From Introduction:
Welcome to the world of Synergy Artifacts. In this book you will find many handy artifact items that you will be able to plop down into any campaign you may be running -- 76 items to be exact.
So what is an artifact, and what is a Synergy Artifact? Artifacts are usually described as extremely powerful items. Rather than merely another form of magic equipment, they are the sorts of legendary relics that whole campaigns can be based on. The traditional artifact has always had very high power levels and almost always been for use by high-level characters only.
Thus, there is the problem. Artifacts are one of the most interesting game mechanics in the d20 system and everyone loves them, but why do you have to be level 10 before ever getting one? This is where Synergy Artifacts come in.
Synergy Artifacts are designed to be available for low-level characters. As the character gains levels in his/her classes, the Synergy Artifact item becomes more powerful. Furthermore, Synergy Artifacts comes in sets. When a character uses multiple items from the same Synergy Artifact set, the items grant additional powers and abilities.