Relics are the progression that survives failure
Most roguelites wipe your progress when you die. Nightreign does not. Relics are permanent and attach to your Nightfarer, so even a failed expedition leaves you stronger than you started.
That changes how you should read a bad run. The question is not whether you won, it is what you walked away with.
Three ways to earn them
You collect relics from three sources. Completing an expedition earns them regardless of the outcome. The Small Jar Bazaar sells them for Murk. And finishing Nightfarer objectives grants them directly.
Because failure still pays, there is no reason to avoid a hard expedition you think you might lose.
Rarity sets how many effects roll
Delicate relics grant one effect, Polished relics grant two, and Grand relics grant three. Higher rarity means more rolled bonuses on one relic, which is why a Grand relic with all three effects landing well can reshape a build.
Some unique relics are tied to a specific Nightfarer and cannot be equipped by anyone else.
What the effects do
Relic effects cover permanent stat increases, improved critical damage, damage negation, stamina and recovery, plus character-specific bonuses. Some are broad and useful everywhere, others only matter for one class.
Judge a relic by whether its effects stack with what your Nightfarer already does, not by rarity alone.
Planning around your slots
Relics only fit colour-coded slots, and each Nightfarer has a different combination. Before you chase a specific relic, check whether your Nightfarer can actually equip its colour.
See the vessels guide for how many slots you have and which colours they accept.