Enhancing magic items - Gemstones

Драгоценные камни - Enhancing magic items - Gemstones VGtATM

Gemstones

The gemstones of Faerfin are many and splendid — even their identification is a vast field stretching beyond the scope of this guide. Here I have set down only what I have learned about gem¬stones having special uses in magic—for instance, in the crafting of items or in the augmentation of enchantments, not solely as raw material components. I must stress that I have much more to learn about lapidary.2
Stones come in seven rough categories, each one in general more valuable than the next: 

• hardstones, 
• ornamental stones, 
• semiprecious stones, 
• fancy stones, 
• precious stones, 
• gems, 
• jewels. 

The last six classes are reserved for gemstones and usually applied to stones of relatively small size. "Hardstone" is a collective term given in the Realms to natural substances valued for their appearance that are found in large quantities and lend themselves readily to carving. Such carvings can take the form of screens and panels, furniture inlays, figurines, bowls and trays, bookends, spheres, scarabs, beads, and rings (among other things). Artwork can also be carved in gemstones (intaglios or engraved gemstones) or the material carved away so that the artwork appears in relief (cameos). Cameos are most frequently carved in shells, although cameos made from banded stones are also popular.
Many of the cheaper gemstones found in massive form are also cut for use as precious gemstones if of the highest value —of the most desirable hue and texture or of flawless composition. If not, they are sold by weight for carving. These include jade (jadeite and nephrite), chalcedony, agate, tiger eye, jasper, rhodonite (phenalope), beryl, tourmaline, rock crystal, rose quartz, and ser­pentine. Softer and/ or more brittle materials used for carving include amber, jet, obsidian, moonstone, turquoise, malachite, and opal. These weaker stones are rarely used for carving unless of low value.
Agni Mani: This black, irregularly shaped glasslike ornamen­tal stone has fallen from the sky in meteoritic form to crash among the sands of Anauroch and other Faerunian deserts. It is used in garments and the crafting of magical items because in all blasts (such as the explosions caused by fireballs and beads of force), agni manis vaporize but protect beings wearing or carrying them by negating 1d4 points of damage per agni mani stone.
Alabaster: Alabaster is the white, finely textured, but brittle, form of gypsum (plaster). This hardstone is used ornamentally in the interiors of buildings in the Realms and is sometimes carved into containers and vessels of a delicate, decorative, but practical nature, such as vases and perfume and cosmetic jars (though such con­tainer are notoriously fragile). While able to be formed into vessels that are impervious to moisture and evaporation in the short run, and so often used as a container for potions, unguents, and oint­ments, alabaster has no known magical properties of its own.
Alestone: Brown to yellowish brown, the hues of old ales, ale- stone is named for its color. More properly called clinozoisite, this semiprecious stone is found in crystals and cut into faceted gem­stones of handsome appearance. It is also known to some adven­turers as a "scatterer" because it can deflect solid objects that approach it very quickly (such as fired arrows, slung stones, and other hurled items). This forces any being trying to catch or snatch up an alestone to make a successful Dexterity ability check to perform the desired action and also increases the effective Armor Class of a being wearing or carrying an alestone on the side from which a projectile attack) is coming by 1. Increasing the amount of alestone does not further augment this protection.
Alexandrite A greenish form of chrysoberyl which appears reddish under nonnatural light, including wizard's light spells, alexandrite is a transparent fancy stone usually cut into facets and mounted as a pendant or in earrings. Alexandrites are favored for focal use in any items of magic that confer good luck, favor, or protection,[1] such as luckstones, though many are used for lode- stones as well.
Algae: Algae is a quartz ornamental stone that is covered with rich, dark brown, wavy patterns. It is sliced and used for inlay in belts, baldrics, or furniture or cabochon cut (polished glassy smooth and curved, without facets), and polished to bring forth the pattern. Algae resists changes in shape or state, and all beings or items wearing or otherwise in contact with any algae make sav­ing throws against polymorph or shape-changing spells, spell-like powers, similar psionic sciences or devotions at a +2 bonus; they must save even if they are willing to be transformed.
Amaratha: Also known as shieldstone, amaratha is a soft, greenish white or very pale green, sparkling type of jewel. It is unique to the Realms and is found in the form of small lumps or nodules in deep rock strata. It is most often found in exposed canyon walls or in the Underdark. When cut and polished, such nodules usually yield a dozen or more 1-inch-diameter smooth spheres (the base-price, most common amaratha stone). Ama- ratha is too soft and easily chipped or shattered to wear well in exposed settings such as rings, the tops of staves, or the peaks of ornamented helms, but it serves magnificently as a gemstone set in pieces of personal jewelry, ornamental armor, or other lapidary pieces worn in protected locations.
Shieldstone attracts and absorbs electricity in a 10-foot radius and can be used to protect those who wear it or accompany the wearer from lightning and electrical discharges. Static charges and the like are continuously absorbed by shieldstones without altering them in any way, but a piece of amaratha automatically neutralizes even the most sudden and powerful of electrical effects (such as an electric eel shock, lightning bolt, or the like). A 1-inch-diameter sphere of shieldstone absorbs up to 6 points of electrical damage; in absorbing the charge, the shieldstone is con­sumed, vaporizing at the rate of a 1-inch-diameter volume per 6 points of damage absorbed. (A 1-inch-diameter stone disappears, and a 2-inch-diameter stone becomes a 1-inch-diameter stone, etc.) If an electrical discharge exceeds the capacity of a shield­stone or group of shieldstones (such as several set in a necklace) to absorb it, all of the amarathas vaporize and the excess points of damage are suffered by those creatures or objects in the vicinity who would have normally been the targets of the discharge.
Amber: A golden or orange-hued, fossilized resin, this fancy stone is soft and brittle and is usually tumbled smooth and cut cabochon. Some amber contains other preserved fossils, such as primitive plants and insects. These variants with identifiable inclu­sions are valued much more highly in the Realms than clear amber, and command four or five times the prices of "empty" amber. Amber pellets strung on thongs are used as a medium of trade by northern barbarians, but these same pellets are graded and valued among civilized peoples as gemstones, not just cur­rency. Amber is often used as a good luck charm to ward off dis­eases and plague and as a component of spells and magical items with healing- or diseased-related effects. (There is no evidence that it has any real power to protect against such afflictions.) In magical uses, amber serves as a spell component and spell ink ingredient in most enchantments that involve lightning and elec­trical discharges, from shocking grasp through chain lightning.
Amethyst: Amethysts are the most valuable of the quartz gem­stones and are normally facet cut into brilliant shape. Related to agates and other less valuable quartzes, amethysts vary in purple hue from a lilac color to a royal purple, but the rich deep purple stones are most remembered and valued. Such stones are called by some the crown of kings because many Faerfinian rulers in olden times restricted the use of this gemstone to those of royal blood.
Amethysts are supposed to ward off drunkenness and convert poisons to harmless substances. These abilities are folk belief, not truth. Because of their attributed capabilities, these fancy stones are usually used as ornaments for mugs and chalices, particularly those used by nobles.
Amethyst is one of the "nine secrets" — types of gemstones that can be transformed into ioun stones by the proper spells —and also serves as ink ingredient or spell component in magics involv­ing the communication of messages (such as magic mouth spells) and the augmentation of Wisdom. Amethyst represents safety when seen by seers, and romance when seen in the dreams of women. Magic-workers should use it at mornbright [2]
Andar: Also known as andalusite, this hard, durable semi­precious stone is found as small, translucent crystals (sometimes as water-worn streambed pebbles) averaging Vi inch in diameter that flash green-red or brown-red when properly faceted. Andars are known to alchemists and adventurers as the easy half of the two alternative ingredients for a potion of treasure finding. They must be powdered and then boiled with a dragon scale of amethyst, gold, or silver; the scale is the difficult half of the two power ingredients, which must then be combined with an oily base using the process and enchantments that give the potion its powers.
Angelar's Skin: Angelar's skin (also known as aasimon's skin) is a fine pink coral suitable for use in jewelry. This fancy "stone" is usually found in shallow tropical seas upon isolated reefs or atolls. It is delicate and easily shattered unless properly treated and mounted. Angelar's skin is slowly sun-baked on large, flat rocks to drive off water and tiny dead animals present within it that other­wise would give it an offensive odor and reduce its value for adornment.
Found in shallow tropical seas on isolated reefs and atolls, Ange- lar's skin is associated in legend with the sorcerer Angelar, who became a wereshark (see the Monstrous Compendium® Annual Vol­ume Two) after eating this powdered coral, which had been mixed with sea water, and then receiving the cast spells polymorph self, water breathing, and Angelar's own wizard version of the priest free action spell. Angelar survived the transformation, emerging as a long-lived human who has complete control over his were-transfor- mations into shark form; presumably, other wizards or individuals able to hire others to cast the necessary spells can, too.
Aquamarine: This type of precious stone is a hard, transpar­ent blue-green form of beryl found throughout the northern reaches of Faerfin and much employed by barbarian tribes for adornment because of its durability. Aquamarine is known to alchemists as the sole reliable gemstone that, when sacrificed in a very secret spell process that I have not yet been able to get a copy of, can make other sorts of gemstones multiply: That is, a ruby or diamond vanishes and is replaced by two identical stones, each of which is a perfect replica of the original stone —even down to carvings or scratches. This Orgonil's ritual is a closely guarded secret of someone in Telflamm, who has used it to make gem­stones enough to buy mercenaries and prevent the city from being overwhelmed by Thay on a number of occasions. The discovery of a well packed full of identical rubies — several thousand in all —in back-country Turmish hints that someone there is also familiar with this magic.
Archon: Archon is the name by which fluorspar in large quan­tities of less desirable color and grade is known in the Realms.
Also known as Blue John, this soft, readily carved, purple-and- white hardstone glows with a faint greenish radiance if magically invisible (not disguised or ethereal) objects or creatures come within 20 feet of it.
Augelite: A soft, fragile ornamental stone found naturally in clear, colorless crystals, augelite is easily worked without special skill or tools but does not last long in normal use for adornment, though it is often used for such by the Uthgardt barbarians and other primitive peoples. It cannot be carved into delicate or intri­cate shapes without splitting.
Augelite is magically inert, and in fact has the property of less­ening magical effects in its vicinity. The damage done by a spell is lessened by 1 point per die within 10 feet of any augelite stone, and saving throws vs. all spells and magical effects are augmented by a +2 bonus within the same area of effect.
Aventurine: Sometimes called love stone, this semiprecious quartz gemstone contains many mica crystals that give a spangled appearance to the stone when it is viewed from the proper angle. Aventurine can be golden, medium to light green, or dark to pale blue in color. It is used for tumbled gemstones, cabochons, and ornamental inlays or carvings. It occurs in large deposits, and 20- pound blocks are not uncommon. Powdered aventurine is often used to penetrate magical disguises; its touch shatters most illu­sion and transformation magics.
Azurite: Azurite is a form of malachite slightly rarer than that mineral's banded, multitone-green normal color variety. This ornamental stone is a deep blue with opaque mottling in darker shades of blue. It is often smoothed from its irregular natural con­dition and used to ornament belts and rings. Its powers are akin to those of malachite but more restricted: Azurite prevents all heat damage to any being in direct (flesh-to-gemstone) contact with it. This lessens most fire and flame damage by half. Among certain Netherese, Halruaan, Myth Drannan, and (later) Calishite families, lucky tokens of azurite were tied to the body in hidden places (such as the armpits) for protective reasons (to lessen damage while cooking, for example).
Banded Agate: This opaque stone is a waxy, smooth form of quartz that has striated bands of brown, red, blue, and white stripes. While it is primarily used as an ornamental stone in inlays on furniture, in cheap brooches, and as "soothe stones" that mer­chants fondle to relieve tension during negotiations, banded agate is also crushed and placed into sleeping drafts in small amounts to insure a long and restful sleep. Although it does not increase the efficacy of sleep-related potions or spells, banded agate pow­der is used as a spell ink ingredient and a potion base.
Beljuril: Beljurils, also known as fireflashils, are unique to the Realms so far as any sage can determine. These jewels are found as smooth-surfaced, asymmetrical (but roughly spherical), fist­sized stones. They occur in old rock, and most frequently are quarried from blue claystone. They are durable and very hard, and cutting one typically wears out several sets of metal tools. Because of this, beljurils are usually worn whole or simply split in half in pectorals or shoulder plates that are fashioned with pronged (claw) settings. No beljurils significantly larger or smaller than approximately 3 to 5 inches in diameter have yet been found.
Normally a deep, pleasant, sea water green, beljurils periodically blaze with a sparkling, winking, flashing light. This discharge is pleasantly eye-catching in a candlelit great hall or a lantern-lit danc­ing grove, but in a dark chamber or the murky night, it is dazzling. At random, beljurils absorb some small amounts of heat, light, and vibratory energy from their surroundings (the area within a 30-foot radius around them) without negating that energy's normal effects. Periodically, they then discharge this stored energy in a sparkling flash. Beljurils usually flash about once per hour, but rates vary from stone to stone, regardless of size or age and for no known rea­son. Their discharge is silent and cold; the sparks given off are few and do not carry a strong electrical jolt.
Beljurils are sometimes used in experiments by alchemists, sages, and artisans, but have not yet proven useful as a power source, but wands of lightning and other magical items that dis­charge electricity) fashioned with beljuril chips at their ends deal an additional 1d6 points of damage beyond the normal 6d6, and powdered beljuril is a prized ingredient in spell ink formulae and item enchanting baths for all things magical concerned with gath­ering, storing, or conducting electricity. The gemstones are often used for warning lamps or night beacons by the wealthy.
