Jowgen
2016-03-09, 11:11 AM
The Voidstone Arsenal: For when you really want stuff gone
https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/15/150339/4801730-3571349204-tumbl.gif
This is a guide to Voidstone, the most destructive natural substance in D&D, and how to weaponize it.
DISCLAIMER: Use responsibly, your DM probably likes his campaign world intact.
Understanding Voidstone
Not much is known about Voidstone, as only a select few sources deal with the subject. Based on context and similar rule-sets, one can make educated guesses to fill in the blanks, but that can only go so far. In this section of the guide, we cover what is and what isn't known about Voidstone, and provide some suggestions for patching up the holes.
All the information in this following section is taken directly from the following sources: DMG p. 157, PlH p. 185, MotP p. 81, EoE p. 138/139, BoED p. 129, UA p. 142/145, and -most significantly- Dungeon 153.
What we know from RAW
The Negative Energy Plane contains areas where "the collapsing intensity of the plane" is so great that the negative energy folds in on itself, becoming so so densely concentrated that it stabilizes into solid utterly black matter. The main named location of this sort is the Sargasso of Entropy, a Planar Touchstone site where voidstones have accumulated to form a shifting congregation of annihilation. These voidstones swirl in an unpredictable, chaotic way, making them practically unavoidable. The others are the 2 3.5 ruins of Moil on the Negative Energy Plane.
The text all but explicitly confirms that Voidstones are the raw material for the creation of Spheres of Annihilation, but chunks of voidstone cannot be controlled through mental energy as a spheres of annihilation can be. However, as per the Voidstone door trap entry in Dragon 153, Voidstone's effect is mechanical as opposed to magical, not to mention impervious to disable device (which can suppress magical traps).
Voidstone Door Trap: CR 17; mechanical; touch trigger; automatic reset; annihilation (Fortitude DC 25 or disintegrated); Search DC 24; Disable Device —
"Anything" that comes into contact with voidstone is "destroyed". All texts agree that any creature that comes into contact with Voidstone must succeed a DC 25 Fort save to avoid destruction, but as to the exact nature of said destruction, there are a few conflicting texts. According to Dungeon 153, the effect is called "annihlation", which is specified as "DC 25 Fort or disintegrated" (no italics), although it is described as leaving behind ash rather than the "fine trace of dust" mentioned in the disintegrate spell. According to EoE, a creature is destroyed as if it had come into contact with a sphere of annihilation, meaning any matter that comes in contact with it is sucked into it, gone, and utterly destroyed. Only the direct intervention of a deity can restore an annihilated character. Also, while the DMG specifies that the destruction happens "in seconds", EoE and Dungeon 153 claim it to be instant. In either case, Force effects stand no chance though.
The Voistone doors in Dungeon 153 are described as having been made impervious to transmutation magic, mentioning passwall, stoneshape and stone to flesh, via Wish, so normal Voidstone should be subject to these sort of stone-affecting spells. This is supported by a passing metion in BoED, which mentions "Enclose the artifact in a voidstone" as a potential way to destroy an artifact. The doors are also described as being subject to damage-dealing magic and being physically battered down.
Voidstone -"Trapped Voidstone"- can also be used as a Metamagic component. The process of trapping Voidstone is un-specified, but tracking down Voidstone requires a day of scavenging and a DC 30 Knowledge (the planes) check. 3100 gp worth of Trapped Voidstone Empower Disintegrate, while 8600 gp of Trapped Voidstone Enlarge and Widen Mordenkainen's Disjunction.
Lastly, the most ill-defined power of Voidstone is its attraction to living creatures. Very small and very large voidstones are stationary, but voidstones that take up a 5 ft square move. Each round at initiative count 0, each square-sized voidstone moves 1d3 squares toward the nearest living creature. The range and strenght of this attraction are unspecified, as is whether smaller or larger living creatures factor into this.
A character can learn the following about Voidstone using Knowledge (the planes)
DC 20 These black stones can be found floating throughout the Negative Energy Plane and vary from tiny to colossal.
