Seira's spellgem book

[Anastasia]

Overview:

On crisp pages that smell faintly of exotic ink words spill out, detailing the beginning of the spellgems.

Spellgems are the crystallization of magical energy into a receptacle. In this state the incantation is bound into a special state, allowing it to be absorbed by a being. This unison defeats the natural barriers to absorbing magic, shattering the normal restrictions of training and mundane nature. Sorcerers learn magic in an instinctive nature, able to cast in a specific way. This is by fiat and nature, having a set number of magical patterns but able to cast them without preparation. The study of this rare phenomenon lead to a conclusion. It is possible to trap and concentrate magic into a single pattern that does not fade when cast. The blessings of sorcerers can be repeated and controlled like any other magic. Ergo, the free magic of sorcerers is the key to unlock this magical theory.

With such realized, the difficulties of the situation become evident. In most places and things, the spells will fade within moments, unable to stay focused. Patterned magic by it's nature only lasts so long as there is something to keep it in pattern. However, the spirit is unusually suited to maintaining this delicate balance. Sorcerers in particular show this well, needing only will and charisma to command quasi permanent patterns. But sorcerers are not common.

Research by the Great God King solved this quandary, as the works of the devils brought forth illumination.

As they have found, the soul can be trapped and held in gemstones. With a tiny seed of soul to pin the magic down and a gemstone to hold the soul, this effect can be mimicked and a spell held. On ingestion, the spell integrates into the eater's body, grafting the magic into them. This requires painstaking skills, but this in essence creates a bond that bypasses the normal restrictions of magical study.

While sorcerers were the inspiration, once the techniques is perfected it is not limited to them.

---

Rules and warnings on spellgems:

Spell Capacity

All living beings have a limit to the amount of magic that they can contain. This is called spell capacity. While there is a basic constant, the exact number depends on the raw strength of the user, their inner vitality and their force of command and will over magic. When one approaches this cap, they will feel overflowing with magic on consuming a spell gem. If this cap is overflown, the magic will subsist on the raw life force of the entity, decreasing it's health in exchange.

This is something spellcasters are experienced with, but cannot normally exceed their limits. As spellgems directly press the magic into the being, they are not stopped by the normal capacity restrictions.

Spellcasters are not extra burdened by spellgems, as any difference is compensated by their trainings.

Higher circle spells take up more than simple spells. The number of uses per day has no effect.

In game terms, the spell capacity is the following formula:

10+character level+con mod+cha mod.

Example: A 4th level character with a 12 con and a 14 charisma has a total spell level cap of 17. 10+4+1+2.

Negative charisma or constitution mods do count against your total. For every level over the cap a character is, they lose 2 maximum hit points until the situation improves. Hit points lost this way are suppressed by the strain of the magic; they cannot be magically recovered but can be regained by increasing your capacity. Extreme cases of creatures severely over capacity have been recorded, but the facts are still uncertain.

Cantrips and Orisons, as well as any other 0 level magic, counts as .5 of a spell level.

Example:

Seira is a 7th level character with a 14 con and 18 charisma. Ergo, her spell capacity is 23.(10+7+2+4) She currently has the following imbued into her:

Create water (.5)
Faerie Fire (1)
Blur (2)
Cure Moderate Wounds (2)
Darkness (2)
Water Breathing (3)
Ice Storm(4)

Total: 14.5

Seira has 8.5 capacity left and is in no danger of losing HP as things stand.

Ways to raise spell capacity

The most obvious way is to become stronger; rising overall power allows more spells to be learned. Increasing the relevant abilities related to it also useful. However, such ways are difficult and often impractical. Magical enhancements exist to increase this limit. Spells, a minor one which is included for study, can temporarily raise your limit. Further, magical items have been designed to act as permanent enhancements.

Minor Capacity Increase

Wiz/Sor 1, Brd 1
V,S,M
One full round action
Touch
Person touched
Duration: 1 minute/level
Saving throw: Will negates(Harmless)
Spell Resistance: No.

This spell increases the targets spell capacity by 5 points. This restores any lost maximum HP for the duration of the spell.

