The Pearls – the pearls that make up this twin set are perfect specimens of the prized stone. One is large, about one inch in diameter and the other is tiny, about 1/10 on an inch in diameter. When the larger stone is held the user may transport himself (and his gear) without error to the location of the smaller stone (a standard action), or he may recall the smaller stone to his hand (a free action). When transporting himself, the user always appears in the closest possible location that has enough open space to accommodate him, though not necessarily with a place to stand or a friendly environment. (If the pearl was buried underground and the closet space was filled with toxic gas, or underwater.) If the user is attempting to teleport others with him, or large amounts of gear the pearl becomes unstable and errors may occur. (Familiars do not count as they share a life force with their master) The chance for failure is 10% for each extra life force or 100lbs of gear. (A person trying to teleport with his druid friend, 2 animal companions and their gold statue (100lbs) would have a 40% chance of failure.) A failed teleport may (70%) not work at all or (30%) drop them somewhere else, usually between the two stones. All people/things to be transported must be within 5 feet of the user and be touching in some manner. The pearls have no range but the DM may wish to impose multiple failure checks if the distance is large. It does work between planes but only with a single passenger.
History: The pearls were originally created by an Arch mage as an easy way to travel. He would give the smaller pearl to his owl familiar and then teleport himself out when the familiar had reached its destination. They were later stolen by a master thief who would give the smaller one to his prey and then while invisible teleport himself into their home in the dead of night to loot it.
I had a character with these Pearls and let me tell you they were awesome. Put the small Pearl some place safe before adventuring, then use it as a last resort before impending death or disaster. I tried to get creative with them as well. For instance, we had a party member at the bottom of a deep pit battling some nastys alone. We were above for some reason and we had to get down fast. I dropped the small pearl and we teleported down. Getting back out wasn't so easy, but hey who has time to think that far ahead when a friend needs to be saved. Hmmm...sounds like who has time to loot when there are children to be saved. Also, I had them fail to dire consequences, so they are balanced.