DC 25 Voidstone is a concentrated form of negative energy that is extremely hazardous to handle.
DC 30 Anything that comes into contact with voidstone is instantly destroyed.
DC 35 It is believed that voidstone might be the building blocks for such items as the sphere of annihilation. However, voidstone cannot be controlled through mental energy
What we don't know
The physical stats of Voidstone are unspecified. It could have the Hardness and HP of regular stone, or maybe that of softer or harder stones, like Shale or Granite (Und p. 103). In either case, it seems reasonable to assume that -like a sphere of annihilation- Voidstone is immune to disintegrate.
As it is solid, Voidstone should have some sort of mass (and thus inertia), but in all its mentions it seems to levitatate. In its natural NEP environment, that is to be expected, but in EoE and Dungeon, it appears in areas that have normal up-down gravity. I think it is most reasonable to assume that Voidstone hovers just as the Sphere of Annihilation does, especially considering that otherwise, Voidstone would be able to drop to the floor and thus put holes in things like planets.
The exent of the "anything" that is affected by voidstone is also not very well specified. It is certain that it affects creatures and solid objects; but the rules are (unsuprisingly) unclear on how it interacts with gasses and liquids. In EoE and Dungeon, it does not suck the air out of the area, although in the latter case, that might be due to the same Wish spells that made it immune to transmutation. A sphere of annhilation doesn't suck air. The Umbral Blot (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/umbralBlot.htm) epic monster insulates itself from the air to avoid destorying the atmosphere. There is nothing on liquids.
I think the most reaonsable assumption that Voidstone naturally insulates itself against atmospheric and aquatic pressure, maybe via a coat of the dust/ash that it leaves behind (if EoE is not taken at face value). In this, it will annihilate liquids that touch it but don't immerse it; so drops of water are doomed but the Elemental Plane of Water is safe. In any case, we do not know how much matter it affects per touch. One might go with the 10 ft cube from disintegration, or one might make the annihilation area proportional to its own size (e.g. 1:1).
In a smiliar vein, we have the Voidstone's life-attraction power. Why don't the small and very large ones move? I think the most logical explenation is that the range of attraction is proportional to the Voidstone's size (the small ones just don't have enough reach) while the strenght of attraction depends on the size of the living creature and needs to contend with the stone's innertia (the big one's are too heavy to get moving from a medium creature's pull). As for a base-line... I would suggest maybe 30 or 60 ft "reach" for the medium ones, but that is just me. As for how strong the force of movement is once it starts... the DMG uses the term "inexorable" to describe their approach. Does this mean they literally can't be stopped, no matter the opposing force? I think it fits with the sphere of annihilation and the "collapsing intensity" part of their creation, but it's very DM territory.
Lastly, we have the creation of "Trapped Voidstone". Pieces of Trapped Voidstone appear as Metamagic components at two very different prices, but both presumably still fit in a Spell Component pouch, so they can't just be larger versions of each other; and there is nothing to suggest that Voidstone comes in different grades of quality. Based on this, I think the most reasonable assumption is that Voidstone is trapped via the use of Shrink Item. Shrink Item makes different large quantities of voidstone portable. As Voidstone's annihilation effect is no more magical than the burning of a fire, the stasis created by Shrink Item should by all rights be able to suspend it in the same manner, making it safe for transport. Beyond the employment of Wish or maybe Lesser Wish I know of no other effect that could be reasoned to be able to trap Voidstone.
Weaponsizing Voidstone
The DM has many opportunities to block the introduction of Voidstone weaponry into his game despite your ability to track down the raw material. Exposing un-trapped Voidstone to another planar environment might cause it to explode in a shower of negative energy, or just degrade very quickly. Maybe a certain custom spell is needed to trap it, and there just are too few people capable of casting it. Or the DM can just say no. Provided he says yes, you can get planning.
Voidstone is so hazardous that the options for working it are very limited. The most lenient DM might allow Death-effect or Negative Energy Effect blockers to work, but considering that Annihilation affects undead, that is an absolute houserule. A somewhat lenient DM might let Proof Against Transmutation work, and really, this is the optimizer's best case scenario. Avoiding conact with the Voidstone completely, e.g. by trying to rely soley on Telekenisis et al., is an option, but oh boy will one accident screw you over.
