Inspired by a mix of the Chest of Sorrows and 1000 Grogs, as well as the little trinkets and curios we can already find. I was thinking it'd be cool if as we explore islands or do higher level voyages you have the chance of uncovering "artifacts" with a unique effect while you carry them or while they're on your ship.
The "catch" is that like all loot, these relics do not persist between sessions. You need to use them or sell them before you quit for the day. Oh, that's the other catch - they're worth a fair amount of gold (and, perhaps more importantly, bonus reputation). If you want their benefits you have to risk someone else stealing them before you get to an Outpost.
For example, imagine a special compass you discover glinting in the sands that points the way to the next active skull fortress so your crew is ready and in place when the fort activates.
Or on a high level Order of Souls voyage, you recover a special skull that can summon a spectral wind to fill your sails for a few minutes, and only your sails. However, doing this exhausts its power - you can only use it once. After that it becomes a regular Foul Skull. Do you expend it in a time of need or do you sell it while it's still "empowered" for 5k gold and significant bonus OoS reputation?
There could be a cursed relic that summons the kraken when dropped into the water, letting you use it offensively if you don't want to just sell it.
These would accomplish two goals - making each play session a bit more unique based on what you find (if you find anything!), and giving additional incentive to do high level voyages. Some of these artifacts could be tied specifically to voyages - what if certain relics only spawned during riddle missions? Suddenly riddles might feel more worthwhile compared to treasure maps.
