On a bones level, the quest artifact of the role you are playing is always an ordinary item, whatever role the dead character had, while another role's keeps its powers unless it already exists in your game.

You cannot wish for the quest artifact of the role you are playing. The wish is used up: the artifact appears in your hands for a moment and disappears, or, once it already exists in your game, you get only an ordinary item of its kind. Another role's quest artifact can be wished for like any other artifact, with the same chance of failure when several artifacts already exist; if it already exists in your game, you get only an ordinary item of its kind.

Another role's quest artifact blasts you whenever you touch it, and if its alignment also differs from yours, or your alignment record is negative, it evades your grasp and you cannot pick it up.

A pet never picks up the quest artifact of the role you are playing by itself. Another role's quest artifact is not excluded: a pet may pick it up like any other item it would carry.

If a monster carrying the quest artifact of the role you are playing leaves the game without dying, it drops the artifact first: where it stood, or somewhere on the level if it was not on the map. Another role's quest artifact has no such protection and is lost with the rest of the monster's inventory.