Topic: Need ideas for magic item called a Soul Stone...

[Druss_the_Legend]

In my mostly homebrew campaign I have created 5 magic items called Soul Stones.

A brief history.
These Soul Stones were used to imprison the souls of powerful vampires. One stone for each vampire. The Soul Stones were created by a guild of good magicians who helped defeat the vampire lords in an epic battle of good versus evil. A lawful army (mostly monks, clerics, paladins and knights) defeated the evil hordes (werewolves, demons and vampires) with the help of the the guild of good magicians (called The Order of the Blue Star).
This conflict was called The Vampire Wars. After imprisoning the 5 Vampire Lords and defeating their Lich leader the Soul Stones were scattered and hidden throughout the Known World and forgotten...

I need some help developing the details of the Soul Stones
One of the Soul Stones has been found by the Enemy and they are close to completing a dark ritual to free the Vampire Lord.
 
1. What do these Soul Stones look like? Gemstones? Rocks? Palantirs? Volcanic rock?
2. What if the stones have been shaped into something else? a weapon? or they are part of a weapon?
The stakes are higher if the Soul Stone is part of a weapon that is used by an enemy that must be defeated.
3. What powers to they have? Do the stones cause magical effects in the environment they occupy?
4. Have the Vampire Lords trapped inside it corrupted the stones magic or corrupted the ones who found it?
5. Maybe the Vampire Lord still can influence followers from inside?
6. Where were the Soul Stones hidden? underwater? in plain sight? under a mountain? in a dark tower guarded by spirit knights?
7. Why were the Soul stones not destroyed? How can they be destroyed?
8. How is the dark ritual to free the vampire lord inside completed?

Any suggestions are welcome!

[EltonJ]

Have you read the classic D&D adventure, Rahasia?  You might get some inspiration from that.

[Druss_the_Legend]

Have you read the classic D&D adventure, Rahasia?  You might get some inspiration from that.

Awesome! thanks... found a PDF of the module... most helpful.

“Beyonb the three temples of the elements,
the Black dragons eye waits (OR thee
find its secret through nearby magical WAYS
that have waited FOR many lonq years
BEWARE the tricks Of old elyas
and return here With the Black Opal We, to give it power
then, set it in its place and behold
the end of great sadness the Beginning of life
the destruction of evil and the end of strafe.’’

[EltonJ]

Fortunately, I got a printed version of it two summers ago.  I was thinking to have it signed.

Anyhow, it's written by the Hickmans.  Basically, in the adventure there was an elven temple taken over by the Rahab (an evil cleric).  The reason is that he discovered about three witches who's spirits were imprisioned in the statues.  So he enslaves the denizens of the temple and swaps the spirits of three elf maids with the witches.

The PCs are to get in and defeat the witches and possibly the Rahab.

[Druss_the_Legend]

Rahasia module has given me some ideas about setting up powers that radiate from the Soul Stone to benefit and boost the powers of the BBG and his minion cult followers. The amulet and ring in the module when used together cancel evil magic... ill flip that to be good magic. 30ft Circle of Protection vs good magic.
As long as the bad guys are close to the Soul Stone they will have some nice buffs for their own spell casters and some protection vs enemies.

PCs looking into the Soul Stone will be charmed or corrupted and anyone touching it will become an evil minion of the Vampire Lord inside!

[technobabble66]

FYI if you use content from Rahasia, you are obliged to use a panther in your adventure...
How and where is up to you.
But there needs to be a panther somewhere!

[Thot]

[...]
1. What do these Soul Stones look like? Gemstones? Rocks? Palantirs? Volcanic rock?

I would suggest rather beautiful forms of metamorphic rock. Marble, mylonite, zeloite, blueschist, eclogite. All as polished balls of about the size of a head.

2. What if the stones have been shaped into something else? a weapon? or they are part of a weapon?
The stakes are higher if the Soul Stone is part of a weapon that is used by an enemy that must be defeated.

