Soul Gem (3.5e Equipment)

Soul gem
These illustrious stones radiate dormant magic, and can trap a creature's soul upon its death. When a creature under the effects of soul trapping magic is slain, its spirit energy can be stored within a carried soul gem, creating a potent source of magical power. The energy of a filled soul gem can be used for various purposes including the recharging of charge-based magic items. This however does not capture the creature's actual soul, contrary to popular belief, but instead harnasses the energy that is released when a soul is freed from its body in death, or (in the case of elementals and outsiders) when the creature is forced back to its native plane or destroyed. The amount of energy released differs depending on the creature's level of power. Summoned creatures cannot be trapped in a soul gem, but called creatures can. Even a creature that technically survives its defeat, like outsiders, will be weakened tremendously by the essence lost to the soul gem, and won't be able to reform on their native planes for 1 week per point of CR it possesses.

Soul gems come in five qualities, each with a different maximum capacity for the souls it can capture; least soul gems (CR 3), lesser soul gems (CR 6), common soul gems (CR 10), greater soul gems (CR 15), and grand soul gems (CR 20).

Filling a Soul Gem
To capture the spirit essence of a creature in a soul gem, a character must have a sufficiently large soul gem on hand and the ability to cast the soul trap spell. A creature killed while it is under the effect of this spell will have the spiritual energy released upon its death trapped inside the soul gem, filling it.

Soul Gems and Crafting Magic Items
Soul gems filled with the essence of specific or powerful creatures (especially outsiders) are in high demand on the magical market, for they also contain an imprint of the spell-like abilities the creature held in life, as well as any racial qualities it may have held. As such, a filled soul gem can provide any number of spell-like abilities the creature possesses as components for magic item creation. For example, a soul gem filled with the essense of a night hag can be used to supply the detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law and detect magic spells required in the creation of a rod of alertness. Multiple soul gems can be used in the creation of a single magic item, but a soul gem cannot be used in the creation of multiple magic items. The act of magic item creation consumes the soul gem as it would any other medium containing a spell when used.

Recharging Magic Items
A filled soul gem can be used to restore charges to a charge-based magic item, like a wand or staff. The formula for the number of charges restored to a magic item is the following, depending on the highest spell level contained;

Charges restored = (creature CR + 5 – item caster level) × charge cost of highest level spell

provided the result is positive, and 0 otherwise. A soul gem cannot restore more charges than an item can hold, and cannot restore any charges to an item with a caster level that is 5 or more points greater than the soul gem's strength.

Example: Wizard bob traps the soul of a Bebilith (CR 10) and uses the gem to recharge his staff of frost (CL 10). The staff's highest level spell is cone of cold, which costs 2 charges. The number of charges restored is (CR 10 + 5 - CL 10) &times; 2 charges = 10.

Using a soul gem to recharge a magic item requires 1 minute of time and cannot be done in combat situations. When a soul gem is used to recharge a magic item, it is destroyed.

Creating Soul Gems
Soul gems aren't created through magical ritual, but rather found in naturally occurring crystal formations. They are effectively mundane, save for their unique ability to store great magical power. Crystalline structures capable of large amounts of energy retention are mined and then sharpened to create an inward focusing lattice, allowing for magical energy to be trapped inside without escaping. When a gem is used, the magical energies are extracted forcibly, resulting in the gem's destruction over the course of the creation or recharging process. Creating a soul gem from a suitable crystal requires both Spellcraft and Craft (gemcutting) checks at DC 18 (least), 21 (lesser), 25 (common), 30 (greater) or 35 (grand) respectively.

Price: 135 gp (least), 540 gp (lesser), 1,500 gp (common), 3,375 gp (greater), 6,000 gp (grand).