1001 Homebrew Magic Items

[brian 333]

283) Crystal Sphere

This crystal orb is riddled with inclusions, bubbles, and translucent clouds which, except for its size, (an ovoid of 4 inches by 6 inches,) render it nearly valueless for use in jewelry. Its weight of nearly 10 pounds insures that few adventurers will want to carry it for long.

If a character of any class wishes to attune the item, a non-verbal question will form in the character's mind: What am I?

Any questions asked of the orb will be met with similar questions, as if the orb is mocking the questioner. The orb primarily wants to know what it is, where it is, and what its purpose might be. It cannot answer any questions, and will happily ask as many questions as the character will answer. When there is no obvious follow-up question, the orb will ask, Why?

The DM should portray this in a manner as naieve and childlike as possible, because the consciousness in the orb is an unhatched crystal dragon.

The egg requires decades to mature enough to hatch. As it matures the random-appearing patterns become more defined and dragonlike. Upon hatching the 2-3 foot long dragonnette requires large amounts of silica sand and trace amounts of many minerals and metals. (It will especially develop cravings for osmium, irridium, platinum, gold, silver, and copper, and if allowed to consume any of these in more than trace amounts, strands of the material will grow through its body like nerves or blood vessels. This usually beautiful pattern is an addiction-response and is unhealthy for the dragon.)

Due to its voraceous appetite and its long sleep cycle, at this point the baby crystal dragon will try to bury itself in quartz sand or rock that is a good source of quartz where it can feed and sleep undisturbed for the next few decades.