Black Opal: Black opal is a greenish type of opal with black mottling and gold flecks. Usually found in ancient hot springs or their dry remnants, this gem is most often tumbled smooth and cabochon cut. The Faerfinian phrase "Black as a black opal" means, effectively, not very black (or evil) at all. It is used to describe good-hearted rogues and similar individuals who would be embarrassed by praise. Those who work with magic know black opal as a potent explosive: When powdered and mixed with powdered orl and then introduced to any open flame in a particu­lar way, the result is a violent explosion that does 6d8 points of damage to all within 10 feet, 4d8 to all 11 to 20 feet distant, and 2d8 to all 21 to 30 feet distant. A saving throw vs. petrification is allowed to sustain only half damage, and whether owner's save or not, items must make a successful saving throw vs. disintegration if within 10 feet or against crushing blow if 11 to 20 feet away or be destroyed. Items need not save if beyond 20 feet from the blast.
Black Sapphire: Black sapphires are a rare variety of sap­phire that is a deep, rich black with yellow or white highlights. These jewels come mostly from the South, in particular the Great Rift, as they are most plentiful in the Deep Realm of the dwarves and are brought up through the Great Rift to the surface world for trading. Dwarves prize them highly, as do a growing number of wizards who have learned that once a black sapphire has been cut and polished, it prevents temporal stasis, time stop, and all chronomancy wizard or priest spells and time sphere spells from functioning within 30 feet of it. Such magics cease to function if a black sapphire is brought within 30 feet of their areas of effect. (Some resume operation after the gem is no longer present, and others are ended, according to their natures.)
Bloodstone: Bloodstone is a dark greenish gray variety of semi­precious quartz gemstone flecked with red crystal impurities that resemble drops of blood. Ninety percent of the bloodstones in the Realms come from the Vaasa/Damara area (the Bloodstone Lands), and most of those come from a single mine that is manned by human, dwarf, and gnome miners. Bloodstones are the chief export of this region, and as a result, they are readily found throughout the Inner Sea lands. The output of this mine is so plentiful that the stones are used, uncut, as currency along the Sword Coast, in the Moonsea North, and among mercenaries all over the Realms. When worn as gemstones (typically by farmers and foresters who have little wealth to spare on such things), these semiprecious stones are usually cabochon cut with beveled edges into smooth ovals.
The magical uses of bloodstone are many. It has long been known that a single bloodstone and a leafy spring of the herb heliotrope can serve as alternative material components for the invisibility spell without altering the magic in any way, but fewer
priests and wizards by far know that the gemstone can serve as an alternative material component in most divination and storm- related magics. A bloodstone laid on an open wound acts as a bloodstaunch, closing the wound, banishing any disease or blood poisoning, and stopping bleeding instantly. It cannot heal damage that has already occurred and dissolves in conferring this boon. Bloodstone healing only works on a particular being once per month (lunar cycle).
Bluestone: A colloquial name for the ornamental stone sodalite (sometimes called ditroite), this soft, brittle gemstone is rich blue and sometimes veined with pink, cream, white, and yel­low. It can be found in old and weathered rocky environments such as the Galena Mountains, the Storm Horns, and the Thunder Peaks, where it is plentiful. It is usually cut cabochon or tumbled in barrels of gravel and sand, because it is very rarely hard enough to be cut in facets. Powdered bluestone added to plain water lit by any magical radiance yields a potion that acts either as a neutralize poison or heals 1d2 points of damage. If added to any magical healing potion, it adds both a neutralize poison function and an additional 1d4 points of restorative boon to the draft.
Blue Quartz: This ornamental stone is a transparent, pale blue crystal usually employed only for adornment. In rare cases, blue quartz crystals can be fist-sized or larger, and in olden times these were the favorite jewels for gems of seeing. These days, blue quartz sees use as a material component in scrying spells and, when sliced and properly treated, in the making of the magical cusps known as eyes (eyes of the eagle and the like).
Boakhar: Also known as wulfenite, this extremely soft and fragile semiprecious stone sees some use in ornamental situations because of the brilliant red-and-orange flash of the translucent gemstones cut from its flat red and orange crystals. Most often seen in old Sembian and Calishite furniture adorning inlays, boakhars erupt in jets of flame if a magic missile spell is cast or a moving magic missile passes within 10 feet of them. Such jets are 7 feet long, last for 1 round, consume the gemstones, ignite flamma­ble substances they touch (but never anything touching the gem­stone they come from), and deal 2d4+2 points of damage to creatures that come into contact with them.
Brandeen: Also known as stibiotantalite, this rare, hard min­eral yields small reddish-brown to honey-yellow faceted fancy gemstones which are worn by many merchants and courtiers who are unable to afford more expensive gemstones. Brandeen's magi­cal use is as a cure for deafness. It is powdered and added to the sap of any living hardwood tree, a message spell is cast on the mix­ture (the message consisting only of vowel sound utterances). The resultant potion, which must not see sunlight unprotected, must then be drunk within a day.
Carnelian: Also known as sard, this is the clear reddish or red­dish-brown form of chalcedony. Tumbled smooth or cut cabochon and polished to a high gloss, this semiprecious stone is used as an adornment. Though seers consider that dream visions of carnelians mean misfortune will come, the gemstone is used by mages to make luckstones and items that protect against evil or harm, and as a material component in spells concerned with the same ends.[3]
Chalcedony: Chalcedony stones are often very large and are used in the carving of statuettes or coffers. Chalcedony is usually cabochon cut and polished, looking rather like ivory when fin­ished. Varieties of this semiprecious stone are mostly white, but rare variations slip to gray or black. The more colorful variants of this translucent stone include carnelians, chrysoprase, and agates; in Faerfin, the term "chalcedony" is used to refer to all the rest of this sort of gemstone.
Chalcedony is used in the making of magical items that ward against undead or have necromantic powers, particularly when human bone is to be avoided because the undead to be controlled or resisted are nonhuman in origin. Powdered chalcedony can be enchanted with a simple spell to make it a tasteless, safe antidote to alcohol—so that when a pinch is added to a drink, no drunken­ness results. (Spies and covert agents often use this powder to remain sober during long feasts.)
Chrysoberyl: This hard, transparent green fancy stone is usu­ally facet cut for adornment. One of the "nine secrets" (types of gemstones that can be transformed into ioun stones by the proper spells), chrysoberyl is used in enchantments that protect against magic jar spells, other hostile forms of possession, and similar necromancies, and in the making of weapons designed to strike incorporeal creatures such as certain undead. It also has medici­nal uses, can aid in divination and scrying magics, and of old was used by certain Netherese sorcerer-kings in message stones that would utter magically recorded speech when touched — treasures collected today as inspirational utterances, heart-stirring words of passion, valued instructions in the working of magic, or directions to hidden treasures.[4]
Chrysocolla: Chrysocolla is a translucent variety of chalcedony that has been colored blue-green to green by traces of copper. This ornamental stone is most highly valued when of uniform color and free of inclusions (flaws caused by the incorporation of other min­erals and impurities into its structure). Most specimens are tumbled for use as earrings and pendant stones; some chrysocollas are faceted for the same uses. It neutralizes alcohol upon contact and is also a valued ingredient in animate dead spell inks and related castings (often used as a powder thrown into a fire).
Chrysoprase: A translucent chalcedony with an apple-green color, this semiprecious stone is found throughout the Realms, but its greatest concentration is in the Storm Horn Mountains of Cormyr, where it is called stormrock. A popular pectoral and ear­ring adornment for Cormyrean ladies, chrysoprase is also used in the making of magical items and spell inks concerned with invisi­bility and as a material component in spells concerned with both invisibility and seeing invisible beings and objects. It is also one of the "nine secrets" (types of gemstones that can be transformed into ioun stones by the proper spells).
Citrine: Also called false topaz, this semiprecious stone is a transparent yellowish quartz. It cleaves well and is usually cut into facets in brilliant or marquise styles. It has the magical property of preventing magic jar attacks from affecting any being wearing or carrying a citrine. Conversely, whole citrines are a favored gem­stone for use as the "jar" itself in the casting of magic jar spells.
Clelophane: Clelophane is the exceptionally beautiful pale green variety of sphalerite (a rock called zincblende or blackjack). This semiprecious stone yields transparent gemstones of green flash (color-play reflection) and unusually large size. Faceted spec­imens 3 inches across have been cut. Clelophane is, however, soft and fragile, and such gemstones wear quickly.
The only known magical property of this gemstone is the "echo effect": If a spell is cast by or on a being wearing, touching, or carry­ing a clelophane, that gemstone is 70% likely to record a still and silent mental three-dimensional image of the being, their surround­ings, and the situation. This image is in turn 70% likely to obliterate any and all previous echoes recorded by the stone; otherwise, a new image is added to any previously recorded images. Such echoes can be called forth repeatedly from the stone by grasping it and mentally willing them to appear. They manifest beside the stone, visible for all to see, and are slightly luminous (in other words, they can be seen in the dark and even used as a very dim light source by those lost in darkness such echo displays last for 3 rounds.
Echoes can be called up as often as desired and persist until replaced, even if hundreds of years pass. They are always of per­fect lighting and sharp clarity, even if the original situation was confusing or obscured, and the scene they originally record fills a 10-foot-radius globe centered on the stone, appearing in at a simi­lar size next to the stone when replayed.
Coral: Coral is formed by small animals that live in the warm seas of the Realms, including the Sea of Fallen Stars. The pink and crimson varieties of this fancy "stone" are considered valuable enough to class as ornaments and be treated as gemstones. Sun­baked to dry them and drive off any smell of rot, coral pieces are smoothed and polished for carving purposes and used as the stems or leaves of mock flowers that are then set with gemstones.
It has long been known in the South of Faerfin that powdered coral is an extremely effective ingredient in the making of potions of healing and of extra-healing. (When determining the hit points restored by imbibing drafts containing coral, reroll all results of 1 and 2.)
Corstal: This ornamental stone is more rarely called petalite. This rare mineral is found in crystals ranging from colorless to pink. It is fairly hard, brittle, and commonly has inclusions; when free of these impurities it can be faceted, but otherwise it is cut cabochon. Worn for adornment mainly by nomadic tribes and poor folk, corstals have only one known magical use: When touched by a magical radiance of any sort (from a fiery blast to a faerie fire), they mirror the hue and intensity of that light within themselves, becoming light sources for 2dl2 rounds before the radiance suddenly fades away again.
Crown of Silver: Crown of silver is the colloquial name for psilomelane chalcedony, a variety of chalcedony containing abun­dant, minute plumes of black manganese arranged in bands. These bands polish to a brilliant, metallic black. Crown of silver is an ornamental stone usually sliced and polished for inlays so as to best show its black bands, but it can also be tumbled or cut cabochon.
Crown of silver prevents rusting when powdered and applied to ferrous metals. It sees use in spell ink and as a casting component of the everbright spell, and can also serve in place of iron filings in most castings (such as the clerical protection from evil magic).
Datchas: The common name for the semiprecious stone dato- lite is datchas. Pink datolite is also called sugar stone. Datchas is cut into faceted gemstones of very pale yellowish green if of the fine variety. Massive datolite, colored by copper and other miner­als, is found in the form of warty nodules up to 10 inches in diam­eter. Such nodules range from white to red, reddish brown, and orange. The most valuable gemstones of the massive variety are orange, and all massive datchas are usually cabochon cut or sliced and polished for inlay work. If powdered datchas is ingested by a wizard (washed down with any nonalcoholic liquid), it doubles the duration of a spider climb spell affecting him or her.
Diamond: Translucent jewels that catch fire when properly faceted, diamonds are hard, translucent jewels that can be clear (appearing blue-white), rich blue, yellow, or pink, among other hues. The hardest of gemstones (save for a few very rare types unique to the Realms) and among the most valuable, diamonds are found in scattered locations throughout the mountain ranges of the northern half of Faerfin and in current or former volcanic regions across the face of Toril. Many of these locations are far underground, making them only accessible to dwarves and underground races that trade with the surface world for other goods. Diamond can be used to cut or etch glass, horn, bone or leather and so serves as a point or cutting edge on the finest arti­sans' tools. It is also worn as adornment.
Diamond dust is almost a universal ingredient in spell ink for­mulae, serving whenever one lacks a substance specific to the magic at hand. It is particularly suited to spells concerning vision, divination, or locating objects. The best gems of seeing are dia­monds, and diamonds are essential adornments in a helm of brilliance.
Conversely, diamonds worn at the throat or on the head ward off dream visions and enchantment/charm magics.[5] In some magics, diamond dust is poisonous, but when combined with cer­tain substances in a secret process, it creates both sweet water potions and empowers both spell inks and item baths concerned with the neutralization of poison. Diamonds are best used in alchemical and sorcerous work at highsun.[6]
Dioptase: A soft, brittle semiprecious stone of vivid emerald- green hue, dioptase (also known as diopside) is found in tiny, flawed crystals and yields only the smallest of faceted gemstones that are used in figurine adornment or to decorate lace. Larger specimens are extremely rare and highly valued, commanding the same prices as more valuable color and clarity variations.
In two turns dioptase dissolves in liquids that have already been enchanted by any spell effect—and each gemstone that is so dissolved restores 1 hit point of damage to a creature who drinks the resulting mixture. Few folk in the Realms know of this alterna­tive sort of potion of healing, but word is spreading.
Disthene: Also known as kyanite, disthene is an abundant ornamental stone that is easily cleaved, but difficult to cut in facets without unintended splitting occurring. It usually has many inclu­sions. Disthene is found in crystals ranging in color from dark blue to pale green. Translucent, blue, facet-grade crystals are the most prized. (Treat doubled base value versions of this stone as this fine blue variety.) Disthene sees magical use as a powdered ingredient in spell inks and the spells themselves that involve con­trolled fiery effects (in other words, shaped flames as opposed to explosive).