The material component is a tiny shard of gem worth 5 GP.

Sorcerers and spellgems

As spellgems are patterned after sorcerous magic, they can gain a special bonus from spellgems. A spellgem can be used to instantly change a sorcerer's chosen spell. This must be for a spell of the same level as the gem.

Warning on infinite use magics

Potent spell gems can grant the ability to invoke a spell at will. While there is no limit to how often this can be invoked; doing so over and over in a short space of time can drain the user.

In game terms, spamming an infinite spelllike for over 5 rounds and castings in a row can run into this. The user will become fatigued and then exhausted. This does not apply to concentration spells, longer duration spells or the like where the same spell is in effect, but requires effort to maintain.

Creation:

On reading, you begin to see the knowledge so uncovered by the gnomes unfurled before your eyes. It is a great juxtaposition, a mastery of magic. It uses the very building blocks of power to overcome the normal limitations set in place. Diagrams spread out in front of you - Part devilwork, part gnomework, and part work that defies classification, written by a hand and with sigils that your mind cannot understand, only repeat. As you read these, the feeling that no mortal hand crafted this sinks into your mind.

Here lies hints of secrets far beyond your mortal ken, perhaps clues to how the very universe and creation may function. Here lies a way to overcome even the most basic rule of magic. Here lies a way to gift even the mundane with powers like an elemental, a sorcerer, a ghost, an outsider...here lies what can separate the mundane of the Prime Material Plane from it's nature.

Here lies the beginning of making magic as controllable as a beast of burden.

Create Spellgem[Item Creation]

Prerequisite

Caster level 5th; A Tome of Spellgems or similar libram to impart the needed information; having ingested at least one spellgem.

Benefit

You can create spellgems. To create a spellgem, you must know the spell to be created. The cost is listed below, as are time requirements.

Creation Overview:

All spellgems require three things: A suitable gem, a caster who knows the spell to be imbued and who has the required feat and a seed. Once the seed is set, thereafter the caster can imbue the spell in a ceremony to finish the deed.       

There are three levels of spellgems, split into equal thirds and representing increasing means to make stronger gems. Note that the basic feat covers all three of these; they are divided for other reasons.

Minor Spellgem Creation:

This is for spellgems of 0 through 3rd level.  Gems of this level require a suitable gem and a small seed of vitality for the spell to be bonded to.

Creation Cost:

Level 0:

Note: Due to the simplistic nature of cantrips there are no 1/day spellgems for this level.

2/day: 1000 GP. 3/day: 1500 GP. At will: 2000 GP.

Level 1:

1 day: 1000 GP. 2/day: 2000 GP. 3/day: 3000 GP

Level 2:

1/day: 2000 GP. 2/day: 3000 GP. 3/day: 4000 GP.

Level 3:

1/day: 4000 GP. 2/day: 6000 GP. 3/day: 8000 GP.

Time and seed:

A seed for a spellgem can be created quickly - a simple incantation will take a bit of life from the caster and use it to power the spell. This removes one HP from the creator's maximum and allows the gem to be made in one day. HP lost this way cannot be restored except with a wish or similar magics.

Alternately, the seed can be created without such direct measures. If the gem is enchanted with a preparatory spell and allowed to sit in a place of great activity, it will slowly absorb what it needs from the ambient energies. The time needed is 1 week+1 week per spell level, to a maximum of four weeks for a level three spell. A bustling marketplace; a busy dwarven mine; an elven party of pleasure are good examples. If the gem is disturbed for more than one hour the process is lost and must be begun anew.

The creation time is one day once all the components are in place.

Suitable spells:

While most spells are suitable to be made into spellgems, there are certain exceptions. These are mostly spells that require a material component to be a vital part of the spell, such as Trap the Soul. Further, a rare few spells simply do not lend themselves well. The notable low level example is True Strike. These spells are rare.

OOC note: This applies to a few certain spells, mostly ones I just don't want to deal with being spammed extra.  This also covers certain XP burning ones that may need to be fiddled with.

