Four magic stones -- what could they be?

[Mandrake]

Hello, playground!

I am DMing a campaign for four of my friends. They are level 3 (soon 4) Drakewarden Range, Battlemaster Fighter, Fiend Warlock, and Archfey Warlock. One of the four brought four real-life nice-looking stones and gave each of them one, asking for them to somehow be introduced into the game. I could bring them in as four magic stone-like items. Ioun stones seems like an obvious choice, but I'm afraid it might be too powerful or just not really helpful. Does anyone have other suggestions what they might be? I would like to avoid homebrewing if possible, but I'll take any ideas.

Thanks in advance!

[JNAProductions]

Sending Stones are a possibility, but that's a little dull.

[Damon_Tor]

They're exceptionally well-programmed magic mouth stones which act as communication devices when inserted in (or worn over) the ear. Any words spoken by anyone wearing one of the stones are more-or-less faithfully transmitted to the other stones. The voices are tinny and robotic, like 1990s era text-to-voice programs, but each of the phonemes if the common tongue are accounted for and intelligible.

[sketch4summer]

They could be themed after the 4 elements.
Each of them has 2 cantrips (1 utility, 1 offensive) and 1 1st level spell (usable 1/day).

Stone of Air: Gust, Shocking Grasp, Feather Fall
Stone of Earth: Mold Earth, Magic Stone, Earth Tremor
Stone of Fire: Control Flames, Firebolt, Burning Hands
Stone of Water: Shape Water, Ray of Cold, Fog Cloud

Optional: When activated together by lvl.10 heroes, summon a blue-skinned green-haired Solar wearing red shorts. He helps for 1 minute, then disappears. 😁

[animorte]

They could be themed after the 4 elements.


This was also my very first thought. This type of thing is always on my mind.

I am actually running a very slow going campaign (can't meet often) that focuses on the idea of the four elements, including the concept of a stone for each one. The party has had to travel through some different environmental extremes in relative directions. North, South, West, East. Navigate through relative elemental dangers to finally get to the big scary elemental guy that you're actually there to help.

Each elemental gifts a stone to the party for their troubles. The person wielding it in their possession gains resistance to that particular element and a cantrip of their choice from a list of related elemental cantrips. Once, and only once, the person holding it can shatter the stone permanently (losing its other effects) to summon that elemental for a short time to assist them in whatever is needed for an hour.

[stoutstien]

stones of Seasons? Each one gives resistance to one dmg type and and maybe a 1/LR spell.

Alternatively you could make them correspond to orientations on a map, different courts in fey wild, day/night/dusk/dawn, good/evil/neutral/void, ...

[Amnestic]

Stones of Nature, War, Evil, and Fey.

Specifically, they are condensed planar energy from each of their respective planes, primordial shards created when the planes first came into being. Whether by deliberate machination or twists of fate, they often find themselves in the possession of those who resonate with their respective planes. There is, so legend tells it, a stone for each plane in the existence. Stories abound of what could happen if they were ever all brought together. Some say that the holder of all stones would become someone who could walk any and all planes freely - akin in power to a god but unfettered by limitations. Others say it would bring about the destruction of all. Yet more suggest that the stones are a key to shut off the Material from planar influences, to allow mortals to chart their own path freely without outside interference. Perhaps they're all right, or all wrong, but words like "destiny" and "fate" are never far from those who hold the stones.

[Kane0]

Each day they randomly switch between being a Pearl of Power, Sending Stone, Gem of Brightness, Gem of Seeing or Stone of Good Luck.

[Sigreid]

Do you like tracking supplies? If not, one can build a shelter 1/day. Another can create water. The third can create food. The 4th can increase rest HD spent value.

[Leon]

stones of Seasons

Seasonings ~ when scraped with a knife they produce a small amount of the stone's spice instead of sparks