Emerald: A brilliant green beryl, the emerald cleaves along straight, boxlike lines. This jewel is so often displayed with a par­ticular rectangular faceted cut that the cut's name has become an "emerald" cut, and it is known—more properly —as a modified step cut only among gemcutters. Emeralds also lend themselves to the baguette or table faceted cuts. It is used for adornment, in spell ink formulae, as a spell component, in item enchantment baths, and (as whole, mounted gemstones) as a discharge point in items concerned with fertility, health, and growth. Emerald breaks to reveal falsehood and concealed hatred, and many kings have worn rings carved entirely of emerald to parleys to detect treachery and deceit without the use of spells. When employed in complex magical processes, emerald is best used at "waterclock."[7]
Epidote: This abundant ornamental stone can be cabochon cut or faceted. Its smallest crystals are clear, but larger crystals are progressively darker shades of red. A variety of epidote known also as piedmontite can be cut into large cabochons of a deep rose color. Epidote is prized as an ingredient in potions of undead con­trol and in the inks used to write protection from undead scrolls.
Euclase: Euclase is a rare precious stone found in small, read­ily cleavable crystals ranging from colorless to pale yellow, vivid yellow, pale green, and blue. The blue stones are the most prized. (Especially valuable samples of euclase are blue euclase.)
Euclase reacts violently to magic: If a spell is cast on one of these gemstones or on a being wearing or bearing one, a flame strike identical to the area of effect of the priest spell of that name roars up from the gemstone, consuming it and dealing the usual 6d8 points of damage, or 3d8 if a successful saving throw is made, to beings in contact with it.
Eye Agate: Eye agate is similar to banded agate, but instead of striated bands, the layers within the stone appear as concentric circles. These rings are usually gray, white, brown, grayish-blue, and drab green. Like banded agates, these ornamental stones are often ground up and pinches of their dust placed in sleeping drafts, though its effectiveness in these drafts is pure folk belief, and in actuality the gemstone powder does not alter their normal effectiveness.
Fire Agate: Fire agate is the name given to chalcedony which contains thin lines of iridescent goethite (a rustlike impurity). When properly cut, the iridescence of this ornamental stone displays red, brown, gold, and green hues. The finest specimens are partly translucent, which allows the best display of color. (Treat improved variations of this gemstone as this translucent variety, ) Whole fire agates are dissolved in the blood of a fire lizard or pyrolisk to form the most favored base for potions of fire resistance.
Fire Opal: A brilliant orange-red type of gem, fire opals are usually uniform in hue or contain golden or greenish flecks. They
are most often found near active hot springs and geyser activity. Fire opals are often enchanted and are an essential part of pro­ducing helms of brilliance. More broadly, they are used in the ink formulae, enchantment baths, or as a discharge point of spells or items that cause, release, or control fire.[8]
Flamedance: This precious stone is an extremely rare translu­cent gemstone found in small crystals or fragments. It is hard and resists cleaving when worked, making it ideal for use in carving. It is usually used in lapidary work only when faceted gemstones can be cut from the crystals. A very pale yellow or green in hue, it sees magical use for the property for which it is named: It can withstand any fire, protecting items set with it and beings wearing it alike.[9]
Fluorspar (Fluorite): Fluorspar, also known as fluorite, is a soft, readily cleavable ornamental gemstone occurring in many colors, If the rough gemstone is pale blue, green, yellow, purple, pink, red or is physically small, it is usually cut into faceted gem­stones. The pink or red varieties, sometimes known as cabra stones and are the rare, more valuable varieties. A massive, pur- ple-and-white banded variety known as archon or Blue John is used for carving. In all of its forms, fluorspar has the same prop­erties: It glows with a faint greenish radiance if magically invisible (not disguised or ethereal) objects or creatures come within 20 feet of it.
Frost Agate: Also known as frost stone, this rare, beautiful ornamental gemstone has frostlike white markings, It is usually tumbled and polished glassy smooth. A gemcutter of unusual skill (such as one possessing more than one nonweapon proficiency slot devoted to gem cutting) can cut the fragile stone into facets without splitting it so that at each point where the facets meet (such as in a polyhedron cut, which forms the stone into the shape of a d20), a snowflake of white "frost" appears. Enchanted versions of these stones are often luckstones. Lesser varieties are powdered and treated like other agates and used in sleep drafts and as ingredients in numerous potions. In all potions, as it seems to almost ensure peaceful (in other words, nonpoisonous and nonexplosive) potion miscibility.
Garnet: Garnets are general class of crystals ranging from deep red to violet in color. These precious stones are normally isometric in shape, with 12 or 24 faces to a typical crystal, though 36- or 48-faced crystals have been found. Garnets are found in granites and in metamorphic rocks, such as marbles, in a number of locations throughout northern Faerun. Thought by some fading faiths to be the hardened blood of divine avatars, garnets are gen­erally considered useless in magical work. They actually have the ability to double or treble damage done by weapons they are mounted on—when such weapons have been properly enchanted to call on this property. Such enchantments should commence at high morn.[10]
Gold Sheen: Gold sheen is a rare variety of obsidian that is golden in color and flecked with minute spangles. When used as a
gemstone, gold sheen is usually tumbled so as to retain as much of the stone as possible and polished to a glassy, gleaming finish. This semiprecious stone is brittle but in the past was often used to ornament belts or shields. Chips of gold sheen are sometimes used as a form of currency among mercenary encampments. Added to any type of spell that creates a radiance, gold sheen allows the caster to precisely control the hue of the spell effect, and when added to invisibility magics, it increases the duration of such spells by 1d3 rounds.
Goldline: Goldline is the name given to quartz with lines of gold-colored goethite imbedded in it. It is sometimes called cacox- enite. The native quartz stone that forms the base for the goldline can be citrine, amethyst, or smoky quartz, and the goethite appears within this base as brilliant yellow or gold fibers or tufts that run in parallel lines. This ornamental stone usually occurs naturally in pieces 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and it is tumbled or cabochon cut for decorative use. Sometimes larger slabs of goldline are found, but these rarely survive travel unbroken. When consumed in an open flame in combination with the right spells, goldline is one of the easiest to obtain magical empowering ingredients to give a bladed metal weapon a bonus enchantment.
Greenstone: Greenstone is the common name of chlorastro- lite, a gray-green variety of pumpellyite found in nodules of up to %-inch diameter in solidified lava flows. It is a soft ornamental stone and is usually cabochon cut. The finest quality greenstone can be polished to a glassy finish, and such stones are sometimes called chlorastras. Greenstones of exceptional size are made into greenstone amulets (protective devices that make the wearer immune to many mind-influencing spells, based on the protec­tions of an ongoing mind blank spell), but not all greenstone jew­elry is so enchanted. Often a ruse involving nonmagical greenstones and Nystul's magic aura makes such jewelry appear valuable when it is actually worthless.
The smallest and most flawed greenstones are ground to pow­der for use as material components in spells that resist mental attacking magic and other protective and barrier spells. It should be used with care: There are reports of it completely negating cer­tain spells it was added to. It is also one of the "nine secrets" (types of gemstones that can be transformed into ioun stones by the proper spells).[11]
Hambergyle: Hambergyle, also called hambergite, is a semi­precious stone that is found in crystal or fragmentary crystal form. It is rare, colorless, and fairly hard, yielding small, faceted gemstones. Its crystals can be held in a flame and a light spell pro­nounced over them to create (at the cost of the gemstone, which vaporizes) a continual light effect.
Heliodor: This precious stone is a deep yellow variety of golden beryl varying in hue from greenish yellow to reddish yel­low and yielding large or medium impressive faceted gemstones.
In magic, heliodor can be used as a casting component in all priest spells of the sun sphere in place of normal components that one lacks (provided these need not be specially constructed). Pow­dered heliodor is essential in the forging of a sun blade.
Hematite: Hematite is a shiny gray-black gemstone often cut in a baguette fashion (rectangular with beveled sides). These orna­mental stones are prized by fighters and often used in magical periapts (both periapts of healing and periapts of foul rotting). They are not magical in nature, though they are particularly responsive to
Horn Coral: This precious stone is a deep black coral similar to Angelar's skin save for its solid color. It is also called night coral. Horn coral is used in jewelry as a polished twig or branch of material or is cabochon cut. Those who wear horn coral and touch it with one of their own tears can call forth its magical prop¬erty (as the cost of the gemstone, which dissolves when the effect ceases ): It empowers creatures to water walk (as the 3rd-level priest spell) for up to 6 turns at a time.
Hornbill Ivory: Hornbill ivory is not ivory at all, but rather material from the beak of the hornbill bird. This hardstone is carved into items such as combs and beads or used for inlay work in stone or wood items of furniture. This tough substance can be employed as a material component in spells and in the making of certain magical items and tokens concerned with flight.
Hyaline: A milky (or white) quartz, hyaline is often set or inlaid in silver and is either cabochon cut or sliced into plates. The milk¬iness of this ornamental stone is caused by tiny droplets of water or gas (carbon dioxide) trapped in the crystals. Grains of gold often fleck hyaline. It glows with a blue radiance when active magic takes effect, is launched, or passes within 20 feet of it.
Hydrophane: Hydrophane is a gemstone much favored by sailors and aquatic races. This semiprecious stone is a variety of opal that is opaque and of a frosty-white or ivory color when dry. In this state, it appears rather unattractive. When soaked in water, it becomes transparent and iridescent, reflecting a rainbow spectrum of colors like a prism. It is usually cabochon cut or sliced into layers for use in inlays. It is also used in water-oriented items and potions, especially those conveying the ability to breathe water or control over water elementals. When used as an additional component in the casting of color spray spells, hydrophanes forces creatures to make a saving throw vs. the spell at a -1 penalty.
Hypersthene: Also known as bronzite, hypersthene is nor¬mally an opaque brown color containing silvery spangles, but it is sometimes reddish or greenish in hue. This semiprecious stone and is rarely found in untracked pieces larger than Vi inch across, and as a result it yields small gemstones. It is usually cabochon cut. Hypersthenes have the magical property of wyvern warding: If worn or carried by any being who encounters a priest's wyvern watch spell, they prevent their bearer from being seen or struck by the spell, so that the spell maintains its vigilance, but the gem- bearer can freely pass its warded area.
Iol: Also known as iolite, cordierite, or violet stone (despite its usual overall hue of blue), this semiprecious stone is usually cut into faceted gemstones to best display its color change when viewed from different directions. Iols so viewed appear straw-yellow, blue, and dark blue. Small, cut iols can be clear, but larger specimens usually contain silky inclusions of another substance that gives them an internal star effect or even trapped hematite crystals, which give the same rich golden flash of color as is found in sun- stones. Iols have strong associations with magic in Faerhnian leg¬end, but few folk know their true magical use: They are the best sort of gemstone to transform (with the proper, secret spells) into ioun stones.
Iris Agate: Iris agate is a massive hardstone variety of agate much used in temples for effect. Its many swirling colors can be seen vividly when light shines through it, but it otherwise appears white. Its sole magical property is that of spell reflection: A spell that is hurled against a screen or statue of this material rebounds right back at its source. For this reason, false guard statues or sil¬houettes of iris agate are sometimes placed in vault doorways when magical attacks are expected.
Irtios: Also known as danburite, this hard, transparent-to- translucent semiprecious stone is found as crystals in deep rock or as water-worn pebbles in streambeds or gravel deposits. It is either colorless or a very pale yellow. Irtios crystals are often found on sword scabbards and wizards' staves because they pre¬vent mildew, rot, and molds from affecting any organic substance they are in contact with. This protection includes yellow mold, mummy rot, and fungal diseases, and it can extend to a living or even undead creature if an irtios crystal is in continuous, direct- flesh contact with them.
Ivory (or Dentine): The substance that provides the teeth of all mammals is referred to as ivory or dentine when used for decora¬tive purposes. Whenever the teeth or tusks are large enough, they can be used for carving—thus, ivory comes from elephant tusks, hippopotamus teeth, cachalot whale teeth, and the tusks of the wal¬rus, narwhal, and boar. Tiny quantities of fossil ivory from prehis¬toric elephants, mastodons, and sabre-toothed tigers (smilodonsl are also encountered occasionally. In addition, ivory also comes from less commonplace creatures such as behemoths, mammoths, and umber hulks. The price of this hardstone depends on its hard¬ness and durability, its hue and degree of mottling, and the shine it can be buffed to or type of surface treatment it can take. Prices depend on current preferences of style and ornament, and what is valued highly in a particular place or at a certain time can be nearly worthless elsewhere and elsewhen. Ivory provides an ornamental carving material for carried items, building decoration (and even construction in some fantastic instances), and clothing. Dragon teeth and the fangs of certain creatures of a magical nature (such as displacer beasts) have magical uses and properties, but the ivory of common beasts generally does not.
Unicorn horns (alicorns) are technically not ivory, since they are not teeth. It should also be noted that unicorn horns are not used for ornamental carving and that they command prices of thousands of gold pieces from alchemists, as they are held to have mystical properties including the abilities to purify water and food, cure poisoning and disease, return the dead to life, and con¬vey youth and immortality. On a cautionary note, certain Faerfin- ian religions — especially followers of Mielikki and Lurue the Unicorn—take great exception to people hunting unicorns for their horns —or even owning unicorn horns, except in special cir¬cumstances. They have even been known to put to death people convicted of the evil act of killing unicorns.
Jacinth: Also called hyacinth or flamegem, this fiery orange jewel is a relative of the sapphire and other corundum gemstones. It is found only in the Realms; in other crystal spheres, an inferior type of garnet or essonite takes the name jacinth. At the heart of every jacinth a tiny flame flickers and dances—not enough to illuminate surroundings, but enough to be seen from afar. This prop¬erty of the jewel forms the basis for many splendid cloaks and gowns worn by wealthy nobles. Powdered or whole jacinth is a valued ingredient in the making of potions and items dedicated to protection against fire, such as rings of fire resistance.