As Seira reads on, she finds she cannot fully understand the steps for medium and advanced spellgems yet. They repeatedly reference spells and patterns beyond her current understanding. Yet she feels close to cracking it, perhaps with a little more arcane mastery...

Discussion:

At the end of the book is a discussion on the merits and values of spellgems. It is written in a steady, focused tone.

The merits of spellgems are a paradox. They offer magic freely, yet are often the least use to those that can create them. For those that already command magic many gems are of minimal relative value; it is being able to give magic to any you wish where the gems become potent.

Any half brained servant can become a healer with the proper spellgem, able to push himself into unconsciousness healing wounds. A warrior with a few basic spells to command becomes several times more deadly; a mirror imaged and stoneskinned on command fighter is almost invincible save to other magics.

Still, this takes the mysteries of the universe and allows them to be used like tools at will. In time, this will be perfected. Once it is, magic will be our nature and the mundane will be left behind. The False Ones will face not mortals denied power, but empowered beings who rise up to strike down their lies.

Our race has begun to grow stronger already - we will wage war on those that worship the false ones and they cannot resist. We will control those that do not bow; our destiny is clear.

[Corwin]

I have several questions, now!

-Can the spellgems book be copied with a handy spell like Shamal tried to do with that other book? If not, can this be done by hand while retaining the knowledge?

-Also, how does one get rid of the ingested gems of fail? Simply replacing them like sorcs do with spells and throwing away the enormous monetary investment feels quite sad. If you DO have the feat and have eaten a gem, can you do anything about it?

-How do the gems of the same nature/spell stack? In any way one wants to? 1/day+1/day+1/day=1/day+2/day=3/day? What if you eat 2/day+2/day gems of the same nature?

-How can you make the infinite ones? Can they be made for only lvl0 spells, or for anything covered under the feat? If the latter, can this be only done once you reach the higher spell levels the feat allows for? As Faerie Fire is a lvl1 spell, does it mean one needs a second spellgem feat to do that much?

-Which spells precisely are not covered for thematic reasons? As material components cover most spells, did you mean material components that can't be replicated with the Eschew Materials feat? Could it not simply be calculated into the revised cost, similar to what I suspect the XP burning ones would do? After all, magical items, even those working without a limited amount of charges, can be made while using spells that have costly material components.

-Which spells precisely are not covered to avoid spamming? It's probably the most important question, so clearly it had to go last. For me, this one would probably be a deal maker/breaker. True Strike, while nice, pretty much fails in an item unless you somehow manage to make its activation a move/free action or a continuous effect. Invis, Expeditious Retreat, Jump, Feather Fall, Fox's Cunning, Cat's Grace, Haste, Dispel... those are really more likely to get spammed at varying degrees.  >_>  Saying this in advance! Fireball and other stuff might also happen, who knows? It's certainly nice to have Fireball 3/day at your beck and call, although very costly.

P.S.
Can I estimate which spell, when made into a gem, would be enough to keep the portal to the elemental plane of water going normally?

[Ebiris]

Okay, I never said anything before when spellgems were rare treasure, but now that we can manufacture them, I really have to speak up about how insanely broken they are.

In a world without spellgems, getting fireball as a 2/day spell like ability requires taking a level of Archmage, and then permanently sacrificing both a 5th level and a 3rd level spell slot.

On the other hand, getting a slotless item of 2/day fireball (at caster level 5 with a DC of 14) costs 24,000gp. A spellgem costs only a quarter of that price! A quarter of the price for something that cannot be lost, stolen, dispelled, or broken, and that uses a caster level equal to the character level (surely higher than 5 by the time it's affordable) and a DC set by the character's stats, which are equally likely to be superior to the minimum used by the item.

I'll admit, I have selfish reasons for disliking them as well, as they basically shit all over multiclass spellcasters - a paladin/fighter with a few well chosen spellgems will beat a sorceror/paladin in every way that matters, and I feel it really cheapens the game to make high level spells available to anyone so easily, especially considering this was billed as a low magic game.

If spellgems are to be included as something we can freely make, I strongly suggest that their pricing scheme be reappraised.