Well, but that would take away the option for the players to loot enemy magical weapons for themselves.

3. What powers to they have? Do the stones cause magical effects in the environment they occupy?

My suggestion: Each vampire soul can of course cast the magic they could cause while corporeal.  However, for it to affect anything, the stone must touch it. Therefore, the stones are stored in floating storage, where they do not touch anything.

4. Have the Vampire Lords trapped inside it corrupted the stones magic or corrupted the ones who found it?
5. Maybe the Vampire Lord still can influence followers from inside?

See 3. If someone found such a thing, they might be under the vampire soul's spell. Literally.

6. Where were the Soul Stones hidden? underwater? in plain sight? under a mountain? in a dark tower guarded by spirit knights?

Special, hidden, very remote installations built or repurposed by the Order to keep the stones floating. One is a tower, one is a deep cavern, another is an old palace of a long defeated demon prince, one is a floating isle in the sky, and one is an enchanted jungle.

7. Why were the Soul stones not destroyed? How can they be destroyed?

Destroying them would mean to liberate the souls therein. Don't.

8. How is the dark ritual to free the vampire lord inside completed?

Destroy the stone. However, it is magically protected against mundane forms of destruction. Each stone has a different way how it has to be destroyed in order to cirumvent that protection: Throw it into a specific volcano, but not one named Mount Doom. Crush it under a Hammer of a Titan. Shatter it with a high-level sorceror spell. Let a dragon chew it to dust. Let a certain, rare type of demon swallow it.

[Druss_the_Legend]

FYI if you use content from Rahasia, you are obliged to use a panther in your adventure...
How and where is up to you.
But there needs to be a panther somewhere!

Fair

[Druss_the_Legend]

[...]
1. What do these Soul Stones look like? Gemstones? Rocks? Palantirs? Volcanic rock?

I would suggest rather beautiful forms of metamorphic rock. Marble, mylonite, zeloite, blueschist, eclogite. All as polished balls of about the size of a head.

2. What if the stones have been shaped into something else? a weapon? or they are part of a weapon?
The stakes are higher if the Soul Stone is part of a weapon that is used by an enemy that must be defeated.

Well, but that would take away the option for the players to loot enemy magical weapons for themselves.

3. What powers to they have? Do the stones cause magical effects in the environment they occupy?

My suggestion: Each vampire soul can of course cast the magic they could cause while corporeal.  However, for it to affect anything, the stone must touch it. Therefore, the stones are stored in floating storage, where they do not touch anything.

4. Have the Vampire Lords trapped inside it corrupted the stones magic or corrupted the ones who found it?
5. Maybe the Vampire Lord still can influence followers from inside?

See 3. If someone found such a thing, they might be under the vampire soul's spell. Literally.

6. Where were the Soul Stones hidden? underwater? in plain sight? under a mountain? in a dark tower guarded by spirit knights?

Special, hidden, very remote installations built or repurposed by the Order to keep the stones floating. One is a tower, one is a deep cavern, another is an old palace of a long defeated demon prince, one is a floating isle in the sky, and one is an enchanted jungle.

7. Why were the Soul stones not destroyed? How can they be destroyed?

Destroying them would mean to liberate the souls therein. Don't.

8. How is the dark ritual to free the vampire lord inside completed?

Destroy the stone. However, it is magically protected against mundane forms of destruction. Each stone has a different way how it has to be destroyed in order to cirumvent that protection: Throw it into a specific volcano, but not one named Mount Doom. Crush it under a Hammer of a Titan. Shatter it with a high-level sorceror spell. Let a dragon chew it to dust. Let a certain, rare type of demon swallow it.

>>>THIS
Special, hidden, very remote installations built or repurposed by the Order to keep the stones floating. One is a tower, one is a deep cavern, another is an old palace of a long defeated demon prince, one is a floating isle in the sky, and one is an enchanted jungle.

love it. thanks for ur input. Its helped!