The only sure-fire way to gain immunity to Voidstone is to be unable to fail the DC 25 Fort save it forces every round of contact. For this, you need a sufficiently high Fort save bonus and either a) at least be a Demigod, or b) have the Steadfast Determination feat. In any case, once you're able to handle Voidstone safely, you can get to work on building your weapons.
The main challange of working Voidstone into things is that whatever you make has to be 100% voidstone (or abuse Quintessence), and you make sure not to let it come into contact with your unattended objects, as they don't get to use your saves. The advantages are that Shape Stone and Fabricate can do a lot of the heavy lifting, and that your end-products will not be deterred by Force barriers, and in some cases AMFs, thanks to Voidstone's non-magical annihilation effect.
Voidstone equipment
You can make regular weapons out of Voidstone. Attacks with weapons made of stone have a
–2 penalty on attack and damage rolls (with a minimum damage of 1), but that is not the point. The point is that you have a sword that forces a DC 25 Fort save against annihilation with every hit. No walls (of force) will ever block your path. However, any sort of magical improvement to the weapon is something you'll likely have to do yourself, which at least will cost you 1 feat. Whether you can make Voidstone bolts and arrows is debateable, but Voidstone sling-bullets are certainly possible.
Voidstone armor is also arguably possible, but there are few stone armors out there and even fewer than don't explictly use straps or metal joints. However, at the very least, this armor should have a net weight of 0 thanks to Voidstone's levitation property, although whether the DM gives you mechanical benefits for this is questionable. If you can somehow mange to make yourself some Thaalud Voidstone armor or similar (just leave out the boots if you plan on walking), congratulations. Everything that touches you likely disappears on the spot.
More "mundane" options are things like Voidstone trash-bins. Storage of Voidstone equipment is best handled in Extradimensional spaces and Gloves of Storing.
Voidstone Jiggsaw Grenade
Take a large chunck of Voidstone and craft/fabricate it into a large hollow Jiggsaw-sphere (think the Wikipedia logo), with individual pieces no larger than a chicken egg. Cast Glyph of Warding onto this container and cast Pebble Wind (DoF) into the Glyph. Apply Shrink item to make it grenade-sized and store very safely, (including a big note on how much duration is left).
When you throw this grenade (Gnome Calulus, A&E, recommended for the very needed extra range) as an improvised thrown weapon, the Shrink Item effect will end and the Glyph of Warding will be triggered as the container opens, triggering Pebble Wind. For the next round, all the scattered pieces of the jiggsaw-sphere will be whirled around in a 20 ft spread of whirling air. Pebble Wind causes 1d4 bludgeoning damage/CL from flying stones and small debree, but since those stones are Voidstones, everything in the area needs to save or be annihilated.
With this you turn any given 20 ft radius sphere of solid material into an empty space filled with floating Voidstone pieces (remember to recycle). How many saves a creature needs to make while being hit by dozens of individual voidstones over the course of 1 round is up to the DM, but suffice to say, most things will be gone. At the very least, this is handy for hollowing out a mountain when building your new lair. Very agressive interior remodeling.
Voidstone Warhead MK I
This is simply a large chuck of un-shrunk Voidstone that is to be fired by a +1 Dwarven Stonebow (must be attended/fired by someone immune to voidstone) with the Starburst (HoB) WSA (Self-loading is also recommended, not at least for the extradimensional storgage of ammo.). Starburst makes it so that the Voidstone explodes above its target and showers everything within 20 ft with the rock fragments (reflex for half normal impact damage as slashing and piercing).
If enough range-boosting effects are applied, you can fire this weapon from over half a mile away. The end effect is much the same as that of the Jiggsaw-grenade, but making those takes several spells and much physical assembly. The MK I warhead takes no more work to make/use than a regular ballistae. Great for selectively carpet bombing enemy capitals from your airship.