Jade: Jade is a class of fancy stone including both jadeite and nephrite. It is often found in a massive, carvable form of a lesser grade and is then classified as a hardstone. It appears as an opaque, waxy mineral of light to dark green or white. As jade ages, it darkens further to become a rich brown. Jade is said to enhance musical ability and so is worn as a lucky stone by bards and other musicians in the Realms.
In magical work, powdered jade is the preferred base for spell inks and used as a substitute for all nonorganic spell components for all illusion/phantasm spells. It is an essential ingredient in enchantment baths for magical items that cast illusions as any of their functions — and when so used, should initially be put into such a mixture at candleglass time.
Jargoon: Jargoon is a rare, red variety of zircon much prized for its deep ruby luster. The name "jargoon" is often carelessly applied in the Realms to any large group of mixed gemstones, as in the favorite pirate catch phase: "a duster of jargoons, matey, with garnets as big as yer hand." This fancy stone is credited in legend with being able to prevent a lycanthrope from changing out of his or her human form, though this folk tradition has never been proven true.
Jargoons have a popular use in magic: If a magic missile spell is cast into a jargoon held in the caster's hand, the gemstone explodes violently (dealing the caster 1d4+2 points of damage), but the number of missiles hurled forth by the spell is doubled. In damage, unerring aim, and other specifics, they conform in all respects to the missiles created by an unaltered magic missile spell effect.
Jasmal: Jasmal is a durable, very hard gem. It is found in small veins or, very rarely, larger seam deposits in the Thunder Peaks and the Spine of the World mountains. When polished, jas- mals catch sunlight or torchlight and give off haloes of amber light, although they themselves remain transparent and colorless. Jasmals are usually cabochon cut and thus appear as small, glassy globes of orange light when worn on cloaks or tunics.
Jasmal is so hard that it can hold a cutting edge and even be worked into small nonmetallic weapons or mounted in a row along a blade. In this latter use, it is prized for its ability to take multiple or complex enchantments that the strike of the blade can visit upon victims whenever the jasmals strike for damage. Powdered jasmal is also a favored ingredient in enchantment baths for magical armor and in the ink formula for the spell Veladar's vambrace.
Jasper: Jasper is an opaque quartz semiprecious stone found in reds, browns, and blacks. Vary rare specimens are blue or have bands of blue against the other colors. Crushed jasper is a univer¬sal substitute ingredient in the making of potions, antidotes, and magical items that protect against or neutralize poison—and drinks stored in vessels of carved jasper for at least a day (as is now done at the Palace in Suzail and many other courts) are leached of any poisons, taints, or corrosive powers they may carry. Jasper is the preferred stone for use in both periapts of foul rotting and periapts of proof against poison. 
Jet: A deep black gemstone, this fancy stone is a tough variant of bituminous coal that can be facet cut and displayed either as a pen¬dant or inset into a larger setting. It is the stone of mourning and sor¬row in wealthy cities (such as those in Amn, Calimshan, and Sembia, as well as Waterdeep and Westgate), and remains a preferred mater¬ial for magic jars, a use contributing to its fell reputation. Certain treatments of a jet stone (or specific spells cast too close to one) may well unintentionally free a furious, long-imprisoned mage or strange magic-wielding beast from its depths — or summon a wizshade to the spot. Some such imprisoned beings can use their magic in limited ways to try to bring about their release—but possession of their prison gemstones rarely gives one any influence over them.
Kings Tears: Sometimes called frozen tears or lich weepings, kings' tears are unique to the Realms and are very rare. These jewels are clear, teardrop-shaped, smooth-surfaced, and awe¬somely hard; in fact, none have as yet been fractured, cut, or chipped, even by hammer and forge. The origin of these gem¬stones is unknown, but folklore believes they are the crystallized tears of long-dead necromancer kings and queens.
Sages value kings' tears above all other gemstones for the scenes that can be seen in their depths. In each gemstone, it is said, can be seen that which the weeping monarch loved long ago: in some, women or men; in others, lands now lost and forgotten or greatly changed with time; in yet others, bizarre and incompre¬hensible dream scenes and battles. It is indisputable that these scenes are so bright, sharp, and detailed as to seem alive —and that they are immobile and never change—but what they truly are is unproven.
The presence of a kings' tear within 90 feet always reduces the casting time of a Legend lore spell to 2 turns and causes a name, word of activation, or similarly crucial word regarding the spell subject to come into the caster's mind. An old and secret ritual, known to very few high priests, liches, and reclusive archmages, enables a spellcaster to permanently gain 1 point of Wisdom through the sacrifice of a kings' tear. A kings' tear can be cut to yield up to four gems of insight (if the proper enchantments are used). Finally, kings' tears have been rumored to be tied to the process of creating a philosopher's stone, among other magical items.
Kornerupine: Kornerupine is a hard, rare, brown or green, translucent fancy stone usually found in streambed or esker ridge deposit gravel that yields faceted gemstones of up to middling size. Brown kornerupines have no known magical properties, but if a magic mouth spell is cast on a green kornerupine and the last word of the incantation is left unsaid, the stone reveals a potent property. It can be carried indefinitely, and when the caster later touches it and utters the missing last word of the spell, the stone does not grow a mouth to utter the usual message, but instead records all sounds that can be heard within 20 feet of it for 4 rounds after the caster says the final spell word. Any number of beings may make the sounds, and noises made purely by items are also be heard when the sounds are called forth and "played back" for other listeners).
The stone holds these sounds forever —or until it is destroyed.
It cannot be used to record other sounds, nor can the sounds be magically silenced or altered without shattering the stone. Such stones can and have been used to record solemn agreements, promises, speeches, whispering conspirators and lovers, and
bardic performances. Depending on what a stone has recorded, it may be worth many tens of thousands of gold pieces and that price paid gladly. (After all, what price can one put on words of love from a now-dead beloved or a superb ballad or instrumental minstrelry performed by a famous bard?)
Laeral's Tears: Named for the famous sorceress Laeral, these soft, brittle, colorless fancy stone crystals tend to be large and to keep a glossy, magnificent finish. This stone is the rarest and least- known of the "nine secrets" (types of gemstones that can be trans¬formed into ioun stones by the proper spells) and has another important magical use: If prepared by a complex, secret process known to a few senior witches of Rashemen (and involving the casting of many spells), these gemstones can absorb the harm done to warriors who wear them into battle until the stones shat¬ter, exhausted (whereupon they cease to instantly heal all wounds, leaving the warriors to fend for themselves).
Lapis Lazuli: Lapis lazuli is an opaque, dark to sky-blue orna¬mental stone with gold flecks. The deeper blue the stone, the more highly it is prized. Incorrectly called lazurite in the South, lapis lazuli is usually cabochon cut and polished to show off its golden inclusions. Often the cabochons are carved into fanciful shapes such as scarabs, unicorns, or griffons. Lapis lazuli is the best gemstone to use for a periapt of health if one cannot get or afford a ruby, and when powdered, it becomes the principle base ingredient in the making of potions of heroism and super-heroism.
Lumachella: Also known as fire marble, this hardstone is a rare, dark brown fossil marble variety containing small, irides¬cent, opal-like snails. (Lumachella means little snail.) Powdered, it can be used in the spell inks or as a casting component for both water breathing and airy water spells.
Luriyl: A soft stone, easily worked and widely used, luriyl is also known as apatite. Found in crystals, this semiprecious stone commonly yields attractive faceted gemstones of vivid yellow, green, and yellow-green and on rare occasions comes in hues of blue and purple. Large specimens of blue or purple command high prices (commanding six times the price of the other luriyls or more) and are often used in necklaces, pendants, belts, and as insets in gowns or cloaks. Luriyls glow and vibrate slightly when touched by a magical tracer or scrutiny (any form of scrying or a clairaudience spell, for instance) and hence serve as warnings of unseen eavesdroppers.
Luspeel: Also known as magnetite, this magnetic hardstone is used in temple furnishings for effect (to awe the faithful by tugging on their ferromagnetic metal items) and also has many uses in the making of magical items. In particular, its use is considered vital by many for the proper tempering of swords that will be endowed with several enchantments.
Lynx Eye: Lynx eye is a specific type of labradorite (a feldspar gemstone). Labradorite as a class of stones is pale to dark gray and has patches of colored reflections. This flash is most commonly blue but can be of any shade. Green-flash labradorite is called lynx eye. Lynx eye is usually cabochon cut and fractures easily, so that most of these ornamental stones are less than an inch in diameter. Dissolved in griffon blood or the tears of a catoblepas, lynx eye gemstones form either a base for all healing or necromantically helpful potions or a valuable alternative ingredient in the making of Keoghtom's ointment. 
Malachite: Malachite is a green ornamental stone with stria¬tions of darker green. It is related to azurite, which is bluer in hue, and is usually cabochon cut to provide poorer folk with jew elry. It is (falsely) rumored to prevent falls, and to help sales is often set on rings of feather falling and the like as an ornament, Its true magical use is as a material component in priest spells of the elemental sphere and wizard spells concerned with ice, cold, fire, and heat. Powdered, it is a valued ingredient in enchantment baths for items concerned with warmth, fire resistance, and cold resistance.
Malacon: This glassy brown variety of zircon is found in crys¬tals and provides large faceted gemstones. This semiprecious stone is hard but easily chipped and so is not used in rings or the like; the large gemstones its crystals yield see most service as room adornments rather than for wear. Malacons have an unusual magical use: Those who know how to modify the castings of their spells can choose to cast them into a malacon for release later in one of three ways: when the gemstone is cracked or destroyed by being dropped or a struck; when the caster touches the gemstone and wills the spell to come forth (whereupon the gemstone vaporizes and the magic is launched under full control of the caster or when a period of time set by the caster during the initial casting expires (whereupon the gemstone dwindles away to nothing and the magic within is launched in accor¬dance —as to the target, specific location of the area of effect, and so on—with the directions set down during the initial casting). Malacons can thus be used to create death traps, unpleasant gifts, or turn ornately furnished rooms into defensive strongholds for the caster. Note that specialized spells are necessary to call forth a magical spell from a malacon if one is not the being who originally endowed it with a spell.
Marble: Also called calcite, marble is widely used in the Realms in sculpture, construction, and building ornamentation because of its beautiful colorations (white, black, gray, and pink, among others), its ability to take a polish, and its abundance. This hardstone is extremely heavy, but it is easily quarried in precise dimensions without fracture or wastage. It is porous but (so far as is presently known) is magically inert.
Meerschaum: Also known as sepiolite, this hardstone is very light, porous, compact, and white, and can be quarried and trans¬ported in large pieces without much equipment. It is used in the making of pipes and other small carvings. In magical processes, it may be converted (by the use of a wizard's spell known as stretch- bone) into the missing bones for a skeleton, becoming indistin¬guishable from real bones. (Thus, a priest could successfully employ an animate dead spell to activate a skeleton that contained only one real bone, the rest being meerschaum.) There are rumors that certain wizards can cast clairaudience and wizard eye spells through distant pieces of this stone that they have previ¬ously prepared, and the usual legends about horrific necromantic uses that any bonelike substance attracts exist about it, but details of these latter matters remain either secrets or conjecture.
Mellochrysos: Mellochrysos is a vivid yellow variety of zircon found in large crystals. In the Realms, these are seldom cut, but rather they are polished as is and mounted in metal claw settings for rings, brooches, and knife hilts. This semiprecious stone is hard, and when left in crystal form, mellochrysos resists chipping. Its magical use comes from its reaction to a light spell: If a mel- lochrysos stone is held in an open flame within a day of a light spell
having been cast on the gemstone (the spell can also have just been cast on the gemstone or have been cast some time ago but still be in effect), a single flame rises from the gemstone. The gemstone fuels that flame for up to 12 hours, dwindling away very slowly—and the flame thus produced is not extinguished by wind (including magical breezes) or water (even immersion). An adventurer can therefore carry a flame while swimming underwater or employ the gemstone as a long-term light source. It is also ideal for starting fires — partic¬ularly fires designed to harm enemies or their property—because the ignited gemstone can easily be thrown into the midst of flam- mables or hidden away where its flame is not discovered until too late. Would-be arsonists should be aware that there is a counter to such gemstone flames: the gemstone phenalope.
Microcline: This feldspar ornamental stone is usually tumbled or cabochon cut. It is deep green to blue-green in hue and is sometimes referred as amazonstone. Tiny cleavage cracks within the gemstones reflect light so that a polished microcline stone visibly shimmers. Microcline crystals cleave easily, and fin¬ished stones may split if handled carelessly. Powdered and dis¬solved in the sap of any deciduous tree, microcline is the most versatile and abundant alternative to octopus and squid ink as a base for spell inks.
Moonbar: Moonbar crystals are pearly white, opaque gems found in desert and tropical areas of Toril. Moonbars are naturally large and rectangular with curved corners. They have a smooth, shiny surface, and so when found and washed clean, specimens are immediately suitable for use as decorative stones. Cutting a moonbar to finish the stone is only required when fragmentary moonbars are found. The largest known moonbar serves as the lid of an unknown king's casket in a barrow on the Trollmoors and is almost 7 feet long, but most of these gems are approxi-mately 1 foot long and 4 inches wide. Powdered moonbar is used in ink formulae, potions, and spell components in magic con¬cerned with the control, healing (or cobbling together of disparate bones), and creation of undead. It can serve in the place of impor¬tant but missing ingredients relating to necromancy.
Moonstone: Moonstone is an opaque, white, semiprecious feldspar gemstone usually polished to a bluish sheen. Moonstone glows faintly with captured light for an hour or so in darkness after surrounding or nearby light sources (for example, a torch) are gone. Folk legends say (falsely) that merely seeing this stone forces a lycanthrope into his or her animal form, but magical items that control lycanthropy, affect lycanthropes, or protect against lycan- thropy often use moonstones as ornamentation. To dream of moonstones, seers say, is a warning of danger. These semiprecious stones are also considered sacred to Selfine in her faith.
