What's so special about this huge gemstone anyways?

So my players recently acquired a fire opal the size of a human head that has been shaped into a fist. (It was found in an old monastery where Infernal monks used to live)

On one hand it could just be a big gem worth a lot of gold. On the other hand it could be something much cooler.

Any ideas?

Ion said:

So my players recently acquired a fire opal the size of a human head that has been shaped into a fist. (It was found in an old monastery where Infernal monks used to live)

On one hand it could just be a big gem worth a lot of gold. On the other hand it could be something much cooler.

Any ideas?

Click to expand...

A powerful wizard long ago used trap the soul to imprison a demon lord within. Anyone who keeps the gem close to them for a period of time begins to feel certain perverse urges, not the least of which is "destroy the gem" (which would free the demon).

Ion said:

On one hand it could just be a big gem worth a lot of gold. On the other hand it could be something much cooler.

Click to expand...

The gem itself is not special. However, at some point, someone did an animate object on the spell, and gave it an item to hold, and the fist closed around the small item itself....possibly a key to an extraordinary treasure.


Perhaps the fist is the last needed component for the Opal Golem of Despair, and a wizard/priest/demon/celestial is looking for it to complete/destroy the golem?

It's a component of a massive statue that was shattered in ages so far past that not even legends remain. The statue is a mighty war machine/primeval god's body or vessel/etc that was destroyed before it could end the world.

The PC's might get part of the story, and seek to reassemble it hoping they can control it. Maybe it's the McGuffin they need to repel the Evil Army or only its foot can destroy That One Thing.

Alternatively, perhaps someone ELSE wants to reassemble it, and their piece immediately attracts the Wrong Kind of Attention. Or maybe they put it together, thinking it'll be great, and it's NOT. Now what?!

Just some thoughts.

It is the hand of a long-dead god, that could be used by cultists to bring their deity back into the world, wreaking havoc and mayhem (because what good is a plot without havoc and mayhem?).

Could be the missing crown jewel to some foul nation. Of course now that the party has found it, they will be happy to return it to its rightful owners, right?

A fire-opal gem of that size is not just valuable... it is so improbable that it is unique, and would be treated as such. The gem is the center of worship for the extinct cult, their most (un)holy religious "statue", and indispensible to their most important ceremonies. The PCs will discover that on certain days when the planets/moon/sun/etc are in certain positions, the gem radiates both strong magic and strong evil (which is why they didn't notice its magical nature before). The PCs will also discover that the extinct cult is not extinct! On those days, the gem functions as a beacon for the cult, which will stop at nothing to retrieve it in order to perform their terrifying ceremonies, involving sacrifices and other more unspeakable acts. Whats worse, is that the cult is doomsday cult, which believe that through the gem, their diabolic lords will be summoned into our world and usher in new age of pain, torment, and utter devastation. It is not entirely clear what the gem can accomplish (or what their lords can accomplish through the gem), even without the cult's direct use of it. If any word of the gem's presence gets out (for example, if the PCs try to sell it), other groups will begin hunting down the party... some want to steal the gem to use themselves, and some want to destroy the gem (and everything and everybody that has been tainted by it!). Of course destroying the gem may not be very wise, as it may summon one of the infernal lords!

What to do??
What to do????

QUEST!! ;-)

Denis, aka "Maldin"
============================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, magic, mysteries, mechanics, and more!

Vanye said:

The gem itself is not special. However, at some point, someone did an animate object on the spell, and gave it an item to hold, and the fist closed around the small item itself....possibly a key to an extraordinary treasure.

Click to expand...

Or the Eye of Vecna!

The gem itself is non-magical.

It is known as the Stark Fist of Fuva, and is the icon of a guild of especially violent, aggressive, and depraved... hit men ("assassins" implies subtlety, and the Fuvites are anything but subtle). You hire a Fuvite not just when you want someone dead, but you want him painfully and brutally massacred to send a message.

Someone stole the Fist, and the Fuvites will look weak if it is not reclaimed.

It's not actually a gem, but the severed hand of an evil fire-based creature (Imix?). The creature was defeated ages ago, but could not be killed; the heroes who brought him low cut up his body Osiris-style and scattered the parts to the four winds, hopefully never to be reunited. But there are those who would see the ancient elemental evil return to power, and word has reached their ears that one of the pieces has been found....