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Opening the small box, you find two, sparkling red stones nestled in the velvety interior. They are small, barely half an inch in length and cut in a beautiful, teardrop pattern. The light catches them, causing them to glint and sparkle like tiny, frozen drops of blood. Picking one up, you find that it is flat on one side and tiny inscriptions are emblazoned on that slick surface. The elven woman steps forward and gently takes the box from your hands. “These,” she says, “are the Stones of Sursae. They give one the ability to link minds with another. Quite a useful item, if you are working as a party and find that you must split up for whatever reason. |
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The stones’ main function is to keep two individuals in contact with one another. Very simple, very easy. To use them, both people must place the stones on their foreheads and incant the proper words. Once the final syllable of the incantation has been spoken, the stones graft themselves to the individual’s skin. Once in place, the two can then communicate over great distances telepathically. Keep in mind that the two are not in /constant/ contact – the stones must be activated in order to speak. Only 1 stone need be active in order to send and receive messages. It would be quite hard to coordinate for both stones to be active at the same time when you are several hundred miles apart! Think of it like a transmitter and receiver – only the transmitter need be active. The receiver will automatically be activated by the transmitter when a message is sent. |
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When activated, the two need simply think what they wish to convey to one another. Keep in mind that this method will only send surface thoughts that are being directly concentrated on. It does convey surface emotions, as well. However, it will not allow the two to probe each other’s minds deeply and discover long buried secrets. The stones were created as a communication device, not an interrogation method.
When both parties are asleep, there is a chance (30%) that they will be able to link dreams. This is an unconscious activation of the stones that will normally only occur between individuals who have been sharing the stones for a long time. During the dream, the two may communicate normally, though upon waking they will find that they are not as rested as they normally would be. If there is nothing all that pressing happening in the lives of the two, this can actually be a fairly fun bit of nocturnal recreation. Think about it! While the stones are active, both parties are in a state of lucid dreaming. There is the potential for all kinds of fun! The stones do have a dangerous, albeit very useful feature as well. Should the two individuals using the stone be mages, the stones allow them to pool their spells. Now, when I say that, what I mean is that they have the capability to share any memorized spells. Before you get too excited about this, let me explain how it works. For simplicity’s sake, I shall use the example of Bob, a 5th level mage, and Jerry, an 8th level mage. The two must still memorize spells as normal. However, during times of very great need, one mage may take a spell from the other’s mind and cast it as if he memorized it himself. The spell taken must be within the limits of the caster’s ability. For instance, Bob could only borrow Jerry’s spells up to 3rd level. Anything higher than that is out of his ability range. Once taken, Jerry looses the spell from memory, just as if he had cast it himself. Now, the drawback to this is that it is very hard on both mages, physically and mentally. Jerry would suffer intense nausea and a splitting headache during the transfer of magic, Bob suffering the same after the spell is cast. Neither mage will be capable of spellcasting for 1d4 rounds after the transfer due to an inability to concentrate through the pain. But, beyond that physical discomfort, there is the chance that in taking the spell, Bob could take more than that. Since both mages are tied to one another, there is a 5% chance/level of the spell transferred that the borrowing mage will pull the other’s consciousness into himself. Let’s say that this happens as Bob borrows Jerry’s spell. What happens is that Jerry suddenly finds himself looking at the world through Bob’s eyes, but unable to control what happens. Jerry will experience everything that happens as if he were there and will be completely unable to do anything back in his true location, as his body drops into unconsciousness. Bob would experience the very unsettling sensation of having someone else roaming around in his head. During this time, Jerry would have complete access to all of Bob’s memories and emotions. Needless to say, this would be very confusing in a fight. So, this renders Bob unable to cast spells for the duration of the merge, which lasts 3D6 rounds. Once that time has passed, the merge ends and Jerry returns to his own body. Arislyn’s Note: I’m going to let individual DMs determine whether or not a specialist would be able to use spells from their opposing schools since it is essentially being cast from another mage, only transferred through their body. Personally, I would say that they cannot, but…that is for you to decide. Also, one might be tempted to think that this is not that dangerous of a drawback, but think about it for a second. Most battles only last a few rounds. It may seem like it takes a long time because we have to go through the process of rolling dice and talking through things, but the battle usually is over in mere moments. Having your mage out of the fight for 3 to 18 rounds is quite a long time. And, if used at all, he will definitely be out of the fight for at least 1 to 4 rounds, regardless. Also, if you fail the save to merge, your friend falls unconscious wherever he may be, leaving him completely defenseless. I would suggest only using this in emergencies. |