The only true magical uses of this gemstone are (in powdered form) as a material component in many spells involving barriers or abjurations, and in many evocation spells as a source of magi¬cal storage and sudden, thrusting redirection of that energy. With careful experimentation as to amounts, a wizard can substitute moonstones for many of the nonorganic material components called for in such spells. (This is the so-called "moonstone magic" of the sorcerer Pelathyon Hawkryn of Impiltur, whose family owned rich moonstone mines.)
Moss Agate: This pink to yellow-white agate quartz has fern¬like, gray-green manganese inclusions that make it look like a white stone covered with moss. It polishes well, and is sometimes used in coffer inlays or even (when the growths form eyes, circles,or other striking or meaningful shapes) as a ring or pendant jewel. Moss agate promotes serenity and stability. Ground into a fine powder, it serves as an ingredient in medicines that bring on enforced deep sleep, and in the making of all potions, it causes substances that normally clash to mix together in stable tranquil¬lity and so is always a safe additive, removing any possibility of an explosion or of a failed potion being poisonous.
Mykaro: Also known as smithsonite, this massive semiprecious gemstone can be yellow, straw yellow, pale brown, reddish brown, green, blue, and blue-green. It is brittle when in crystal form, but is both soft and durable when found as a crust in a rock cavity; such crusts can be 2 inches thick and cover a huge surface area. It is usually cabochon cut, particularly if it is patterned with thick bands of varying colors, but it is sometimes faceted. In any form, these gemstones can magically cure blindness if they are powdered and mixed with any nonalcoholic drinkable, the viewing eye of a wizard eye spell is then passed through the mixture, and the afflicted being then imbibes the mixture within 1 turn. The cure takes effect in 1d4+1 rounds unless eyeballs must be regenerated, which slows the remedy until it takes 1 turn.
Mynteer: Mynteer is the name given to phenakite, a hard, col¬orless, and rare gemstone. This semiprecious stone occurs in crystals, usually with inclusions. Because of this, the crystals yield only small faceted gemstones. Its magical use is as a spell ink ingredient for magics concerned with levitation, telekinesis, and other constructs of force that move, hold, or carry things (such as unseen servant spells, Tenser's floating disc, and so on).
Nelvine: Nelvine is the common name of albite, a variety of white feldspar. It is soft and fragile, but easily cut with crude tools. It is found in large amounts in older rocks. Nelvine is occasionally called pigeon stone due to its white, cream, fawn, or brownish- pink color. This ornamental stone exhibits a beautiful celestial blue flash of iridescence known as peristerism. It sees magical use as a spell or spell ink component in magics that disguise or change the appearance of an object or being (without altering such an item's or person's its true nature).
Nune: Translucent, brown crystals also known as staurolite, cross stone, or fairy stone, nunes occur in small, cross-shaped crystals up to 1 inch across either arm in size. The crystals of this ornamental stone are commonly polished to a smooth sheen and pierced to be worn as pendants or linked to form bracelets. Nunes are prized by wizards as a powdered ingredient in the spell ink of the dispel magic spell and in the bath that a wand of negation is immersed in during its formative enchantments.
Obsidian: Also called natural glass or volcanic glass, obsidian is a hard, glossy, and black ornamental stone. It is volcanic in ori¬gin. While it is often chipped into arrowheads or, in larger chunks, used to make weapons, serving as a blade or club, the ornamental grade of stone is usually polished and smoothed. (Waterdhavian parcel-binders wear rings with obsidian roundels 
for easily snipping twine on the insides of their fingers.) An infe¬rior form of obsidian (stones of decreased value) is called pitch¬stone and is both duller and rougher than volcanic glass; it is used for many grinding purposes. Many folk wear polished and tumbled obsidian for adornment, either as jewelry or as inlays on copper or bronze bracers and pectorals. Obsidian is one of the most favored materials for the carving of small figurines and ornamental fingerbowls.
Obsidian is too fragile for most magical uses, but can be employed as a material component in various wizard spells that emulate the famous priestly blade barrier magic. It is used in the making of the famous obsidian steed figurines and is the best known of the "nine secrets" (types of gemstones that can be trans¬formed into ioun stones by the proper spells).
Octel: Also known as scheelite, this fancy stone occurs in soft crystals that yield sparkling faceted gemstones of pale yellow or orange hue. Larger, irregular octel crystals are sometimes mounted on silver for wear as pendants (some jewelers call them "savage fire"), used for slicing and polishing as inlays, or carved and mounted. Octels that have been touched to a ring of free action are called "awakened." They glow with an inner fire bright enough to illuminate their surroundings to a distance of 2 feet when taken into darkened areas. More importantly, they prevent all manner of paralyzation and hold magics from affecting anyone touching them or bearing them. These "awakened" properties are permanent, once gained.
Onyx: Onyx is an opaque agate of black or white hue or bands of both colors in straight lines. This semiprecious stone carves and wears well. In addition to being finished into gemstones, it is often used for figurines, statuettes, and game pieces, including the magical onyx dog. It is one of the "nine secrets" (types of gem¬stones that can be transformed into ioun stones by the proper spells). Contact with onyx aids in safe, relatively painless child¬births, but the stone is otherwise considered unlucky.
Oolite: A quartz variety which occurs in minute spherules, this ornamental stone is solid brown in color and is very similar in appearance to wave-patterned algae gemstones. Oolite spherules (or ool stones, as they are known in the Inner Sea lands) are com¬monly up to 1/16 of an inch in diameter and are too small to be cut. They are usually polished to bring out their color and mounted in silver jewelry, particularly tiaras or pectorals, to form patterns or the eyes of chased and sculpted figures. Powdered ool stones are a valued ingredient in the castings and spell inks of purification and neutralization magics.
Opal: Opaque, smooth gems, opals are pale blue with green and gold mottlings. They. are related in type to fire and black opals, but are only slightly more common. Opals are used in a number of magical items and spells, including helms of brilliance. Opal is almost a universal component in items concerned with the storage of spells so that they can be released later without loss of efficacy or alteration of effect; it can be used as a replace component when other components are lacking. Enchanters are warned never to employ opals in the making of items that evoke both fire and light¬ning or an immediate chain of small but deadly explosions occurs. When employed in a magical process, opal is best used at twilight.


Ophealine: Ophealine is also known as axinite, glass stone, or (if violet) yanolite. Ophealine is cut in facets, and although it does not possess one of the most attractive gemstone hues, it can yield finished gemstones of considerable size that are both hard and durable. On the streets of Waterdeep, such gemstones are once known as knuckle stones because they are often sharpened and worn on rings to serve as punching weapons. When worn, ophealine prevents all manner of magical hold spells and para- lyzations from taking effect and is in fact so deadening to magic that it cannot be used in any castings or spell preparations or the magic fails.
Orbaline: Also known as benitoite, this blue to colorless, soft precious stone shatters easily and is usually found in fragments. These can yield small faceted gemstones, but orbaline is most often used in inlays in statuettes and small ornamented boxes and coffers. Orbaline renders objects (but not living things or undead) it is in contact with resistant to fire, giving them a +4 bonus to all item saving throws vs. normal fire and a +5 bonus to all item sav¬ing throws vs. magical fire.
Orblen: A mineral unique to the Realms, orblen crystals yield deep golden gems of large size that can be faceted or cabochon cut. The hue of this gem has earned it the nickname "honeystone," and it is much favored in the Sword Coast North. Though found in large masses, it is quite rare. The largest known honeystone in existence, a huge hunk of rock 6 inches in diameter, is in the pos¬session of Ring Azoun IV of Cormyr.
If any healing spell is cast into it, an orblen radiates a warmth and a golden radiance of 60-foot radius for 12 turns. Anyone in this radiance is affected as if they had imbibed a potion of vitality; beings who remain within the radiance for at least six consecutive turns also are cured of 2d6 points of damage. If any invocation/evocation school or combat sphere spell is cast into an orblen, however, it explodes in a triple-strength meteor swarm, hurling 12 2-foot-diameter, fiery spheres that cause 10d4 points of damage each outward for 20 feet in all compass directions—with the same overlapping effects as the 9th-level wizard spell of the same name.
Orl: A gem believed unique to the northern half of Faerfin, orls are found only in "blue caves" such as those at Wheloon. Orls occur in the softest rock as sharp-edged, spindle-shaped, symmetrical crystals. These crystals are of red, tawny, or orange hue, but red- hued orls are the most valued. Some orl fanciers prefer to wear the unfaceted, natural crystals rather than faceted cuttings, but most orls are finished into faceted forms. Those who work with magic know orl as a potent explosive: When powdered and Mixed with powdered black opal and then introduced to any open flame in a particular way, the result is a violent explosion that does 6d8 points of damage to all within 10 feet, 4d8 to all 11 to 20 feet distant, and 2d8 to all 21 to 30 feet distant. A saving throw vs. petrification is allowed to sustain only half damage, and whether owner's save or not, items must make a successful saving throw vs. disintegration if within 10 feet or against crushing blow if 11 to 20 feet away or be destroyed. Items need not save if beyond 20 feet from the blast.
Orprase: The common name in the Realms for pollucite, orprase is a brittle, colorless or faintly straw-yellow gemstone of 
medium hardness. This semiprecious stone is found as clear areas in fragments of rock and yields faceted gemstones of small to mid¬dling size. Orprase is in high demand by followers of Tymora and a small but growing number of adventurers who have learned a secret of that faith: If orprase is powdered and mixed with wine that has been consecrated to Tymora by a full priest of the goddess and the mixture (of at least 3 ounces of liquid and one gemstone) drunk, the imbiber gains a +6 bonus on his or her next saving throw or ability check (however far in the future that may be).
Pearl: The product of oysters and other mollusks, these pre¬cious stones are layers of aragonite formed around a bit of grit or other irritant. The resulting pearl has a rich, deep luster. Most pearls are white in the Realms, though rare and more valuable versions come in different colors. (Rainbow and black pearls are the most valuable.) Pearls of exceptional size (3 inches or morel are usually marred or otherwise less valuable, though in one extreme case a head-size, perfect pearl was enchanted and turned into a crystal ball. Pearls are the material components of several spells that transform acids into harmless water and of the neutral¬ize poison spell, as well as being a component in many more gen¬eralized spells. Pearls are the basis for three well-known magical items (the pearl of power, the pearl of the sirines, and the pearl of wisdom), and when powdered, pearl is also valued for use in the enchantment of all magical mirrors.
Peridot: This translucent version of olivine is usually olive green in appearance. It is normally found in basalts and with other quartz deposits. It is a precious stone often used in abjuration spells and items which provide protection against spells and enchantments, and it forms a versatile, "good-as-the-original" spell component in such spells and items, as follows: One peridot per level of the spell to be cast or spell level of the magic to be warded away by an item must be employed (and consumed) in the casting or making.
Phenalope: Also known as rhodonite, this rose-red or pink semi-precious gemstone related to rhodochrosite is occasionally found in deposits large enough to yield cut slabs the size of books, which are shattered, tumbled, and then cut into attractive faceted gemstones. Phenalope prohibits all magical flames (including explosive effects such as fireballs) from igniting or remaining alight within 60 feet, and so it is included in the polished floor mosaics of many palaces and grand houses. (An Unleashed fireball spell would manifest only as a momentary flash of light and a puff of smoky vapors outlining the edges of where the fiery blast would have occurred.) Phenalope also inhibits or extinguishes nonmagical fires. Such fires within its radius of effect have a 6 in 8 chance of extinguishing themselves per round, unless the fire is oil-based (whereupon the chance falls to 4 in 8).
Once a normal fire is out, no re-ignition can occur.
Pipestone: Also known as catlinite, this soft, easily carved brown- to-red hardstone has a single odd magical property: It can be substi¬tuted for wood in the casting of any wizard (not priest) spell.
Psaedros: Psaedros is the more common name for lepidolite, a soft lilac to mauve to pink mica used in carving. With time, this hardstone's colors fade, especially in strong sunlight. Psaedros is used in the carving of cheap coffers, statuettes, bowls, and the like. Its only known magical property is that a priest can use a hand-sized or larger total mass of it to replace both the fire and the holy water as the material components of a wind walk spell.
Rainbow Obsidian: Rainbow obsidian is an obsidian variety in which all colors save yellow are included in the black or gray base, sometimes in pronounced bands or spangles. These semiprecious


stones are usually tumbled into irregular gemstones. Like other obsidian, rainbow obsidian is hard but brittle and rarely finds use in places that receive wear. Its magical use is as a pass stone for prismatic magics: It can pierce the various shells of such spells without ending them or suffering harm and can bring inorganic materials that it is fastened to with it. (In other words, a rainbow- obsidian-tipped weapon could strike through a prismatic wall, but a living person or undead creature wearing a rainbow obsidian ring would not escape the normal effects of the prismatic magic.)
Raindrop: The common name given to cassiterite in the Realms is raindrop, which refers specifically to the flawless, color¬less crystals or areas in larger, dark brown cassiterite crystals. These crystals can yield small, hard, durable faceted gemstones. The precious stones are usually fashioned into teardrop shapes polished to a velvety smoothness and used on cloaks and other garments for decoration—hence their name. Dark brown cassi- terite is much less valuable and known as woodtine. Raindrop and woodtine shares the same magical property: They temporarily darken when touched to any gemstone, metal, or stone that has previously borne a deliberate enchantment (as opposed to just being touched by an unleashed spell), but no longer does. Rain¬drops (and woodtine stones) are more sensitive than the various magical detection and tracer spells, which tend to betray only the strongest of residual, exhausted enchantments as well as active or waiting, untriggered magics.
