Aleum "Red Ring" Crystals

Note: Aleum crystals were created for a custom setting/world that our group created. We have tried to keep them balanced, so with hopefully minor adjustment they could be included in any setting. 

How Crystals are used:

Any item in the world of Aleum can be socketed to hold a Red Ring Crystal. It requires special skill to affix a crystal socket to a weapon, armor, or other item in a way that will withstand the rigors of combat and adventuring. Only jewelers (those proficient with a jeweler’s kit), who are also trained in the Arcana skill, can craft sockets for items. The precise benefit of the crystal is dependent on the type of item that the crystal is socketed into. All non-gem Red Ring Crystals are considered magic items, and follow the same rules as magic items for the purposes of spells such as Detect Magic and Identify. All crystals must be attuned before any benefit is conferred. If a crystal is socketed into a magic item that already requires attunement, the crystal counts as a second attuned item.

No item may hold more than one Red Ring Crystal. Affixing a second crystal causes interference, and neither benefit will manifest until one crystal is removed. The time necessary to socket a typical item is one day for mundane items. The time needed to socket magical items is one additional day for each step in rarity (see below), due to the additional care that must be taken. Legendary crystals can sometimes require a full ten-day of labor on the part of the most experienced jewel crafters to complete.

(Example:  Aidan wishes to have a socket added to a single mundane dagger. This will take one day. However, she also wishes to add a socket to a dagger categorized as an uncommon magic item. This will take three days, due to the intricate work required in the jewelcrafting. One day to account for the base mundane item, plus a second day to account for the common tier, and a third day for the uncommon tier.)

For narrative purposes, the term Red Ring Crystal can refer to a single crystal of somewhat variable size, or can refer to a set of affiliated smaller crystals. One might find a single crystal the size of a peach pit, which is of uncommon quality, and fire attunement. A set of 5 crystals, each the size of a cherry pit, might be affiliated, meaning that the set is considered to be a single item of uncommon quality with fire attunement. Only when all 5 are affixed to an item will it convey the benefit. These two iterations are cosmetically different, but otherwise identical in rarity, quality, hue and cost.

(Example: One warrior affixes a single, uncommon, fire-attuned crystal to the chest piece of her armor, in order to receive its benefits. Another warrior might find an uncommon affiliated set of smaller crystals, which he has decoratively affixed around the collar of his armor, conveying the exact same benefit.)

Red Ring crystals can occur in batches of tiny crystals, ideal for use as (or in) ammunition. This often means that the crystals are small enough to be incorporated into arrows, bolts, etc. The same crystal can be used as a sling bullet by itself. These often tiny crystals have their energy expended upon use.

Cost:

The market cost to add a socket to an item is a minimum of one half the market value of item receiving the socket. This cost comes from the necessary time, and materials provided by the jeweler. Of course, depending on the market, the reputation of the customer, or scruples of the jeweler, the cost can certainly increase.

Magical items may be socketed, but the cost associated is one half of the cost of the magic item, not its mundane equivalent. The added cost for socketing magic items comes from the difficulty of inlaying the sockets, without destroying the magical nature of the item, or causing the crystal’s energies to conflict with those of the item. Because magic items have a range of cost, assume that the base cost for adding a socket is one half of the lowest value for that item, based on its rarity.

Red Ring Crystals are themselves magic items, and carry the market cost of a magic item of comparable quality. (See below)

Master Jewel crafters can convert larger crystals into affiliated sets of smaller crystals. The minimum cost for this is one half of the crystal’s cost, based on its rarity. This change is permanent, and requires a full ten-day per tier of rarity, in order to preserve the magical nature and attunement of the crystals. These jewel crafters can also convert the crystals into batches of ammunition at the same cost, but because ammunition expends its magic upon use, this is likely not cost effective.

Crystal Types:

Red Ring Crystals have two important categories: Quality and Hue.

Quality: The quality of a red ring crystal determines its rarity. These rarities are meant to correspond to the rarity of magical items. The quality of the crystal confers specific benefits to someone who has affixed the crystal to a particular item.

Hue: The Hue of a crystal determines its affinity. Most crystals have an inherent aspect related to one of the energy or elemental sources of magic. The elemental aspect of these crystals cannot be changed, and so they are called immutable. These crystals grant benefits to items they are socketed to, related to the elemental aspect in their nature. Not all elemental subtypes occur with the same frequency. Some crystals exist without an elemental subtype, but this does not make them less useful. These are called core crystals, and tend to grant more generalized enhancements to the items on which they are fastened. Core crystals are immutable.Very rarely, a crystal is mutable, meaning that the jeweler can craft the stone’s facets in a way that associates it with the element of her (or her client’s) choosing. The jeweler could also facet the crystal into core crystals, if they buyer chooses. These are highly sought after crystals, and rarely sell for the base market value.

Benefits of Crystals:

When socketed and attuned, crystals confer benefits to the item, and once attuned. Crystals are socketed on to three basic types of items: Weapons, Armor, and Spell Focuses. The hue of the crystals determines the benefits. Elemental hue crystals confer different benefits than core hue (non-elemental) crystals.

Notes: Bonus: Ability Checks, Crystals MAY be socketed onto an item that is already magical, but the crystal still counts as a SECOND attuned item.