... the role of an "evil cursed artifact" waiting to be picked up by clueless adventurers, and then corrupt your wearer and make him do your bidding (e.g. take the artifact back to its true master or similar)?
Yes, the idea would be blatantly borrowed from LotR, with "you" playing the role of the ring (or a similar artefact).
Permadeath would occur if the adventurer managed to destroy the artifact. If the wearer gets killed, you'd just have to wait for someone else to pick up the artifact (and possibly move it a bit closer to the point where it can be destroyed) and resume the task.
Is there a RL with this general idea?