Ravenar: Ravenar, a glossy, black variety of tourmaline that is also called schorl, is highly valued in the northern half of Faerfin. The gem is less prized in other lands, where it is rare and carries little value. Ravenar is commonly used for inlay work on daggers, buckles, and the like. It shares the magical property of all tourma¬lines: If any sort of spell is cast into a ravenar (regardless of level or class), the gem "drinks" the spell and transforms it into an instant burst of lightning bolts: three 6d6, straight-line bolts that radiate out from the ravenar in any directions desired by the caster, consuming the ravenar in the process.
Red Tears: Also called Tempus' weeping, these teardrop¬shaped, glossy crystals of vivid cherry-red, blood-crimson, or fiery orange hue are thought to be unique to the Realms. They are found in deep mines or gorge walls where old rock has been exposed. Legends say they are the tears of lovers shed for their beloveds who were slain in battle stained red by the spilled blood of the fallen. Red tears can be used as a universal substitute for all material components of healing spells (provided they do not need to be specially constructed) and as an ingredient in the inks of spells concerned with mending objects.
Rhodochrosite: A translucent, pink stone with a glassy luster. Rhodochrosite is usually tumbled smooth and polished, displayed in pendants and rings.
Rhodochrosite is a pink, glassy, translucent ornamental stone that is usually tumbled smooth and polished for wear in rings and pendants, though at times it is left irregular. Its magical use is as an aid in healing. If powdered and consumed in a special tea, an eyeball-sized "rosenstone" has a 20% chance of acting as a neutral¬ize poison or cure disease. The entire batch of tea must be con¬sumed by one being to gain the possible benefit.
Rock Crystal: Rock crystals are clear, transparent stones that are generally softer and less wear-resistant than higher-priced gemstones; it sees more use as adornment on furniture and crowns than as everyday jewelry. Rock crystals of particularly fine
grade —that is, lacking any impurities — are used for optics and prisms (such as eyeglasses, magnifying eyepieces, and spectacles).
In magic use, rock crystal is commonly employed as a component in spells that call for gemstone material of a particular value without specifying the gemstone type. When properly treated (by two minor but secret spells and Veladar's vambrace), it becomes molten, so that it can be melted together with other rock crystal in the same way that glass can be fused — and then becomes so hard as to be usable for mace heads, rock-climbing spikes, and spear or ram heads.
Rogue Stone: Rogue stones are small jewels of a shifting, rainbow-colored, iridescent hue. Their fluid shades of color appear almost liquid under normal sunlight. Rogue stones are extremely rare and always found as singleton gemstones among others in gemstone hoards or in cold regions or underwater in swamps; no more than one is ever found in one place at one time. No one has as yet managed to determine in what sort of rock they are most likely to be found. Rogue stones cleave into natural facets, and it is these surfaces that are iridescent. Some primitive human tribes believe rogue stones to be the sentient essences of dragons or mighty heroes, but sages hold this view to be folk nonsense. Rogue stones are (correctly) thought to increase the chance of magic going wild in their vicinity and are used for the fabled gemjump spell.
Rosaline: Also known as unionite, thulite, or pink zoisite, this ornamental stone is found in either in massive, soft quantities about the size of a human head or in small, harder crystals dis¬playing vivid trichroism: the exhibition of three different colors when viewed from three different angles. The soft variety is cut in 1-pound blocks for trading and later cabochon cut for final sale. The trichroic type, which most often displays either purple, blue, and red or purple, green, and red hues, is cut into facets. Large trichroic crystals have brought higher prices when fashions have turned to brooches and rings adorned with rosaline. (Treat the trichroism variety as a higher value stone.) Certain of the three- colored crystals have a magical use: If borne by a being who comes into contact with any prismatic spell, they vanish, but each crystal consumed also negates one layer of the prismatic magic (outermost layer first, and so on). The difficulty is that most ros¬aline crystals do not have the right nature (color mix) to work in such situations, and identifying the rare "correct" stones is a deadly process that consumes the stone while testing it.
Ruby: This rather common (in Faerun) clear to deep crimson red corundum stone is highly valued because of its sparkling shine and vivid hues. From least value to greatest, it can be found as a clear stone, crimson, or deep crimson. Of about every hun¬dred rubies, one has a white star at its heart and is known as a star ruby. Folklore generally holds rubies to be lucky objects.
Spellcasters know that all items concerned with improving per¬sonal fortune in specific instances (that is, anything that augments ability checks, saving throws, or system shock/resurrection sur¬vival rolls) can be made with a +25% probability of the enchant¬ment succeeding if one ruby per item function is powdered and used in the enchantment process. (If an item has multiple func¬
tions but only one ruby is used, its boon is a +10% bonus.) Ruby dust has a myriad of magical uses, including a key role as an ingredient in spell inks in spells of the elemental and sun spheres or the abjuration, alteration, and evocation schools. It is particu¬larly effective in such uses when employed at "the time of summer sunset." Rubies are essential features of a helm of brilliance and are the preferred gemstones in any item concerned with healing. Correctly used, they can ward off lightnings and earthquakes (both natural and magical), and in very rare instances have been found to contain creatures hitherto unknown in Faerun—crea- tures that live and grow rapidly once the gemstone is shattered with enough care to release but not harm them.
Rusteen: Also known as microlite, this dark reddish brown to pale brown precious stone is much prized for its durability. It is used to adorn swords, armor, and even shields. Its magical use is as a spell component of wall of force and forcecage magics.
Saganite: Saganite is a variety of chalcedony with numerous straight, needlelike inclusions of a different color. It is usually ivory or yellow in color with brown or greenish-black needles, and the needles often radiate, starlike, from a common center. Saganite occurs in large deposits and is often sold in fist-sized or larger chunks. In Amn, one may hear two tradespeople discussing the sale price of "a fist of saganite." This ornamental stone is sometimes called needle stone, love stone, or hairstone. Saganite added to the material components of all spells that involve explosions or out¬bursts of flame as their direct spell effects augments the usual dam¬age dealt by the spell by an additional 1 point of damage per die.
Samarskite: Samarskite is a hard and heavy, velvet-black rare- earth mineral with a metallic luster. These semiprecious stones are cabochon cut for use as mourning gemstones or in black cer¬emonial finery in the Realms. In either use it has the same magi¬cal function: The presence of samarskite anywhere on a being diminishes all damage done to that being by any undead attack by 1 point of damage per attack or, if an attack causes multiple dice of damage, per die of damage.
Sanidine: A feldspar gemstone that is pale tan to straw yellow in color, sanidine is found on the surface of gravel screes or sand dunes. This ornamental stone is cut into faceted gemstones of a size to be set in finger rings or smaller and is a favorite of nomadic desert peoples, such as the Bedine. If present in solid form as large as the caster's thumb (or greater), it can serve successfully as the sole spell component for all spells involving either water or purifi¬cation (provided a component need not be specially constructed).
Sapphire: Sapphire is a brilliant blue, translucent corundum mineral. Sapphires vary from a clear, pale blue to a radiant azure. Sapphires augment enchantments. and so are widely used in the making of magical swords and other magical items, especially those related to magical prowess, the mind, and the element of air. An important exception to this boosting is magic that causes fear, anger, despair, or insanity: The wearer of a sapphire is par¬tially protected against such effects. In magical processes, sap¬phires are best used at midmorn.
Sarbossa: This ornamental stone bears a wide variety of alter¬nate names: thomsonite, lintonite, comptonite, ozakite, eye stone, or fire rock. It is found in small nodules of up to 1 inch in diameter in small cavities in rocks formed during volcanic eruptions. Sarbossa is fibrous and therefore is both tough and soft. It is basically grayish- green in hue but is sometimes beautifully colored with rings of pink, red, white, and green. When used as a component in spells that involve transformations of the shape of a spell victim or recipient, any amount of sarbossa adds 1d2 rounds to the spell duration.
Sardonyx: Sardonyx is a form of onyx with alternating bands of carnelian in a red and white pattern. This semiprecious stone is used in spells and in creating magical items which affect Wisdom. It has the same magical uses and properties as the jewels known as kings' tears and is also one of the "nine secrets" (gemstones that can be transformed into ioun stones by the proper spells). Sar¬donyx gemstones sometimes guard against magic missile damage, but this is not a reliable protection.
Satin Spar: Also known as feather gypsum, this extremely soft but sparkling and easily polished ornamental stone is too fragile for wear. It is white, pink, pale orange, or pale brown in hue. It can readily be dyed to any hue at the cost of its sparkle and is often used in gemstone carvings. It has the sole magical property of partially negating magic missiles: Any such missile vaporizes a satin spar stone worn, carried, or touched by its target being, but deals only half damage to that being.
Scapra: This name is given to the finest scapolite stones: pale to medium yellow fancy stones that are soft and easy to cut into facets, but also too soft for use in rings or on clothing. Scapras have a very specific magical property: When added to the material components of a guards and wards spell (and consumed in its casting), they permit the addition of either another one of the five possible "additional magical effects" (either a duplicate of one cho¬sen by the caster or another effect) or a phantasmal force (usually an illusion of a guard, monster, glowing eyes, or a menacing wiz-ard is chosen). One addition per gemstone can be made to the warded area, with a limitation of another five additional effects.
Serpentine: Serpentine refers to a wide variety of related min¬erals known more precisely as williamsite, ricolite, verde antique, picrolite, taxoite, bowenite, or poor man's jade. Those varieties used extensively for carving are traded as serpentine stone. The most common usage of serpentine as a semiprecious stone in the Realms refers to the finest translucent, vivid, pure green william¬site. This intensely green stone is cut into faceted gemstones or cabochons. Serpentine of this type is most widely used in cabo¬chon form and is set into ornamented weaponry, armor, and har¬nesses, rings, and courtly jewelry of all types.
This type of serpentine confers magical protection equal to that afforded by a priestly resist fire or resist cold spell. Each stone functions once against cold and once against fire, automatically and regardless of the bearer's wishes, and then crumble into use¬less, ashen dust. If a being wears multiple serpentines, only one acts to protect in a trigger situation, not all of them.
Serpentine Stone: Serpentine ranges in use from being cut into fine faceted gemstones to — in less valued forms such as this dark green hardstone variety—being carved into ornamental screens, fur¬niture inlays, and such items as the serpentine owl. Also known as verde antique, this carving hardstone is really a group of very similar
stones. Three of them share the same property as the gemstone known as serpentine: They afford the same magical protection as a priestly resist fire or resist cold spell. Each piece of the right sort of serpentine stone functions once against cold and once against fire, automatically and regardless of the bearer's wishes, and then crum¬ble into useless, ashen dust. If a being carries, is in contact with, or wears multiple serpentine stones, only one act to protect in a trigger situation, not all of them. Unfortunately, only jewelers, expert miners (such as most dwarves), and wizards and priests experienced in working with this particular material can tell the right serpentine stone from the wrong (magically inert) sort.
Shandon: Also known as natrolite, this fancy stone occurs in slender, colorless crystals that yield tiny faceted gemstones used by skilled clothiers to adorn veils and robes with ornamentations to impart the effect of beads of water glistening on the material. Such gemstones fetch their true value only when sold to gemcut- ters and others familiar with them; they are too small and color¬less to impress the eye of the uninitiated. When an ironguard spell (which renders the subject's body immune to all metal weapons, which move freely through the body as if it were not there) is cast on a single shandon stone that has already been affixed to a gar¬ment on which there are at least six other shandons, the ironguard effect becomes a permanent effect of the garment, pro¬tecting whoever wears it. Note that the effect does not extend to body areas not covered by the specific garment and that a poi¬soned metal weapon still introduces its poison into the body that the metal blade cannot harm. (The garment is also invisible to metallic items, which do not catch on it.) If the enspelled shandon is ever crushed, shattered, or becomes separated from the gar¬ment, the magical effect is ended.
Sharpstone: Sharpstone is another name for novaculite, a quartz variety that occurs in various colors. Commonly quarried as a gritty sharpening stone, it is sometimes fine enough for gem¬stone use (as an ornamental stone) when a high-grade chunk is cabochon cut. It is difficult to polish to a high luster since it is both hard and dense, but it can yield large stones. It has the magi¬cal property of increasing the radius of spell effects by 10 feet at the cost of 1 die of damage (or, if a spell does not do direct physi¬cal damage, of 1 round of spell duration). Any amount of sharp- stone consumed in a casting has this effect; large amounts or multiple stones cannot increase its efficacy.
Sheen: Sheen is a variety of obsidian that has many minute, spangly inclusions ranging in color from mahogany to russet to silver and gold. The most valuable of these, gold sheen, is a semi¬precious stone, but most forms of sheen are merely ornamental stones. Sheen is usually tumbled if it is large in size and attractive or cabochon cut if smaller or possessed of flaws that a skillful cut¬ting could eliminate; it can be polished to a glossy, gleaming fin¬ish. Sheen added to any type of spell that creates a radiance allows the caster to precisely control the hue of the spell effect. When added to invisibility magics, it increases the duration of such spells by 1d3 rounds.
Shou Lung Amethyst: Shou Lung amethyst is a corundum mineral closer in compositions to ruby and sapphire than it is to the Faerfinian amethyst. Shou Lung amethyst takes its name from its deep purple hue. This gem is said to come from the lands of Kara-Tur in the uttermost East, where its is used to protect the 
lives of noblemen. It is reputed to have puissant magical powers — so far unknown even to the most persistent wizards of Faerun.
Shou Lung Emerald: A much harder and more lustrous vari¬ation of the western (Faerunian) emerald, the Shou Lung emerald is called the bureaucrat's stone in the fabled lands of Kara-Tur. Legend says that only three of these jewels exist, but since at least a dozen caches of them are scattered throughout the west, this statement is discounted as myth. Regardless, the bright green gemstone is highly valued. This eastern stone is little seen in Faerun, and little is known of it, though its pleasing appearance makes it highly valued.
