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Elemental Gem Lore?
thecrimsonrevenger
Posts: 5 Arc User
"Elemental" Gems you say?
Flame? Okay.
Earth? Sure we're right on track here.
Soul?? Chaos??? Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?
Are these from the books? Are there only four or them, cuz it really feels like two essential elements are missing from the elemental gem list. If those are the only four, and they are from the book is there some explanation for why the other two essential elements didn't make the list?
Flame? Okay.
Earth? Sure we're right on track here.
Soul?? Chaos??? Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?
Are these from the books? Are there only four or them, cuz it really feels like two essential elements are missing from the elemental gem list. If those are the only four, and they are from the book is there some explanation for why the other two essential elements didn't make the list?
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One of the mystic items Robert Caliburn owns is the Flame Gem, which is one of the four Elemental Gems. Despite their name, they’re not associated with the four Aristotlean elements, but instead with the Four Elements of Mankind: the Earth from which he was made; the Soul that God gave him; the Flame of his intellect and creativity; and the Chaos that so often resides within his heart. Caliburn doesn’t know who owns the Soul Gem or Chaos Gem (if anyone — both were last mentioned in chronicles from the Renaissance and may still be lost). The owner of the Earth Gem is an old enemy of his: Cairngorm, the archdruid of a malefic human-sacrificing cult from the British Isles.
Like Caliburn, anyone who owns a Gem is vulnerable to attacks from the other Gems. Each of them is “attuned” to the others (especially its opposite [Fire-Earth, Soul-Chaos]), and this allows more of the force of an attack to affect the target.
Individually, each of the Gems holds great power — Caliburn has only barely begun to unlock the might within the Flame Gem, and only in the most basic way of literally enhancing fire-based magics. Were one man to obtain all four Elemental Gems, he would wield ultimate power over the Four Elements of Mankind, and thus over Men. Caliburn (and other right-thinking folk) want to prevent this, since placing such power in the hands of a fallible Man would lead to havoc, destruction, and evil. But he would like to know where they are so he can keep tabs on them.
Robert Caliburn's pre-Archmage PnP write-up appears in the Vibora Bay source book. As the text above notes, the powers he could draw from the Flame Gem at that time were only fire-related, fairly versatile but not very powerful. Cairngorm's own write-up is in Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains, and he could tap much more of the Earth Gem's power. As one might expect, the Gem can manipulate earth and stone to form barriers, traps, or bludgeons. Cairngorm could open tunnels through the earth, and even rapidly "surf" on "waves" of earth. His body was infused with the durability of stone against various forms of harm. However, the Earth Gem can also manipulate "human clay," i.e. flesh. Cairngorm could heal wounds, bend a person's bones causing agony and temporary incapacity, or move a person's body like a puppet.
Based on how the Earth Gem is described, and how the Flame Gem is related to "intellect," I would guess that it also had the potential to affect minds. Both Gems have also been shown to be sentient and have at least limited intelligence, and are able to communicate information to their possessors telepathically. We never get more information about the Soul and Chaos Gems, so can only guess at their powers.
During the VB Apocalypse Archmage Caliburn obtains all four of the Elemental Gems. However, given the cautionary note as to their potential for abuse, I could see him entrusting one or more of the Gems to other guardians to keep that temptation out of his hands.
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If that's the case, I was mistaken in how I remembered/interpreted the situation. But this actually has more story potential than what I thought, so that ain't bad.
Anyone who'd like to read up on the arc for themselves can follow it starting here: http://www.championswiki.com/index.php?title=Who_Ordered_Chaos?
OH right... I forgot about that since it was a while ago.
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Atlantean magic, and a great deal more about this era of the setting, is detailed in The Atlantean Age, a source book for the "fantasy" part of Hero Games' shared-world timeline.