Voidstone Warhead MK II
This is the current crowning achievement of large-scale Voidstone warfare. It combines the the MK I's delivery method with an upgraded version jiggsaw-grenade's mechanic. You make a very very large voidstone jiggsaw-sphere and then use Greater Glyph of Warding on it. Into this Greater Glyph of Warding you cast Control Winds, which is set to create a circular (if possible inwards/outwards alternating spiral) Wind Pattern of at least Severe Wind strength. Shrink Item as usual to allow for simple firing.
When this hits, the Warhead epxands, opens and triggers the stored spell same as the jiggsaw-grenade. For the next 10 min/level, a 40 ft/level wide 40 ft high cylinder of winds blows about, sending hundreds of Voidstone pieces flying about the area. It is ideal to aim at a low elevation in the target area so that plenty of higher-elevation stuff collapses into the storm of annihilation. Entire cities can be wiped clean off the map with this. It is almost certainly a most unethical warcrime to use the MK II. If you're not already Evil, good luck in justifying this to your DM/deity.
Dealing with the Fallout
While the use of regular Voidstone equipment is relatively tame, using any of the explosive options comes with a potentially rather nasty fall-out. The areas where they are used are not only gone, but will be filled with pieces of Voidstone. Unless the Voidstone pieces are all rounded up immediately, there is a chance that prevailing wind conditions or living creatures passing nearby will cause wide-area distribution.
By RAW, since Voidstone has no "half-life", this means that leaving the fallout of a MK II or even a MK I, if unattended, will cause the gradual annihilation of the surrounding landscape that may continue indefinently. It is all rather nuclear winter, except it can just keep spreading. If unchecked, the end result could literally be a planetary cataclysm. I personally would absolutely introduce something like "Voidstone Sickness" if this were to happen in my campaign world.
Luckily, a simple (widenend) prestidigitation spell can be used to collect all the little scattered pieces resulting from a jiggsaw-grenade or MK I, but this should be done very soon after. As for a MK II... Control Weather to make the area wind-still is most certainly a must. Then, you'll need a lot of people running clean-up, and it is not a job that many people can do.
https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/15/150339/4801730-3571349204-tumbl.gif
This is a guide to Voidstone, the most destructive natural substance in D&D, and how to weaponize it.
DISCLAIMER: Use responsibly, your DM probably likes his campaign world intact.
Understanding Voidstone
Not much is known about Voidstone, as only a select few sources deal with the subject. Based on context and similar rule-sets, one can make educated guesses to fill in the blanks, but that can only go so far. In this section of the guide, we cover what is and what isn't known about Voidstone, and provide some suggestions for patching up the holes.
All the information in this following section is taken directly from the following sources: DMG p. 157, PlH p. 185, MotP p. 81, EoE p. 138/139, BoED p. 129, UA p. 142/145, and -most significantly- Dungeon 153.
What we know from RAW
The Negative Energy Plane contains areas where "the collapsing intensity of the plane" is so great that the negative energy folds in on itself, becoming so so densely concentrated that it stabilizes into solid utterly black matter. The main named location of this sort is the Sargasso of Entropy, a Planar Touchstone site where voidstones have accumulated to form a shifting congregation of annihilation. These voidstones swirl in an unpredictable, chaotic way, making them practically unavoidable. The others are the 2 3.5 ruins of Moil on the Negative Energy Plane.
The text all but explicitly confirms that Voidstones are the raw material for the creation of Spheres of Annihilation, but chunks of voidstone cannot be controlled through mental energy as a spheres of annihilation can be. However, as per the Voidstone door trap entry in Dragon 153, Voidstone's effect is mechanical as opposed to magical, not to mention impervious to disable device (which can suppress magical traps).