Shou Lung Topaz: A fiery yellow corundum mineral, Shou Lung topaz is only imported to the western Realms by travelers from Shou Lung and the other mysterious nations of the East.
This gem is often used in magical items associated with felines; its color reminds some observers of the deep yellow of some of cats' eyes. It is rumored to have many magical properties so far unknown to Faerunian wizards.
Silkstone: A quartz ornamental stone, silkstone is a special, fibrous variety of tiger eye which has a faint sparkle. It is found in many colors, yellow being the most abundant, and can be cabo¬chon cut, tumbled, or engraved to make seals for nobles and mer¬chants. To priests and mages, powdered silkstone is an reliable substitute component in the casting of spells, and the making of the inks to write them, concerned with life-energy draining and restoration. Silkstone is also sometimes worn around the neck to ward off spirits. This is more folk tale than fact, but it is true that the undead creatures known as shadows always hesitate for 1 round when they confront a being wearing silkstone. (This hesita¬tion ends abruptly if the silkstone wearer attacks them, but does allow the gemstone wearer to flee untouched, to get out a weapon or item of gear from a backpack or other awkward storage spot, or to launch the first attack.)
Sinhalite: A rare stone, sinhalite is found only in streambed gravel or the deposits left by vanished streams as pale straw- yellow to yellow-brown water-worn pebbles. This fancy stone yields cabochon gemstones up to 1 inch in diameter known as sin- halas. Sinhalite has only one magical property: No sort of magical darkness can form or persist within 20 feet of a sinhala.
Skydrop: The common name given in the Realms to clear or lightly colored tektite material, especially fragments of glass of celestial (meteoritic) origin found in the vast shifting sands of Anau- roch and other deserts. Such semiprecious stones are usually buffed and polished to sparkling clarity and fixed in claw mounts to be worn as pendants or teardrop earrings. They render any beings touching, carrying, or wearing them immune to petrification.
Smoky Quartz: Also called cairngorm or moorland topaz, smoky quartz ranges from a gritty yellow to brown or black in color. As a black gemstone, it is called morion and used by necro¬mancers. This semiprecious stone is usually brilliant cut into faceted gemstones. Often found in quite large masses, it is much used as a weapon adornment, but only its morion form sees magi¬cal use as a spell ink ingredient and spell component in all necro¬mantic and necromancy magics, bone tinctures, and bone-strengthening baths, especially when bony material is to be incorporated into a permanent magical item.4


Snowflake Obsidian: Snowflake obsidian is a brittle, weak, volcanic, black glass with grayish, flowerlike inclusions that resemble snowflakes if the stone is properly cut. This ornamental stone is found in large deposits and either tumbled to gemstone form for sale or sold as quarried in large, irregular chunks (trade blocks) of up to 25 pounds. It is sometimes carved into small fig¬urines. If worn or carried on an outer surface of a being or item, a thumbnail-sized or larger piece of snowflake obsidian reduces any damage done by a dragon breath weapon attack by 1d4 points per die, to a minimum of 1 point per die. The stone is consumed in doing so and has no effects on transformations or incidental effects of the breath weapon attack.
Soapstone: Soapstone (also known as steatite), which comes in varied hues from white to green and is often dyed other colors, can be intricately carved and quickly brought to a warm, glossy finish. Too brittle and soft for extremely fine and delicate carving, this hardstone type of talc is easily worked by unskilled hands. It is reputed to have magical properties related to fire and the capture of warmth; but these remain (as yet) a mystery to my investigations.
Sphene: Sphene is a soft, brittle precious stone easily worked by unskilled cutters (like scapra). It comes in various yellow to green shades, but a fine emerald green is the most prized hue. Sphene crystals can be cut into beautiful, sparkling, faceted gem¬stones of small and medium size. It has the little-known magical property of warding off lightnings (including those borne of spells), causing saving throws against such effects to be a made at a +4 bonus and all damage rolls from lightning to be made at a penalty of -1 point per die.
Spinel: A translucent, durable precious stone found in red (from the hot deserts of the South), blue (from lands east of Faerun, and green (from the jungles of Chult and Mhair) hues. Green spinels are the rarest sort. Spinels that are specially crushed and ingested enable any spellcasting being to instantly recall the last spell it cast.
Spodumene: A hard and quite durable stone, spodumene is also known as kunzite in its pink-to-purple varieties and hiddenite when emerald green in hue. This semiprecious stone is readily cleaved and can often be cut into faceted gemstones of great size. The kunzite variety suffers from a strange phenomenon: Its color fades with the passage of time to a pale shadow of its former self. Such variants of kunzite are called ghost stone. Spodumene has the magical property of opening wizard-lock doors and items upon contact, provided it is sprinkled with at least three drops of holy water. (The water is consumed at each functioning, but the gemstone is not.)
Star Diopside: Star diopside is the most prized form of a hard, durable mineral that is rarely found in attractive colors.
This mineral is usually too dark green in color for great beauty, but mountain- and streambed-pebble crystals of pale to medium green hue produce attractive semiprecious stones. (See dioptase above.) A few mineral specimens of darker green appear to radiate four- or six-rayed stars when cut, and these fancy stones are rated at higher values for gemstone variation under this classification rather than that of dioptase. These starred stones are valued in both jewelry use and for mounting in palace, temple, and court¬room entryways, because they have the sole magical property of 
winking and flashing vigorously when any sort of active illusion/phantasm magic (in other words, a magically disguised person) passes within 10 feet of them.
Star Metal: Star metal is another name for metallic mete¬orites. These hardstones are extremely rare and usually no larger than a human's thumb in size, though larger examples the size of an ogre's head or bigger have been found. Smiths have mastered the technique of forging star metal by adding small amounts of alloys of more common metals to make weapons of great strength and durability, ideal for taking enchantments. Combined with alloys such as steel, star metal adds to the sharpness and flexible temper of bladed weapons and is reputed to heighten the strength and duration of all enchantments laid upon blades of which it is a part (though I have not yet been able to learn anything definite about such matters). Because of this, star metal ore is valued in the thousands of gold pieces when obtained in large enough chunks to be worked. Star metal is classified as a hardstone because its innate value lies primarily in its transformed state, after it is melted and forged into weapons or armor. In addition to being so transformed, tiny pieces of star metal are sometimes sliced and polished for inlay work.
Star Rose Quartz: This smoky, rose quartz is asteriated; that is, when cut, it reflects or transmits light in a starlike pattern.
Aside from its jewelry uses as a centerpiece in pectorals and ear¬rings worn by mature matrons and courtiers of "old family" stand¬ing, this semiprecious stone serves as an alternative spell component in all wizard spells of the abjuration school and all priest spells of the protection sphere that have or can use compo¬nents (provided the components need not be specially con¬structed). When worn or carried as a stone, star rose quartz has a 14% chance of magically redirecting (turning) a spell directed at its bearer at some other target or area.
Star Ruby: A variation of the ruby (red corundum), this jewel is less translucent than a normal ruby and has a white star high¬lighted at its center. Such stars are caused by the optical proper¬ties of the mineral crystal. They most commonly have six points, though other even-numbered combinations are possible. Of every hundred rubies, one is a star.
This sort of stone shares the properties of the ruby, but it is the epitome of healing: If a wraithform spell is cast on a star ruby that has already received a knock spell, the gemstone becomes a thick, heavy red vapor. If this is inhaled by a mammalian being, it com¬bines the effects of an elixir of health, a regeneration spell, and a heal spell. It cannot bring the dead back to life, but can instantly restore a being brought back to life by a raise dead or resurrection spell to full, energetic health and vitality.
Star Sapphire: An exceedingly valuable variation of the sap¬phire (blue or black corundum), this jewel is less translucent than a normal sapphire and has a white star of four or more points highlighted at its center. Such stars, caused by the optical proper¬ties of the mineral, always have an even number of points —most commonly six. For every thousand sapphires found, one is a star.
Star sapphires are used in producing and ornamenting devices that offer protection against hostile magic. A star sapphire may be used as the material component of a minor globe of invulnerability or globe of invulnerability spell, and in each case increases the level of spells warded off by the barrier by one. If used as a material com¬ponent in an antimagic shell spell (an enchantment normally requiring no material component), a star sapphire increases the
duration of that spell by 14 turns, and maintains it while the caster slumbers (if need be). This gemstone has many other uses in the fashioning of protective items—far too many to even list here.
Sulabra: The name by which argillite is more commonly known is sulabra. This hardstone is a soft, gray mineral halfway between slate and shale in its properties. It cleaves easily in planes and is of relative little value compared to other hardstones due to its hue and softness. It is widely used for inexpensive carvings, ornamental lin¬tels, and the like. It is (so far as is known) magically inert.
Sunstone: Sunstone is a feldspar ornamental stone closely related to moonstone. It is more properly known as oligoclase. Sunstone can be colorless or faintly greenish and of facet grade, but most common by far is its softer variety suitable only for being cut cabochon. The cutting of a cabochon rarely yields a gemstone larger than %-inch diameter. Such gemstones have bright red or orange spangles (minute crystals) suspended in parallel in a nearly colorless background, giving the whole a rich golden or reddish brown color. Sunstones are prized for their ability to store light-related and energy-discharge magics of all sorts for later release by touching the stone and speaking the last word of the spell incantation, whereupon the magic erupts out of the stone at a target chosen by the will of its activator or at a random target (depending on how the spell was cast and if the activator concen¬trated on a target or not). This touch and utterance need not be made by the spell's original caster or even by a spellcaster at all. Such an activation destroys the gemstone.
Tabasheer: This semiprecious stone is an opal-like silica found in the joints of certain types of bamboo. Tabasheers are irregular in shape and are usually tumbled and buffed to a velvet- smooth finish and worn as tiny stones in rings or fringe stones on jeweled pectorals or shawls. Most common in the South, tabasheer sees use as a trading currency there and when south¬ern traders deal with barbarian tribes. It has the magical property of infusing beings with temporary extra hit points. If a tabasheer is crushed and a cure light wounds spell cast on the powder while it is on the tongue of (or in an open wound on the body of) a being, the being gains 3d6 hit points for 24 hours (or less, for each one lost is gone for good). Any damage suffered by an augmented being is taken from these phantom hit points first, but gaining them does not increase a being's level, spell abilities, saving throws, or anything else.
Tchazar: Also known as aragonite, this soft, fragile straw- yellow gemstone is found in elongated, prism-shaped crystals. This semiprecious stone requires skilled cutting to yield faceted gem¬stones, and cabochon-cut tchazar is much less valuable than such faceted gemstones. (Tchazar gemstones revalued as ornamental are cabochon cut.) Any cut of tchazar has the same curious magical property: It clouds scrying magics from seeing anything but a blur within 2 feet of it. For this reason, coffers, collars, reading desks, locks, keys, and wrist bracers are often adorned with tchazars. If a tchazar shatters, its magical power is instantly lost.
Tempskya: This hardstone is a form of quartz also known as petrified wood. The silicified wood varies widely in hue from black or white through red, yellow, tawny, brown, and sometimes pink. Like the original wood, pieces of tempskya vary in size from twigs to huge logs. Some examples of tempskya are difficult to polish because of differences in hardness across their surfaces, and most samples have fractures and inclusions of clear quartz, opal, or chalcedony. Tempskya of pretty grain and hue is sometimes cabo- 
chon cut and polished for personal ornamentation, but this hard- stone is most often is cut into flat slabs, polished, and fitted for inlay work. Tempskya is known to be useful to wizards as an alter¬native material component in all spells concerned with petrifica¬tion and enchantments that create magical items concerned with petrification.
Thuparlial: Also called prehnite, this hard, tough, translucent volcanic ornamental stone can be found in various hues from rich green through pale greenish-yellow and yellow to brown. It is abundant in hardened lavas as a crust lining gas cavities in the rock, but only rarely is this crust thick enough or colorful enough to be cut into gemstones. When powdered, it is a valued ingredi¬ent in the spell ink formulae and casting components of pyrotech¬nics and heat metal spells —and Thayan mages who have access to plentiful thuparlials continually experiment with the use of this gemstone as a replacement components for various fiery and heat-related spells (so far without any reported success).
Tiger Eye Agate: Tiger eye agate is a golden agate with dark brown striping; the coloration and striping give the ornamental stone its name. Legends state that unenchanted tiger eyes are use¬ful in repelling spirits and undead creatures. This has never been proven to be true, but the buying public expects potions of undead control, the inks used to mark caskets and tombs to prevent their dead kin rising in undeath, and other items having to do with repelling or controlling the undead to employ powdered tiger eye agate, so many alchemists shrug and include it.
Tomb Jade: This rare, highly prized gem is jade that has turned red or brown through being buried for great lengths of time. Buried jade can also be turned green if bronze objects are buried near it; jade of such hue is no more valuable than normal jade. Tomb jade can be powdered and used as an ingredient in potions of undead control or brandished by a priest who has failed in an earlier turning attempt—it allows a second attempt at a +1 bonus.
Topaz: Sometimes called the jewel of light because it prolongs faerie fire spells cast upon it so that they last 6d4 days, the topaz is a very hard, durable, golden, translucent precious stone found in large crystals in granite. Usually yellow or brown, it can be made pink or a bright light blue if exposed to great temperatures, such as by thrusting it into forge fires. Topazes are often mounted on pro¬tective magical items because the stone ensures that the item itself will be immune to breakage or a change in state (disintegration, petrification, melting or corrosion due to acid or fire, and so on).
A topaz is the best jewel to use in the making of a gem of bright¬ness because the enchantments used in the making of that item render it as hard as mithral. A topaz also has the natural property of storing any healing spell cast upon it without preparation; the spell is released by placing the gemstone into an open wound, where it melts away, or by powdering it and drinking it in milk or wine from a mithral goblet. (The container cannot be of any other metal or the draft is useless and the magic lost; topaz that stores healing magic has a distinctive cold, sour taste.)
