Elemental Focus

In the fractured skies, characters cannot cast spells that do not correlate with their elemental attunement. Ones connection to their inner element is what fuels their magic and the way it expresses itself. For example, a spellcaster born with a water attunement cannot normally cast fireball, and a spellcaster born with a fire attunement cannot cast control water. To get around this restriction, spellcasters can employ an elemental focus attuned to a different element to gain access to that element's spells.

Manufacturing process

A spellcaster of sufficient experience and skill can attempt to channel the energy of one of the Source Crystals found across the skies into a chunk of raw Echo Quartz . The experience is draining, requiring hours of intense concentration, and is even more difficult for casters trying to channel an element alien to their own. On top of that, there is a very real chance that the process could fail at any point, dealing psychic damage to the practitioner.
In game terms, the ritual for creating a new elemental focus can be attempted only by characters who have a 5th level spell slot. A 2 kg chunk of Echo Quartz is required for the ritual to proceed. The dungeon master must roll 2d4 to determine how many hours the ritual will take. At the end of every hour, the spellcaster attempting the ritual must make a DC 18 check using whatever attribute they use for spellcasting (Sorcerers=Cha, Wizards=Int, etc.) plus their proficiency bonus. To succeed, the spellcaster must have more successes by the end of the process than failures. If the spellcaster fails to the point where no number of successes allows for the creation of a elemental focus, the ritual automatically stops and that spellcaster takes 10d10 psychic damage.
In the event of a tie between successes and failures, the spellcaster must roll a single d20. On a 1-10 the attempt fails and the spellcaster takes 10d10 psychic damage. On a 11-20, the attempt succeeds and a new focus is created.
A spellcaster who does not share an attunement with the element they are trying to channel has a -1 to the difficulty check required for this process.
A creature may choose to end the process at any time taking half of the damage for a failed attempt.
Any creatures without a 5th level spell slot fail the ritual automatically and take 10d10 psychic damage.

Rarity

Elemental foci are rare, in that the general public doesn't have access to them, but spellcasters see them as a necessity for expanding their magical capabilities. On islands where spellcasting is less common, they are sold at a more inflated price (generally near double their base), while on islands where spellsasting is more common, their production and distribution is more closely guarded. Their price is also inflated by the difficulty involved in their creation.

Weight

An elemental focus weighs roughly 2 kg.

Dimensions

5 cm X 10 cm.

Base Price

2000 rarity 3 slivers.

Raw materials & Components

Elemental foci are made from Echo Quartz , a rare material which retains elemental magic for long periods of time.