Voidstone Door Trap: CR 17; mechanical; touch trigger; automatic reset; annihilation (Fortitude DC 25 or disintegrated); Search DC 24; Disable Device —
"Anything" that comes into contact with voidstone is "destroyed". All texts agree that any creature that comes into contact with Voidstone must succeed a DC 25 Fort save to avoid destruction, but as to the exact nature of said destruction, there are a few conflicting texts. According to Dungeon 153, the effect is called "annihlation", which is specified as "DC 25 Fort or disintegrated" (no italics), although it is described as leaving behind ash rather than the "fine trace of dust" mentioned in the disintegrate spell. According to EoE, a creature is destroyed as if it had come into contact with a sphere of annihilation, meaning any matter that comes in contact with it is sucked into it, gone, and utterly destroyed. Only the direct intervention of a deity can restore an annihilated character. Also, while the DMG specifies that the destruction happens "in seconds", EoE and Dungeon 153 claim it to be instant. In either case, Force effects stand no chance though.
The Voistone doors in Dungeon 153 are described as having been made impervious to transmutation magic, mentioning passwall, stoneshape and stone to flesh, via Wish, so normal Voidstone should be subject to these sort of stone-affecting spells. This is supported by a passing metion in BoED, which mentions "Enclose the artifact in a voidstone" as a potential way to destroy an artifact. The doors are also described as being subject to damage-dealing magic and being physically battered down.
Voidstone -"Trapped Voidstone"- can also be used as a Metamagic component. The process of trapping Voidstone is un-specified, but tracking down Voidstone requires a day of scavenging and a DC 30 Knowledge (the planes) check. 3100 gp worth of Trapped Voidstone Empower Disintegrate, while 8600 gp of Trapped Voidstone Enlarge and Widen Mordenkainen's Disjunction.
Lastly, the most ill-defined power of Voidstone is its attraction to living creatures. Very small and very large voidstones are stationary, but voidstones that take up a 5 ft square move. Each round at initiative count 0, each square-sized voidstone moves 1d3 squares toward the nearest living creature. The range and strenght of this attraction are unspecified, as is whether smaller or larger living creatures factor into this.
A character can learn the following about Voidstone using Knowledge (the planes)
DC 20 These black stones can be found floating throughout the Negative Energy Plane and vary from tiny to colossal.
DC 25 Voidstone is a concentrated form of negative energy that is extremely hazardous to handle.
DC 30 Anything that comes into contact with voidstone is instantly destroyed.
DC 35 It is believed that voidstone might be the building blocks for such items as the sphere of annihilation. However, voidstone cannot be controlled through mental energy
What we don't know
The physical stats of Voidstone are unspecified. It could have the Hardness and HP of regular stone, or maybe that of softer or harder stones, like Shale or Granite (Und p. 103). In either case, it seems reasonable to assume that -like a sphere of annihilation- Voidstone is immune to disintegrate.
As it is solid, Voidstone should have some sort of mass (and thus inertia), but in all its mentions it seems to levitatate. In its natural NEP environment, that is to be expected, but in EoE and Dungeon, it appears in areas that have normal up-down gravity. I think it is most reasonable to assume that Voidstone hovers just as the Sphere of Annihilation does, especially considering that otherwise, Voidstone would be able to drop to the floor and thus put holes in things like planets.
The exent of the "anything" that is affected by voidstone is also not very well specified. It is certain that it affects creatures and solid objects; but the rules are (unsuprisingly) unclear on how it interacts with gasses and liquids. In EoE and Dungeon, it does not suck the air out of the area, although in the latter case, that might be due to the same Wish spells that made it immune to transmutation. A sphere of annhilation doesn't suck air. The Umbral Blot (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/umbralBlot.htm) epic monster insulates itself from the air to avoid destorying the atmosphere. There is nothing on liquids.
I think the most reaonsable assumption that Voidstone naturally insulates itself against atmospheric and aquatic pressure, maybe via a coat of the dust/ash that it leaves behind (if EoE is not taken at face value). In this, it will annihilate liquids that touch it but don't immerse it; so drops of water are doomed but the Elemental Plane of Water is safe. In any case, we do not know how much matter it affects per touch. One might go with the 10 ft cube from disintegration, or one might make the annihilation area proportional to its own size (e.g. 1:1).
