Magic Gemstones

By Ryan Dallaire - Nov 2025

Magic gemstones are small pieces of magical energy that have solidified inside of rocks deep underground. Each type has a different colour and shape, and unlike normal gemstones, there is a faint glow that comes from the inside of the stone. A gemstone can be embedded into an object to allow someone to use its magic. This could be embedding it into the hilt of a sword (activates when you attack) or embedding it into the center of an amulet (can be used once per day), or even embedded into a ring (passive effect that is always active).
Each magic gemstone is very valuable, some are so rare and powerful that even the rumour of one can cause a “gold-rush” to the area. Fake magic gems also get sold by scam artists.

Magic Effects

Ignis (red, round, 1 inch across) Weapon: deals extra 1d6 fire damage (3/day). Armour: resists cold damage. Amulet: breathe a cone of fire (1/day). Ring: the hand begins to glow with light like a torch. Destroyed: the area explodes in a ball of fire, 5d6 fire damage.

Frost (light blue, square, 1 inch across) Weapon: deals extra 1d6 cold damage (3/day). Armour: resists fire damage. Amulet: Make the floor around you icy (1/day). Ring: wearer can pick up hot objects without taking any damage but normal things are frozen. Destroyed: everything nearby freezes solid.

Poison (pink, circle, 1 inch across) Weapon: decay damage instead. Armour: resists decay damage. Amulet: breathe a cloud of poison (1/day). Ring: touching a poisonous plant or animal, you can extract the poison into a small container. Destroyed: everything nearby is covered in poison.

Lightning (yellow, triangle, 1 inch across)Weapon: deals extra 3d6 fire damage to a target wearing metal armour (1/day). Armour: melee attackers take 2d6 fire damage (1/day). Amulet: wearer can end the stunned or unconscious condition (1/day). Ring: A creature you touch becomes stunned for 1 minute (1/day). Destroyed: Everything nearby takes 1d6 fire damage and is stunned for 5 minutes.

Plants (green, hex, 1 inch across) Boots: wearer can ignore difficult terrain in natural environments. Gloves: wearer can climb walls in natural environments. Amulet: make the area around you difficult terrain as plants grow in the area and provide cover (1/day). Destroyed: the area nearby fills with roots, plants, fungi, etc and everything in the area is restrained and trapped.

Water (dark blue, octagon, 1 inch across) Boots: wearer can walk on the surface of water but sinks in sand. Gloves: a held empty container is filled with fresh water (1/day). Ring: wearer can breathe underwater but can’t breathe air. Destroyed: the area fills with salt water.

Divination (rainbow, spiraling, 1 inch across) Gloves: pick up an item and get a vision of the last person to touch it (1/day). Amulet: know the direction and distance to someone you are familiar with (1/day). Ring: can communicate telepathically with another person with this type of ring. Destroyed: everyone in the area has amnesia for 2 days.

Wind (light-green, sharp corner square, 1 inch across) Melee bladed weapon: if swung through the air, a blade of cutting wind lashes out a short distance, giving the melee weapon a short ranged attack.

Shadow (black, pointed square, 1 inch across) Boots: wearer leaves no tracks no matter how fast they move. Armour: wearer can become invisible for 5 minutes while in shadows (1/day). Amulet: wearer can see in natural darkness for 5 minutes (1/day). Ring: a door or chest that is locked becomes unlocked for 10 minutes, but the ring and gem disappear into the lock until then. Destroyed: an area of magical darkness fills the area for 2 days.

Life (white, diamond, 1 inch across) Gloves: touching a creature heals them for 2d6 HP (1/day). Amulet: wearer regrows a missing body part and the gem “dies”. but also the new limb might not be the same as the old one, it could look like an animal or another species. Ring: wearer’s natural healing rate is increased and they heal fully when resting in the wild. Destroyed: the destroyer becomes younger by 2d6 years, random creatures within the area get older by a total of the same amount.

Resurrection (white pearlescent, diamond shaped, 4 inches across) Throne: the person sitting in the throne will not die from old age while seated. Holy Symbol: the closest dead creature is restored to life, its body is restored if missing pieces. The gems “dies”. Destroyed: Random objects in the area became sentient for 1 day.

Transmutation (rainbow, rough bracelet sized hoop, 4 inches across) Bracelets: You and another person wearing a bracelet fuse together, becoming a single person for 1 hour. During that time you share control of your character but can make 3 actions per turn instead of the usual 2. For stat checks you get to use the higher of your stats. You can add your HP together to get your new current and max HP. When the fusion ends any damage you received is split evenly between the 2 characters. Destroyed: the nearest two creatures are permanently fused together into a single creature.

Lava (burning red, round, 2 inches across) Armour: metal weapons that hit the armour are damaged. Ring: everything the wearer touches begins to burn/melt. Destroyed: everything within the area melts.

Speed (grey, square, 1 inch across) Boots: wearer’s movement speed is doubled but they can’t stand still for longer than 5 seconds. Ranged Weapon: the projectile travels so fast the target gets -1 to defense and +1 to damage, but the projectile is destroyed when it lands. Gloves: intricate work (like crafting) with their hands takes half the amount of time (1/day). Destroyed: Time within the area passes very quickly for a moment, everything inside the area experiences 1 month of time passing and cannot leave the area.

Teleportation (infinite mirror, cylinder ,2 inches across) Boots: wearer is teleported 25 meters directly up, can pass through surfaces on the way. (1/day) Ranged Ammo: user is teleported to where the projectile lands (2/day). Destroyed: everything within the area is teleported to a random location in the world.

Blackhole (absorbs all light that hits it, sphere, 2 inches across) Crown: when placed on a dead body, the body comes back to life as a revenant, attacking the living until the body is burnt and destroyed. Another revenant cannot be created until the other one is destroyed. Ring: wearer’s soul temporarily enters the afterlife, their body falls unconscious until they return. Only a few know how to return. Destroyed: everyone in the area will become a revenant 2 days after they die unless their bodies are destroyed.

Blinding Light (blindingly bright white, star shaped, 2 inches across) Amulet: wearer can see through stone and metal but is blinded until dawn after using it (1/day). Lantern: constantly produces bright light, like the sun. Destroyed: creates a ball of light that blinds anyone who sees it, the ball disappears after 1 week.

“Dead” Gems

Sometimes a magic effect is so powerful it fully drains the magic out of the gem. A gem that “dies” loses its colour and light and becomes a boring semi-transparent gray. Although myths of “recharging” dead gems circulate all the time, no one has actually proven a way to do so. Some people collect the “dead” gems on the off chance that someday it will be possible to recharge them.

Destroying a Magic Gemstone

Destroying a Gemstone unleashes a powerful torrent of magic. Usually it affects a large area. The act of destroying a gemstone can be done with some effort and a hammer.

Gemborne Character

Extremely rare condition where a magic gem has formed inside a child as it grows in the womb. Has only ever happened when most of the pregnancy is spent underground, and has only been confirmed a few times.
Gemborne characters have unusual abilities based around the gem that formed inside them. They also tend to be very secretive about the gem to avoid being killed to steal it.