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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WayneLigon" data-source="post: 2238575" data-attributes="member: 3649">Crystal and Gem magicMany minerals and elements have reputed magical properties; in general, the rarer or more unusual a substance was, the more occult trappings it acquirred. Gems are one of the rarest things in the ancient world and one of the most unusual. Thus they have many legends associated with them. Most of us know the basics of these from D&D; amethyst is proof against poison, for instance.  In a world where belief creates effects, gem magic will still be somewhat difficult, though the distribution network is much better than it used to be of course. It's no problem to acquite high-quality semi-precious stones. Rock shows give them away (and what are these travelling magic merchant marts really up to, hmmm?).  The type of gem magic most familiar to modern users will be Crystal magic. Crystals have always had a good reputation in magical circles, what with crystal balls and the like, but underwent a rennaisance with the New Age movement. Probably nothing screams 'New Age' like crystals, to most people. 'Crystals', in this sense, refers to any semiprecious stone. It can be cut or uncut, faceted or not, shaped any particular way. Quartz crystals are probably the more familiar, simply because they are cheap and everyone know what quartz is. Crystals are used for healing, focusing, 'centering' or 'grounding'. Several words are usually used regarding crystals: focus, absorbsion, deflecting, 'gathering energy' or some type of energy transfer (usually involving chakras - see above about the potpourri approach to magic that the New Age practicioner usually uses). Interestingly enough this seems to parallel the modern application of mechanical/scientific terminology to non-mechanical things. We know that crystals refract light, concentrate it, can be used to make lasers and crystal radios, etc, and some of these ideas seem to cross over to the magical practices. In a world where belief causes effect, a practicioner might have considerable scientific skill as well as magical power. Spells and effects: Many crystal practitioners are going to be people that enhance the abilities of things, affect communication, protection or heal. A more advanced (and wealthy) practitioner will use gemstones and unlock their mystical properties through ritual. Once done, the stone itself will be obviously magical and require no further thought or effort on the part of the mage. Think of them as minor artificers, since rarely will they actually cut and mount gemstones; they will use ones already prepared. That degree of seperation will mean that the stones might not work as well for them (a common idea in most magic is that something you do yourself has a much greater power than something you gain from the labor of another). They can give stones to others and have that other person protected, but again it introduces another degree of seperation. The stone will be even less effective but will still be better than nothing.  I don't usually see any references to things or monsters. There are some mentions about making sure the gems come from collectors that do not unduly harm the Earth. A 'dark gemsmith' might be possible, taking bloodstone and moonstone from the rock and leaving the area spoiled by tailings and erosion. Angry earth elementals might want their stuff back, too.</blockquote>

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