Letters from the Flaming Crab: Ioun Artifacts

Letters from the Flaming Crab is a monthly series of Pathfinder-compatible supplements. Each Letter focuses on exploring a different topic to give gamemasters and players new, exciting options that can be dropped into any campaign.

The original ioun stones from Jack Vance's Dying Earth series were powerful artifacts born from the core of neutron stars. These days by making ioun stones easily craftable items in RPGs, much of their wonder has been stripped. In Ioun Artifacts, we bring back the wonder in ioun stones by introducing three types of priceless ioun artifacts!

Chakra stones are crystallized remnants left behind by truly enlightened individuals who trascended their mortal forms. These gems are powerful ioun stones that align with a wielder's chakras. They grant even more abilities when harmonized with a master of ki's opened chakras. And their power grows further when linked together!

Dragonstones come into being when a dragon and another being willingly and jointly sacrifice their lives to destroy a great threat. The souls of the pair mingle and crystallize to become a shining ioun stone of great power. A dragonstone is unlocked when a dragon and non-dragon respectively sing the names of the souls within. Each dragonstone has a set of abilities that can be unlocked, depending on the strength of the singing dragon!

Zodiac stones are powerful ioun artifacts that can be found inside meteors or at the site of comet impacts. A wielder born under the sign of a zodiac stone gains access to two of the powers year round, three during the month the sign rules, and all four powers granted by that particular zodiac stone on her birthday!