1001 Special Stones

No more worries about players who have memorized all of the mystic stones in your game's rulebooks; each of the 1001 Magical Stones is unique, with many different appearances and effects, including cursed ones. You will always have something new and different at your fingertips.

1001 Special Stones

It is the event of the century, at least for the small town of Wainford: Ariandar, a former adventurer who retired there, has died of old age, and his estate is being auctioned off by his heirs. The adventurers are in the crowd, hoping to get a great deal on a piece of special gear, or even a magical item. They are sadly disappointed, though, when it turns out that the valuable and interesting items were already sold privately, and the items being auctioned are mostly furniture, pots and pans, and similar mundane goods. Finally an interesting lot comes up.

Auctioneer: And here we have something really special, folks. It's a book written by hand by Ariandar his own self. Yes, folks, every word of it in his own handwriting. Those of you who can read, you'll want to bid on this one; who knows what spells and secrets it holds? What am I bid for this handwritten adventurer's book, starting real low at a hundred gold, gimme a hunnerd, hunnerd, hunnerd, how about fifty, who'll give me fitty, fitty, fitty, fitty, that's great, fitty, now senty-five, who'll make it senty-five, a hunnerd,  hunnerd-fitty, two hunnerd, two-fitty, three hunnerd, three hunnerd, you there in the back, now four hunnerd, four hunnerd, four hunnerd, you don't want to miss this one, folks, four hunnerd, now five hunnerd, six hunnerd, who'll give me six hunnerd, six, anyone give me six? Sold to the man in the black cloak for five hundred gold, and a good deal he's gotten.
Auctioneer: Now we've got, well, it's a lot of boxes of rocks, mostly all separated and everything. I'm sure there's something real mystical in there, folks. Ariandar must have collected those in his adventures.
Audience member: Looks like he collected them in his back forty!

Auctioneer (scowling): From his adventures, folks. Who'll give me a hundred gold for these rocks? Hunnerd, hunnerd, how 'bout fifty, fitty, fitty, who'll start at ten, come on, folks, ten gold, gimme ten, ten, ten, gimme five, isn't anyone gonna start the bidding at five gold? One? One gold to open the bidding? One gold! Now two, two, two.... Okay, sold to the wizard in the front row for one gold.

As the auctioneer moves on to a pile of ceramic dishes, the adventurers huddle together..

Jarmak: What's in my book? Spells? Clues to a treasure?

GM: Well, um … recipes.

Jarmak: Oh, alchemy! Anything for potions?

GM: No, I mean recipes. Like for roasted turnips, and frog stew....

Jarmak: (cringing) Frog...stew....

Kalthras: You just spent five hundred gold on a cookbook?

Jarmak: You're one to talk, you bought a box of rocks.

Kalthras: Hey, it's for my nephew. There are some crystal-looking ones in here he'll like for his rock collection.

Kalthras starts looking through his box of rocks. Down at the bottom there are some loose chunks and chips of dull stone. He tosses them over his shoulder without really looking. Suddenly one of them, instead of falling behind Kalthras as expected, starts orbiting around his head, glittering green.

Players collectively: …..!!!

Welcome to the "1001 Things" collections

This is a collection of 1001 magical stones which, orbiting the user, give him or her some type of benefit. They're excellent low-powerd magical treasures because of their vulnerability. An enemy isn't likely to be able to seize a ring or armor, but a stone whirling around in the air? Easy!

Unlike the common and well-known magical stones of a similar nature, each of these is unique. They have a wide range of effects, with no correlation to their appearance, and they come a huge assortment of forms, colors, and patterns. Do your players read the rulebooks and web pages and think they know exactly what any given magical stone will do? Give them one of these instead! Now, the only way to determine the actual effects when one is found is to use fairly substantial spells to determine its nature ... or, of course, to try it out!

To make things even more interesting, some are cursed and have the opposite effect from the one expected, i.e., they reduce rather than increase spell-casting abilities, make certain kinds of creatures hostile, or even just keep the user from getting a decent night's sleep. And, like any cursed item, they're next to impossible to separate from their users/victims.

No more players who have memorized all of the ones in your game's rulebooks; with 1001 Special Stones to choose from, you'll have a new and different stone any time you need one.