Emberstone

Emberstone

Wondrous Item

Common

A small, glowing gemstone with a steel housing. Contains a small amount of Chaos.
Can be used to light many objects on fire, even those that would not normally light, though for the fire to continue to burn, there must be suitable fuel around. Fires lit by an Emberstone are unusually bright and create a lot of smoke, but are not very hot, so they don't usually spread very much.

To light an object, the Emberstone must be placed on the object, and the housing closed onto the gemstone. Energy will visibly flow out of the gemstone, and the object will begin to burn shortly thereafter.

Can be used on a creature within reach to apply 2d4 (5) fire damage as an action.

Cost: 250 gp
Weight: 0.5 lbs

Mechanics & Inner Workings

An Emberstone is made of two primary components, a Gemstone, usually a Garnet, which powers the device, and a metal housing, usually made from Steel.
The Gemstone at the centre of the device serves the primary function of storing Chaos, which can then be expended during the use of the device. Most Emberstones can hold enough Chaos for 3 uses, but by exposing the device to the sun, the device can absorb more Chaos, effectively making it a renewable source of fire.
The metal housing around the Gemstone is used to activate the device. When closed in around the gem, the housing creates a lens to focus the Chaos, which then allows the Chaos to pass out of the stone, and into flames on whatever object the Emberstone is pressed up against. Due to the relatively small amount of Chaos being used, it does not transfer as heat, as this would not set most objects on fire. Instead, it creates flames which are anchored at the point where the device was placed. This is why most fires set by Emberstones will not spread without proper fuel.

Significance

Emberstones were one of the earliest Gem-Tech devices invented after the Cataclysm, and marked a major leap forward in the mechanical harnessing of Chaos. The ability to light things on fire is not especially impressive, it seems to be a common side-effect of many attempts to harness Chaos, but the precision and safety of the device is a brilliant achievement. The renewable nature of the device was developed later as an improvement on the original design, and has made the Emberstone more viable as a commercial product, rather than merely a test for Artificers-in-training.

Item type

Mechanical

Related Technologies

• Gem-Tech

Rarity

For a piece of Gem-Tech, Emberstones are quite common and it is not too hard to get your hands on one. They are fairly widespread across Faenir and sections of Iatos, but are not cheap, so the common peasant would probably not know one when they saw it.

Weight

0.5 lbs

Base Price

250 gp