In a smiliar vein, we have the Voidstone's life-attraction power. Why don't the small and very large ones move? I think the most logical explenation is that the range of attraction is proportional to the Voidstone's size (the small ones just don't have enough reach) while the strenght of attraction depends on the size of the living creature and needs to contend with the stone's innertia (the big one's are too heavy to get moving from a medium creature's pull). As for a base-line... I would suggest maybe 30 or 60 ft "reach" for the medium ones, but that is just me. As for how strong the force of movement is once it starts... the DMG uses the term "inexorable" to describe their approach. Does this mean they literally can't be stopped, no matter the opposing force? I think it fits with the sphere of annihilation and the "collapsing intensity" part of their creation, but it's very DM territory.
Lastly, we have the creation of "Trapped Voidstone". Pieces of Trapped Voidstone appear as Metamagic components at two very different prices, but both presumably still fit in a Spell Component pouch, so they can't just be larger versions of each other; and there is nothing to suggest that Voidstone comes in different grades of quality. Based on this, I think the most reasonable assumption is that Voidstone is trapped via the use of Shrink Item. Shrink Item makes different large quantities of voidstone portable. As Voidstone's annihilation effect is no more magical than the burning of a fire, the stasis created by Shrink Item should by all rights be able to suspend it in the same manner, making it safe for transport. Beyond the employment of Wish or maybe Lesser Wish I know of no other effect that could be reasoned to be able to trap Voidstone.
Weaponsizing Voidstone
The DM has many opportunities to block the introduction of Voidstone weaponry into his game despite your ability to track down the raw material. Exposing un-trapped Voidstone to another planar environment might cause it to explode in a shower of negative energy, or just degrade very quickly. Maybe a certain custom spell is needed to trap it, and there just are too few people capable of casting it. Or the DM can just say no. Provided he says yes, you can get planning.
Voidstone is so hazardous that the options for working it are very limited. The most lenient DM might allow Death-effect or Negative Energy Effect blockers to work, but considering that Annihilation affects undead, that is an absolute houserule. A somewhat lenient DM might let Proof Against Transmutation work, and really, this is the optimizer's best case scenario. Avoiding conact with the Voidstone completely, e.g. by trying to rely soley on Telekenisis et al., is an option, but oh boy will one accident screw you over.
The only sure-fire way to gain immunity to Voidstone is to be unable to fail the DC 25 Fort save it forces every round of contact. For this, you need a sufficiently high Fort save bonus and either a) at least be a Demigod, or b) have the Steadfast Determination feat. In any case, once you're able to handle Voidstone safely, you can get to work on building your weapons.
The main challange of working Voidstone into things is that whatever you make has to be 100% voidstone (or abuse Quintessence), and you make sure not to let it come into contact with your unattended objects, as they don't get to use your saves. The advantages are that Shape Stone and Fabricate can do a lot of the heavy lifting, and that your end-products will not be deterred by Force barriers, and in some cases AMFs, thanks to Voidstone's non-magical annihilation effect.
Voidstone equipment
You can make regular weapons out of Voidstone. Attacks with weapons made of stone have a
–2 penalty on attack and damage rolls (with a minimum damage of 1), but that is not the point. The point is that you have a sword that forces a DC 25 Fort save against annihilation with every hit. No walls (of force) will ever block your path. However, any sort of magical improvement to the weapon is something you'll likely have to do yourself, which at least will cost you 1 feat. Whether you can make Voidstone bolts and arrows is debateable, but Voidstone sling-bullets are certainly possible.
Voidstone armor is also arguably possible, but there are few stone armors out there and even fewer than don't explictly use straps or metal joints. However, at the very least, this armor should have a net weight of 0 thanks to Voidstone's levitation property, although whether the DM gives you mechanical benefits for this is questionable. If you can somehow mange to make yourself some Thaalud Voidstone armor or similar (just leave out the boots if you plan on walking), congratulations. Everything that touches you likely disappears on the spot.
More "mundane" options are things like Voidstone trash-bins. Storage of Voidstone equipment is best handled in Extradimensional spaces and Gloves of Storing.
