Wondrous Item (gem) , Rarity (common to legendary)
Soul gems are magical crystals with a latent necromantic ability to store the souls of slain creatures within them. The soul can then be used in the creation of enchanted items and objects, replacing the need for other material components. They can also be used to cause other magical items with charges to regain spent charges, not to exceed the max of the item.
This makes enchanting with soul gems a easy and cost effective way to create magical items. There are varying views on the ethics of using soul gems, because a soul gem used for enchanting is destroyed upon use, crumbling into dust, and it is believed the soul is destroyed with it.
"Normal" soul gems can capture souls of non-humanoid creatures up to the Rarity/CR of the soul gem (one soul per gem). Only a "Black" soul gem can capture the souls of humanoid races, and any black soul gem can capture any single CR soul. The use of black soul gems is nearly universally considered evil.
Soul gems have varying levels of rarity/value, and can be used to trap and store the soul of a dying creature. The soul is trapped and stored in an available soul gem when it is subjected to a "Soul Trap" spell and slain while the spell remains active upon it. The soul may also be trapped if slain with a weapon enchanted with "Bind the Soul".
| Gem Rarity | Soul Stored (CR) | Item Crafting/Recharging |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 1-3 | Common/CR=charges |
| Uncommon | 4-8 | Uncommon/CR=charges |
| Rare | 9-12 | Rare/CR=charges |
| Very Rare | 13-18 | Very Rare/CR=charges |
| Legendary | 19+ | Legendary/CR=charges |
Enchanting with soul stones is the last remaining remnants of knowledge from a lost civilization that specialized in summoning/binding, rumored to be the creators of Runeswords and other legendary items.