Definition:
Soulstones are condensed manifestations of a deceased individual’s soul energy — the fusion of memory, will, and mana. When a being of sufficient vitality dies, their remaining soul energy follows the world’s ley lines, eventually crystallizing as a soulstone.
Grades (F–A, rumored S):
- F: Weak remnant; dissolves after a brief experience gain.
- E–C: Confers minor to moderate skills or elemental attunements.
- B: Can teach spells, combat techniques, or power lesser artifacts.
- A: Retains deep mastery, able to instruct, empower, and channel full disciplines of magic or martial art before sublimation.
- S (Theoretical): Said to contain the intact will and consciousness of its original being; none verified.
Appearance:
Polished, smooth orbs ranging from spherical to ovoid, glowing softly when charged with mana. Color typically reflects elemental or spiritual affinity (for example, red often indicates fire). However, this is only a general indicator—exceptions exist.
Example: tales speak of a master flame mage whose blue soulstone produced equally blue fire, the hue resulting not from water or frost affinity but from the extreme heat of the flames themselves.
Formation and Growth:
Soulstones can appear anywhere in the world, though ley line junctions are the most fertile regions for their formation. All grades of stones may occur naturally, but higher-grade stones (A–B and rarer) are most frequently found near ley line intersections, where spiritual and magical energies concentrate.
When a soulstone forms, it instinctively draws minerals and ambient mana from its surroundings to grow an armament suited to the soul’s life affinity—such as a sword for a warrior, a staff for a mage, or a tome-like shell for a scholar. The stone naturally sockets itself into this armament, often at the guard, pommel, or head, becoming both its heart and power source.
A soulstone may later be removed from its original armament and re-socketed into a man-made artifact. When separation occurs, the material left behind—infused with residual ether and mana—is a rare mana-infused alloy prized by smiths and alchemists. These alloys are used to craft so-called “Manaforged” artifacts containing traces of elemental nature, making them ideal for creating equipment that channels or stabilizes magical energy.
Spiritual Clarification: Soulstones are not instruments of exploitation. Rather, they act as conduits for the soul to complete its journey. By attuning to a soulstone, a living individual allows the soul to pass on its experiences, skills, and memories. This process helps the soul find peace, and once it has fully transferred its essence, the stone sublimates and the soul is freed. Players are not taking from the deceased—they are facilitating a natural spiritual progression.
Affinity, Tutelage, and Inheritance:
A soulstone’s powers manifest through affinity between the user and the soul within.
- When attuned, the soul functions as an instructor as well as a power source. A swordsman bonded to the soul of a master bladefighter may receive direct mental instruction, instinctive corrections in stance or timing, or even sparring impressions through dreams or trance.
- Compatibility matters: a swordmaster’s soul offers limited aid to a warhammer wielder, though residual insights or reflexive benefits may remain.
- By meditating upon the soulstone, brief visions of its bearer’s memories and techniques can be glimpsed.
- Perfect affinity allows permanent retention of the soul’s teachings and abilities, after which the stone gradually sublimates into ether. Lower grades fade quickly; higher grades endure decades.
Note:
The soul within a soulstone is not conscious. It functions as a record of the person’s mind, preserving memories, instincts, and abilities, but without independent awareness or will.
Player death and resurrection: When a player character dies, they may choose to forgo resurrection and instead have their soul crystallized into a personal soulstone. This decision is made by the player who would be the target of the resurrection spell, not by the caster. The Game Master determines the grade of the resulting soulstone based on the character’s level, accomplishments, and significance within the story. The new character can inherit this soulstone, gaining access to the previous character’s skills, memories, or affinities, allowing for continuity of abilities and story impact.
World Structure:
The known world follows a feudal system dominated by monarchies and kingdoms across the central continent, each striving to control ley junctions and known soulstone fields. A distant eastern continent is ruled by emperors and shogunates, rarely visited and little documented.
Political Climate:
- Kingdom Rivalries: Compete to secure ley-rich regions like Hershel’s Field.
- Regulated Adventurism: Each kingdom charters adventurers through registration, granting access to legal support, training, and trade rights in return for service during crises.
- Cross-Border Courtesy: Foreign adventurers are tolerated in peacetime unless they disrupt order or politics. During war, borders close; enemy-affiliated adventurers are treated as spies.
In Solisaria, attunement to a soulstone is a prerequisite for official recognition as an adventurer. Kingdoms require all adventurers to attune and register; those who do not are considered "unlicensed adventurers." While this status is not illegal, unlicensed adventurers receive no official support, benefits, or protection, and may face additional scrutiny or restrictions and turned down for quests/jobs in favor of officially recognized adventurers in official domains. It's the difference between hiring a licensed electrician and hiring a guy who knows a guy on the cheap.
Status:
Registered adventurers are semi-independent agents bound by feudal contract — respected, but subject to discipline for misconduct that disgraces their sponsor nation.
Privileges:
- Legal license to explore ley sites and soulstone zones.
- Tax exemption on soulstones turned over to guild alchemists (partial buyback).
- Limited right to bear arms within city walls.
Obligations:
- Respond to national summons during existential threats (monster outbreaks, magical blights, invasions).
- Observe “take only one” laws at sacred fields (finds elsewhere follow standard dungeon salvage laws).
Description:
A high plateau at the continent’s center, layered with hundreds of natural armaments grown from soulstones.
Guardian:
Hershel’s Golem — a sentient construct who guards the resting place of its long-deceased creator. Silent but capable of speech, it enforces the ancient rule: “Take only one.” (Note: The golem is a Manaforged artifact, and incredibly powerful)
Function:
The field serves as both shrine and trial ground. Each adventurer may claim one armament; the golem allows the player to take one stone and its armament. Violators are expelled or slain. The site’s neutrality is respected by all nations, guarded by unspoken consensus.
Trade and Regulation:
- Grades F–C are considered common and can be freely traded, sold, or exchanged with minimal oversight.
- Grades B–A are still permitted to be traded, but kingdoms track ownership closely. Adventurers who acquire such stones typically have them appraised, with results officially recorded to maintain oversight.
Special Circumstances:
- Certain grade A soulstones may trigger heightened intervention by their kingdom of origin. This can include efforts to retain the stone, or in some cases, to bring the adventurer into the kingdom’s service either voluntarily or by leveraging political influence.
- Grade S soulstones, if they exist, are treated as a state secret, with possession restricted to the highest levels of governance.
Royal and Noble Interest:
- Soulstones believed to contain the essence of a royal figure are of particular concern. The associated royal family may attempt to secure the stone or retain the adventurer’s services, reflecting the stone’s symbolic and political value.
- Note: It is nearly impossible to ever know for certain whose soul formed a particular stone. Beliefs on the subject vary as widely as faith in deities.
- Importantly, there is no legal obligation to surrender a soulstone. The soul within is sentient enough in its residual form to reject separation from a compatible wielder, and recorded instances exist where soulstones have “rebelliously” resisted transfer, leaving kingdoms unable to enforce compliance.
Market Dynamics:
- Official appraisals and record-keeping help kingdoms track high-grade stones in circulation, but a black market exists for both valuable and rare soulstones, often involving adventurer networks and independent traders.
- Manaforged equipment made from alloys left behind by soulstones has its own separate economic value and is less regulated than the stones themselves, though highly prized by alchemists and craftsmen.
Solisaria © 2009 by TeoTwawki is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only.