Condition

Unique items have a condition of integrity and deteriorate over time and with use. The rate of deterioration varies from item to item. Once the condition reaches 0% the unique item will disappear. Only a Sage can repair a unique item. As only an adventurer can locate a sage, a noble wanting one of his unique items repaired will need to contact an adventurer. Once a unique item has been lost, it can be found again by another brave adventurer risking his life against the monsters and undead.

Trade

Unique items can be traded, not only among adventurers, but to proper nobles as well. Remember that these nobles are far more wealthy than all but the most successful adventurers. 20 gold isn't much for most nobles, it is a fortune for adventurers.

Roleplaying Potential

Unlimited. Especially for items with an in-game history, such as the Crown of Someplace, which has been the traditional regalia of the Kings of the Legendary Realm of Wherever for so many years until it was stolen one day...