Tourmaline: Long-crystalled tourmaline in its multicolored varieties is considered a fancy stone and is abundant throughout Faerfin. The black variations are called ravenar; they are valued more highly and considered gems. Tourmaline hues vary from green to blue, brown, or red, all in pale shades. Often a tourma¬
line crystal may display multiple hues, and in this case it is classi¬fied as rainbow tourmaline and is more valuable than purely monotonal stones. All shades of tourmaline share the same magi¬cal property: If any sort of spell, regardless of level or class, is cast into a tourmaline, the tourmaline "drinks" the spell and trans¬forms it into an instant burst of lightning bolts: three 6d6-hp dam¬age straight-line bolts that radiate out from the stone in any directions desired by the caster, consuming the tourmaline in the process.
Tremair: Also known as hexagonite (a pink variety of tremo- lite), tremair is found in small, translucent, pink crystals that yield even smaller faceted gemstones. Sometimes sewn onto debu¬tantes' gowns in Chessenta, Sembia, and Waterdeep to signal the unmarried availability of the wearer, these fancy stones do just what legends say they do: make anyone who wears them next to their skin immune to all magical curses.
Turquoise: This opaque, aqua-blue ornamental stone most often has darker blue mottlings; elves especially prize specimens that lack such mottlings for use in sky-related spells. Turquoise gleams slightly when gold is nearby, and for this reason is thought to bring prosperity. It is also said to bring good luck; horsemen often place a sliver of this stone in a horse's harness to bring good luck and protect the horse from a misstep or trail hazards such as venomous pests. Mages use turquoises in the enchantment baths of items concerned with flight—and when so used, this stone is best worked in the foredawn.
Turritella: Turritella is a dark brown agate (quartz) hardstone that consists of many small, silicified shells (all spiral-shaped and less than an inch long). This cheap alternative to marble is quar¬ried in slabs and used for facings, inlay-work, and floorings, just as marble is. Many sages speculate that it should have a magical use, but (so far as is presently known) no one has yet discovered just what that use may be.
Ulvaen: Also known as amblygonite, this soft, but shatter- resistant, pale to rich yellow fancy stone can readily be worked by the unskilled into large cabochons or faceted gemstones and so is very popular for jewelry. If touched to an open wound (or placed on the tongue, in the case of internal injuries), an ulvaen stone melts away in 1d4+1 rounds, regenerating the human, demihuman, or humanoid body it is contact with, in the following order: stop bleeding, restore organs, close wounds, regain lost hit points.
For the efficacy of a particular ulvaen stone, roll 1d4. On a result of 1, the victim gains is healed of 2d4 points of damage, and the stone's power ends. On any other result, bleeding stops; roll 1d4 again. On a result of 1, 1d6+1 points of damage are healed, and the stone's power ends. Any other result means that any damaged organs are healed (as well as the cessation of bleeding roll 1d4 again. A result of 1 heals 1d4+1 points of damage and ends the work of the stone, but any other result means that all wounds are closed (in addition to ending all bleeding and restoring organs), and 1d4 must be rolled again. A result of 1 means the healed being is healed of 1 point of damage to end the stone's work, but any other result means the stone heals 1d10 points of damage.
Variscite: Also known as lucinite and peganite, this deep to pale yellowish-green, translucent ornamental stone is found in nodules or in rock seams. It is cut cabochon, and on rare occasions displays gray and yellow bands and eyes (rings) when so cut.

Variscite is poisonous to lycanthropes. If mounted on an arrowtip or blade, it triples the damage done by that weapon on its first strike (only) against a particular lycanthrope. (Thereafter, that individual lycanthrope suffers no further damage from variscite contact for one full day.) If worn as a gemstone, variscite can have a one-time damaging effect of 1d6+4 points only if pressed into an open wound on a lycanthrope or brought into contact with one's tongue; it must reach the bloodstream to do harm.
Violine: A purple variety of volcanic gemstone found in patches mixed with other minerals, violine is cabochon cut or faceted into a baguette shape. Deposits of this ornamental stone occasionally yield gemstones of unusual size (as big as a human fist, for example). Upon contact with a being afflicted with mummy rot, violine in any amount is consumed, but it negates the mummy rot. If a mummy is brought into contact with any amount of violine, it suffers 4d4 points of damage. If this destroys it, the mummy dust that results is ineffective for magical uses.
Water Opal: Water opal is a clear, translucent variety of opal with only a play of color to it, like oil on a clear puddle. Transpar¬ent opals without a play of color are known as hyalite. They are considered inferior and are those variations of the gemstone which are nigh worthless. Water opals are rare and valuable gems used as ornaments around mirrors and windows or in the crafting of magical scrying devices (such as crystal balls). They have an additional property: If powdered and mixed with holy
water, an elixir of health is created without any enchantments being necessary.
Waterstar: Also known as achroite or colorless tourmaline, waterstar is a rare, colorless, and sparkling stone. The only mate¬rial of this stone valued for gemstone use (as a fancy stone) is that entirely free of flaws and inclusions. Crystals of this flawless type yield quite large faceted gemstones. Waterstar shares the magical property of all true tourmalines: If any sort of spell, regardless of level or class, is cast into a waterstar, the waterstar "drinks" the spell and transforms it into an instant burst of lightning bolts: three 6d6-hp damage straight-line bolts that radiate out from the stone in any directions desired by the caster, consuming the waterstar in the process.
Webstone: The ornamental stone known commonly as web¬stone is more properly called spiderweb obsidian. Webstone is an obsidian variety in which small pieces of the stone have been cemented together by heat and pressure in an irregular mass; the joints show as irregular, weblike lines. It is usually black with whitish join lines, but webstone of brown, reddish brown, and rust-red hues with lighter webbing has been found. When carried in direct flesh-to-stone contact by humans or demihumans (cer¬tain jewelers make armpit bands of soft-tumbled webstones strung so as to be worn around a shoulder), webstones protect their wearers from all harmful gaseous and airborne particulate effects, from smoke to poisonous gases to airborne fungi spores. Each contact with such things involuntarily and automatically 
causes a webstone to partially vaporize at an irregular, variable rate until nothing is left. The protection a webstone confers also varies wildly and randomly from specimen to specimen—from complete to nothing—which keeps the value of webstone low.
Witherite: Witherite commonly occurs in large, fibrous deposits containing translucent areas large enough to yield faceted, pale yellow to whitish gemstones. More rarely, this semi¬precious stone is found in clusters of translucent yellowish crys¬tals that are also faceted when they are cut into gemstones. Witherites only magical property is that, when set in a special electrum setting and worn in direct, flesh-to-stone contact by a human or demihuman, it provides immunity to withering magics or psionic abilities and the reversed, damaging form of necroman¬tic sphere priest spells.
Wonderstone: Wonderstone is a rhyolite variety displaying bands of red, brown, tan, or purple. This ornamental stone occurs in large deposits and can be cut into blocks of almost a cubic foot in size when quarried. It is typically cabochon when finished and takes a fair to good polish. It has the sole magical property of glow¬ing with an eerie blue-green or deep royal blue radiance for 5d4 rounds after coming into direct contact with a spell effect, magical item, or any being or item that bears an active enchantment. It sees some use at entryways as a magic detector, but it is more often employed in inlay work in the making of furniture for the well-to-do to provide impressive mood lighting for feasts and revels.
Woodtine: The name of this stone is a corruption of the odd term "wood tin," applied colloquially here to a variety of cassi- terite. This brownish, fibrous ornamental stone is found in large nodules and is cabochon cut as a gemstone. It has the strange property of temporarily darkening when touched to any gem¬stone, metal, or stone that has previously borne a deliberate enchantment but no longer does (as opposed to just being touched by an unleashed spell). It is more sensitive than the vari¬ous magical detection and tracer spells, which tend to betray only the strongest of residual, exhausted enchantments as well as active or waiting, untriggered magics.
Xylopal: Also known as lithoxyle or opalized wood, this hard- stone is moderately prized and is usually fashioned into bookends, polished for collectors, and formed into intricate carvings or stat¬uettes. Fine-quality examples of xylopal are often used for table inlays and personal adornment. It must be well-polished to show its full beauty. For some unknown reason, a hand-sized piece (or collection of fragments) of xylopal can be used as an alternative material component to replace both the lodestone and the iron fil¬ings in the casting of the 7th-level wizard spell reverse gravity.
Zarbrina: Also known as cerussite, this very soft, leadlike, col¬orless mineral is easily cut into brilliant faceted gemstones. This ornamental stone is usually mounted in ceremonial, little-used jewelry or set in small metal claw mounts into the sleeves or col¬lars of gowns because of its softness and fragility. Zarbrinas feel soapy to the touch and thus can be worn on intimate garments or sewn onto bed linens without doing harm. Powdered zarbrina is an acceptable alternative ingredient in spell inks for magics con¬cerned with illusions.
Zendalure: A mottled blue-white gem presently unknown out¬side of Faerfin, zendalure is found as large, egg-shaped crystals 2 to 6 inches in diameter in solidified lava flows. Polished to a glassy finish, zendalures are used for inlay work and as tiny cabochons in rings, earrings, and pendants. When powdered and mixed with
water, zendalure creates "seasonsteal," a glycerinelike perfect preservative capable of keeping mammalian, reptilian, or avian parts completely undecayed and unaltered indefinitely, so long as the remains in question are completely immersed in the season- steal and kept out of direct sunlight. Things stored in this way can be considered fresh as far as healing magics and other magical processes are concerned.
Ziose: Ziose is the name given by sages to a particular facet- grade variety of ziosite. This rare mineral yields cut stones that flash three vivid hues depending on how the light catches them or in what direction they are viewed: purple, blue, and red or purple, green, and red. Very large, human head-sized specimens of this fancy stone are sometimes found, and they are prized for use in pendants by giants.
One ziose is suspended over a well of glowing enchanted waters in a temple of Mystra in Halruaa as a guardian: Ziose stones of any size have the potent magical property of being able to unleash six magic missile pulses (each dealing 1d4 + 1 points damage) per round whenever this effect is desired by the last intelligent being to touch the stone (so long as the stone is within 30 feet of the being). The controller of the ziose is free to do other things while the stone is operating — even perform quite exacting tasks such as spellcasting, playing musical instruments, picking locks, and the like. A ziose stone can function continuously in this way for seven rounds, but then falls inert for two turns before being usable again. If it is never used for seven continuous rounds, no rest period is necessary.
Zircon: A brownish crystal found in igneous (volcanic) rocks, zircon attains the pale blue shade valued in the gemstone trade through skilled heating and cutting. It is usually cut into facets. These semiprecious stones are occasionally passed off as more valuable gemstones, though anyone with the slightest knowledge of gemstones —a jeweler, a gnome, a dwarf, an even an adventurer of long standing, or anyone with the appraising or gem cutting nonweapon proficiencies — can tell the difference. Zircons take enchantments readily and are one of the favorite gemstone types to serve as the base for a gem, scarab, or (when cut and ground into cusps) eye magical item.

[1] Elminster: In other words, all items that aid the wearer's or bearer's saving throws or turn aside some or all of the effects of an attack.
[2] Elminster: In this context, "mornbright" (a minstrels' term) means a half hour centered on 8 a.m. If a being wears as many (or morel whole amethyst stones of the purest quality as she or he has points of Wisdom, they confer the same magical defense adjustment and spell immunities as a Wisdom score of 23 bestows (but not the bonus spells).
[3]Elminster. Carnelians aid all saving throws and ability checks of those who wear or carry them by 1 point — and in moments of extremis, a carnelian that has earlier been properly enspelled can be sacrificed by a being touching it to gain luck. The gem vanishes in a flash of light, and a saving throw, system shock or resurrection survival roll, bend bars/lift gates roll, or ability check that has failed can be attempted again at a +2 or 20% bonus.
3<0Elminsrer: Chrysoberyl dust, mixed with the juice of a certain crushed flower, is a sure medicine against mummy rot and all molds and fungal growths, stopping them instantly when directly applied to an affected body part. Any weapon forged with chrysoberyl chips or stones melted into its metal (accompanied by the appropriate and little-known enchantments) can strike ethereal and gaseous foes at all times.
[5]Elminster: No dreams can come to one who wears diamonds on at least two "sides" of his or her head—and the presence of a whole diamond anywhere in direct flesh contact with the neck or head gives a +2 bonus to all saving throws vs. enchantment/charm spells and equivalent psionic sciences and devotions.
[6]Elminster: When so used, increase the chances of the magical working's efficacy by 2 or 25% when powdered diamond is employed at noon.
[7]Elminster: When incorporated into them, emeralds give 2d4 additional charges to charged items concerned with growth or healing and enable such items to sponta­neously recharge. Roll 1d6 per night; a result of 5 or 6 means 1 charge has been regained. Emeralds confers a +1 bonus on all item saving throws if mounted on such items and make the success of any enchantment laid upon them 25% more likely to succeed, Emerald only shatters to reveal falsity when worn on flesh that is in direct contact with the flesh of a living being that is the source of the falsehood. It does not break if its principal wearer tells lies—though many folk do not know this latter detail.
"Waterclock" is an old term born of the phrase "the turning of the waterclocks" and means 2 p.m.; magical working or spellcastings involving emeralds performed within a half hour centered on that time are 20% more likely to succeed or be of the best possible outcome or result.
3iElminster: A whole, mounted fire opal adds 1 point to each die of damage done by any fire-producing magical item it adorns. This bonus is not cumulative if several fire opals are used.
3sElminster: In your world, this same gem is known as rhodizite. Flamedance stones and items set with them automatically save successfully against normal and magi­cal fire attacks—and beings wearing one or many flamedance gems gain a +3 bonus against all fire-related saving throws.
[10]Elminster: In this sense, "high morn" means a half hour centered on 11 a.m.