Homebrew Gem Species Details

 

Gems are an extraterrestrial species of "magical", roughly humanoid beings that play a key role in the Steven Universe franchise.

5,750 years ago, the Gem Homeworld maintained several outposts on Earth, with plans to completely colonize the planet, but were driven off by Rose Quartz's rebellion, leaving the Crystal Gems (and various Corrupted Gems) as the only remaining Gems on the planet.

As of Era 3, they are no longer under control of the Great Diamond Authority and the Gem Empire, free to choose their endeavors and purpose without the Caste System.

 

Gems tend to appear human-like in appearance (some more so than others) and come in a wide array of colors, appearances, sizes, and structures based on their gemstone type. While most Gems seen have two eyes, some Gems or types of Gems only have one eye (e.g. Nephrites, Sapphires, Bixbite, etc.). Their bodies seem to be made up of doll-joint-like segments in their base forms (although this isn't always apparent), and they lack features such as breast forms, nipples, or navels, due to the fact that they do not naturally possess reproductive systems (although they can shapeshift such features). It is unclear whether or not Gems generally have human-like external ears, as the same Gems have been drawn both with and without them in different shots. However, all known Gems have hair or visors that normally cover where their ears would be, and Topaz can hear despite having gemstones in place of both her ears, suggesting that Gems do not need human-like ears to hear - and, as above, they can shapeshift ears if they need them.

 

Gems are characterized by the gemstone embedded somewhere on their body, which is analogous to a brain. However, the gem is the only true part of a Gem’s body, the only part that is unchanging and, indeed, the only part of a Gem that can be permanently damaged or killed.

Gems' humanoid shapes are projections from their gemstone which can be changed at will, described as being "like a hologram, but with mass," with their only constant feature being their gemstone and color scheme (shapeshifting is generally not permanent, and Gems will return to their "default" form eventually, unless the shapeshifting was done during regeneration). As such, Gems cannot change the size or shape of their gem, which is the limiter of how small a given Gem can be. Gems refer to their physical bodies as 'Illusions.' Gems' physical forms typically have characteristics associated with human femininity, but all Gems are sexless and genderless, with the sole exception being the male half-Gem Steven.

Gems get their energy by absorbing light from their surroundings. Rebecca Sugar once described them as "solar-powered robots".

There are a variety of gemstones, which decides a Gem’s basic abilities, general appearance, skills and personality (though Gems are fully capable of growing beyond the functions they were designed with). There are multiple Gems with the same gemstone except for the Diamonds, of which all four are unique. The gemstone of a Gem is what decides their name. The gemstone can be located in many different parts of the body, regardless of Gem.

Typical Gem abilities include inhuman physical strength and durability of varying degrees, weapon-summoning, fusion, the power to store material in a pocket dimension within their gemstones, the ability to use their gemstones like a flashlight, and bubble creation. Note that these are not ubiquitous; some Gems, such as Lapis Lazuli, are not able to summon a personal weapon, and Gems created in sub-optimal conditions, such as second era Peridots, lack the same physical strength as other Gems. So far, all Gems with their own weapons have the ability to direct energy through their weapons, such as Garnet using her gauntlets to charge Greg's van, Pearl firing an energy blast from the tip of her spear and Amethyst sending bursts of energy through her whips.

Gems are engineered to adapt to a variety of conditions and cannot die by natural causes, as their bodies are only projections of light. Gems do not have to breathe, eat, drink, or sleep to survive, and they do not age, making them effectively immortal. They can, however, still eat and sleep if they so desire. Their bodies will also automatically alter themselves to fit the conditions of whatever celestial body or spacecraft they are on, such as adjusting mass for gravity. The only way to destroy or "kill" a Gem is to destroy their gemstone. However, a shattered gemstone can be put back together. This has been shown in Fragments and Homeworld Bound, when Steven repaired Jasper after he inadvertently shattered her , and Yellow Diamond repaired gems who were part of her cluster experiments. They still retain cracks on their gems, and to cure their effects they need to be healed. When the physical body of a Gem is seriously injured, they will retreat into their gemstone to regenerate. This is one of the only times Gems can make permanent changes to their physical form. The length of the regeneration process can range from minutes to weeks, but a "rushed" regeneration can suffer from physical deformities. Regeneration can be prevented if a gemstone is bubbled or otherwise constricted, such as within a mirror.

If a Gems physical form receives sufficient physical damage or is otherwise disrupted it "poofs", turning into a cloud of mist and leaving the gemstone behind, the only permenant forms of damage for Gems are cracking, shattering and corruption. Shattered gems are not dead, but their mind is splintered between the pieces, unable to properly think. Gems that have been corrupted are not damaged physically, but have been afflicted with a corruption that prevents them from thinking or understanding. Because a Gem must actively create their physical form, when a corrupted Gem reforms it instead becomes a monstrous and deformed creature called a Gem Monster, while a damaged Gem will retain their original form, albeit with some slight differences. Shattered Gems will attempt to reform, usually resulting in unintelligent limbs.

 

 

Gem Traits

TBD