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Smoky Quartz, also known as cairngorm[note 1] or moorland topaz,[4][5] was a variety of quartz that was often found in massive deposits.[5] The black variety of this stone was called morion and was used in necromancy.[4][5][6]

Description

Smoky quartz ranged in color from brownish-yellow to brown to black and was usually brilliant cut into faceted gems[4] regularly used to decorate weapons.[5] Morion was used in magical inks and as a necromantic spell component.[5] A typical specimen had a base value of 50 gp.[1][2][3]

Smoky quartz was considered sacred by followers of Mask—appropriate for sacrifice, or to be consecrated for use, or recognized as boons or omens when found.[7]

Powers

When bones were immersed in a solution that included morion they became hard as steel and immune to hostile necromantic effects. For example, a magic item made with morion-treated bone could not be affected by a rival necromancer who attempted to disrupt its magical function by targeting the bone material.[5]

Appendix

Notes

  1. In the revised version of Volo's Guide to All Things Magical, Elminster cautioned that what uninformed people called "cairngorm" was usually heat-treated glass and not this gemstone. See the footnote on page 50.

References

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