Voidstone Jiggsaw Grenade
Take a large chunck of Voidstone and craft/fabricate it into a large hollow Jiggsaw-sphere (think the Wikipedia logo), with individual pieces no larger than a chicken egg. Cast Glyph of Warding onto this container and cast Pebble Wind (DoF) into the Glyph. Apply Shrink item to make it grenade-sized and store very safely, (including a big note on how much duration is left).
When you throw this grenade (Gnome Calulus, A&E, recommended for the very needed extra range) as an improvised thrown weapon, the Shrink Item effect will end and the Glyph of Warding will be triggered as the container opens, triggering Pebble Wind. For the next round, all the scattered pieces of the jiggsaw-sphere will be whirled around in a 20 ft spread of whirling air. Pebble Wind causes 1d4 bludgeoning damage/CL from flying stones and small debree, but since those stones are Voidstones, everything in the area needs to save or be annihilated.
With this you turn any given 20 ft radius sphere of solid material into an empty space filled with floating Voidstone pieces (remember to recycle). How many saves a creature needs to make while being hit by dozens of individual voidstones over the course of 1 round is up to the DM, but suffice to say, most things will be gone. At the very least, this is handy for hollowing out a mountain when building your new lair. Very agressive interior remodeling.
Voidstone Warhead MK I
This is simply a large chuck of un-shrunk Voidstone that is to be fired by a +1 Dwarven Stonebow (must be attended/fired by someone immune to voidstone) with the Starburst (HoB) WSA (Self-loading is also recommended, not at least for the extradimensional storgage of ammo.). Starburst makes it so that the Voidstone explodes above its target and showers everything within 20 ft with the rock fragments (reflex for half normal impact damage as slashing and piercing).
If enough range-boosting effects are applied, you can fire this weapon from over half a mile away. The end effect is much the same as that of the Jiggsaw-grenade, but making those takes several spells and much physical assembly. The MK I warhead takes no more work to make/use than a regular ballistae. Great for selectively carpet bombing enemy capitals from your airship.
Voidstone Warhead MK II
This is the current crowning achievement of large-scale Voidstone warfare. It combines the the MK I's delivery method with an upgraded version jiggsaw-grenade's mechanic. You make a very very large voidstone jiggsaw-sphere and then use Greater Glyph of Warding on it. Into this Greater Glyph of Warding you cast Control Winds, which is set to create a circular (if possible inwards/outwards alternating spiral) Wind Pattern of at least Severe Wind strength. Shrink Item as usual to allow for simple firing.
When this hits, the Warhead epxands, opens and triggers the stored spell same as the jiggsaw-grenade. For the next 10 min/level, a 40 ft/level wide 40 ft high cylinder of winds blows about, sending hundreds of Voidstone pieces flying about the area. It is ideal to aim at a low elevation in the target area so that plenty of higher-elevation stuff collapses into the storm of annihilation. Entire cities can be wiped clean off the map with this. It is almost certainly a most unethical warcrime to use the MK II. If you're not already Evil, good luck in justifying this to your DM/deity.
Dealing with the Fallout
While the use of regular Voidstone equipment is relatively tame, using any of the explosive options comes with a potentially rather nasty fall-out. The areas where they are used are not only gone, but will be filled with pieces of Voidstone. Unless the Voidstone pieces are all rounded up immediately, there is a chance that prevailing wind conditions or living creatures passing nearby will cause wide-area distribution.
By RAW, since Voidstone has no "half-life", this means that leaving the fallout of a MK II or even a MK I, if unattended, will cause the gradual annihilation of the surrounding landscape that may continue indefinently. It is all rather nuclear winter, except it can just keep spreading. If unchecked, the end result could literally be a planetary cataclysm. I personally would absolutely introduce something like "Voidstone Sickness" if this were to happen in my campaign world.
Luckily, a simple (widenend) prestidigitation spell can be used to collect all the little scattered pieces resulting from a jiggsaw-grenade or MK I, but this should be done very soon after. As for a MK II... Control Weather to make the area wind-still is most certainly a must. Then, you'll need a lot of people running clean-up, and it is not a job that many people can do.