Aeon stone

Aeon stone
Ioun stone^1E

(Magic item)

Uncommon

Invested

Magical

Transmutation

Aura (1E)

Strong varied

Caster Level (1E)

12th

Item Level (2E)

1+ (varies by stone)

Type

Wondrous item

Slot (1E)

None

Usage (2E)

Worn

Origin

Azlant

Affiliation

Pathfinder Society

Images of aeon stones

Source: Core Rulebook, pg(s). 520 (1E)
Core Rulebook, pg(s). 604–605 (2E)

This article might have further canon details available on StarfinderWiki.

Aeon stones, also known as ioun stones, are magically charged gemstones that, when activated by an intelligent creature, levitate in a spinning manner around the head of its user. They have various effects, depending on the shape and color of the stone.

History

Little is known about the history of these magical stones, despite the fact that the Pathfinder Society has invested significant energy into uncovering their origins. They are believed to be pieces of crystalline tools once used to create the Universe in primeval times.

The Azlanti were the first civilization to use aeon stones, and Thassilonians leveraged Azlanti lore to advance the art form and develop new techniques around them. The stones also featured in Azlanti electro-thaumaturgy, where in some uses they functioned as batteries of arcane energy.

No civilization since those two has made any advancements in the technique of creating or modifying these magical stones, and it remains unclear whether any researchers have since been able to reproduce these methods. The Pathfinder Society has, however, created an exhaustive catalog of aeon stones.

Function

Aeon stones confer a wide variety of resonant powers to their wielder, the nature of which depends on the gemstone and cut. An amplifying aeon stone, for example, enhances its wielder's ability to recall esoteric knowledge, while a nourishing aeon stone can relieve a being of the need to eat or drink.

The stones work only on intelligent creatures, but it does not matter if the creature is living or dead—both intelligent undead and constructs can use them.

While levitating, an aeon stone cannot support any weight more than its own. It must be able to orbit the user's head, and so creatures without heads cannot use them. While orbiting the user's head, an aeon stone will never collide with other stones also in orbit.

They are quite hard to strike during combat and benefit from any magical protections in effect on their users.

Classifications

Aeon stones can be classified in two primary ways: by shape and by color.

They come in a variety of shapes, including cabochon, disks, ellipsoids, nodules, pentacles, prisms, pyramids, rhomboids, spheres, spindles, and trillians.

They come in a wide variety of colors, including amber, clear, crimson, dark blue, deep red, dull grey, dusty rose, emerald, gamboge, lavender, onyx, white, orange, pale blue, pink, and scarlet. Each color/shape combination has its own unique powers and abilities.

Common varieties

Although any combination of aeon stone shape and color are theoretically possible, the most commonly found include the clear spindle, the dull gray or consumed, the gold nodule, the lavender and green ellipsoid, the orange prism, the pale lavender ellipsoid, the pink rhomboid, and the tourmaline sphere aeon stone. Rarer varieties of aeon stones, such as black pearl aeon stones also exist.

Variations

In addition to color and shape, stones can be delineated by the following characteristics as well:

• Advanced: advanced aeon stones are more powerful than regular stones, and fetch extravagant prices on the open market, between 10,000 and 50,000 gold pieces.
• Cracked: stones that have an obvious crack in them. They typically have weaker powers than regular stones.
• Flawed: these stones have flaws other than cracks, for example irregular faceting or impurities in the crystal. They can have unusual side effects on the user.
• Scorched: These stones have somehow been depleted, and function less reliably than regular stones.
• Cursed: little is known about cursed aeon stones, but there are rumors of such stones.

Implanting aeon stones

An aeon stone implanted in a person's arm.

Thassilonians advanced the science of aeon stones by devising methods of embedding the stones directly into a user's flesh. Binding the stone to the user is a lengthy, dangerous process, but once implanted the stone cannot be sundered, targeted, or removed while the user is alive.

Wayfinders and resonant powers

The Pathfinder Society has advanced the use of aeon stones greatly with the creation of their signature magic item, the wayfinder. All wayfinders have an indentation in them that has been specifically designed to hold a single aeon stone. Inserting an aeon stone in the indentation causes the aeon stone to work as if it were floating freely around the user's head and unlocks a magical resonant power specific to the exact type of aeon stone implanted. Only one such resonant power is possible per user, and attempting to use two wayfinders with invested aeon stones causes a destructive interference that cancels the powers of both stones.

Aeon wyrds

An aeon wyrd is a constructed crystalline familiar that can carry and confer resonant powers of aeon stones to its owner.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.