Plinite
Plinite is a type of gemstone found in the Elemental Confluence.
Each shard of plinite has two parts: the shard itself and the core within. The core of the plinite can only be recovered using one of two methods: EXTRACT or OPEN. Anyone can OPEN the plinite, but opening results in the shard shattering leaving only the core to be used or sold.
Only locksmiths using a lockpick can EXTRACT plinite, but the benefit to this extra step is that the shard of plinite will be preserved when the character PLUCKs the plinite to remove the core. After an extraction both the shard and the core can be sold to gemshops. There is an additional risk, however, to completing the extraction process. During extraction, there is a chance that the plinite may blow up and injure the locksmith, leaving the customer without anything. A locksmith can, prior to the extraction attempt, use DETECT on the plinite to try to ascertain the difficulty of a core extraction. Detection benefits from Disarm Enhancement (404).
Plinites can be put into the locksmith pool, where they are still subject to failure and the customer can lose their plinite.
Description
a shard of {color} plinite
You see a jagged shard of a rough gemstone-like material. Tiny explosions of raw elemental energy are visible within the translucent surface of the shard. At its center, you see a faintly glowing core that does not seem to be an integral part of the shard. It looks like it could be carefully EXTRACTed without damaging its casing with the right tool. You also suspect that you could simply break OPEN the shard to retrieve the core.
| Plinite Color | Value |
|---|---|
| a shard of blackened plinite | ~100 |
| a shard of grey plinite | ~600 |
| a shard of brown plinite | 600-1.5k |
| a shard of green plinite | 2k-4k |
| a shard of orange plinite | 3k-9k |
| a shard of red plinite | 4k-9k |
| a shard of purple plinite | 5k-12k |
EXTRACT
EXTRACT is the verb used with appropriate Picking Locks skill and a lockpick to remove the core from plinite.
Locksmiths can DETECT plinite to determine the level of plinite difficulty. Using Disarm Enhancement (404) during detection provides a boost, and Lock Pick Enhancement (403) provides a boost for extraction. Plinite can be destroyed with insufficient skill or through random failure which will also injure the locksmith.
Successful extraction relies on the following formula and yields additional experience over that of picking boxes due to plinite's lack of traps.
| Endroll = ({[(Disarm Traps Bonus + Picking Locks Bonus)/2] + Dexterity Bonus} * Lockpick modifier) - plinite difficulty + d100(Open) |
Cores
This list is not necessarily exhaustive, as there may be very rare cores that have yet to be found and cataloged.
Unless otherwise stated, cores with magical effects can only be used once and crumble immediately on activation.
| Core Color | Element |
|---|---|
| Blue | Lightning |
| Brown | Earth |
| Clear | Air |
| Grey | Steam |
| Red | Fire |
| Core Name | Base Value | Highest Value | Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a faintly glowing core | 3,000 | 67,000 | N/A | None |
| an elementally tranquil core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Transport | Raise to teleport group out of the Confluence to attuned instability |
| an elementally churning core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Transport | Raise to teleport to attuned instability when outside the Confluence |
| an elementally stable core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Elemental Aura Stabilization | Prevents being dispelled when DS is too high (5 min) |
| an elementally balanced core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Elemental Transfer Protection | Prevents weapons from heating/cooling, and prevents lightning elemental reactive flares (5 min) |
| a smoldering red core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Defensive Elemental Aura | Reactive/defensive magma flares (10 min) |
| a smoking black core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Defensive Elemental Aura | Reactive/defensive fire flares (10 min) |
| a vibrating brown core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Defensive Elemental Aura | Reactive/defensive earth flares (10 min) |
| a sparkling blue core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Defensive Elemental Aura | Reactive/defensive lightning flares (10 min) |
| a steaming grey core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Defensive Elemental Aura | Reactive/defensive steam flares (10 min) |
| a swirling clear core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Defensive Elemental Aura | Reactive/defensive air flares (10 min) |
| a damp green core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Defensive Elemental Aura | Reactive/defensive water flares (10 min) |
| a frosty white core | 7,500 | 7,500 | Defensive Elemental Aura | Reactive/defensive cold flares (10 min) |
| an undulating [element] core | 5,000 | 5,000 | Adds offensive flares to your weapon | |
| an absorptive [element] core | 8,000 | 8,000 | Elemental [element] Protection | Reduces [element] damage (10 min) |
| a green pulsating core | 9,000 | 9,000 | Elemental Enhancive Stabilization | Prevents enhancives from losing charges (30 min) |
| a silvery luminescent core | 10,000 | 10,000 | Spell knowledge | Elemental Defense I (401) (5 min) |
| a brightly luminescent core | 10,000 | 10,000 | Spell knowledge | Elemental Defense II (406) (5 min) |
| a brilliantly luminescent core | 10,000 | 10,000 | Spell knowledge | Elemental Defense III (414) (5 min) |
| a brilliantly glowing core | 15,000 | 15,000 | Spell knowledge | Mass Elemental Defense (419) (5 min) |
| a dark ethereal core | 10,000 | 10,000 | Spell knowledge | Elemental Wave (410) (5 min) |
| a void black core | 10,000 | 10,000 | Spell knowledge | Elemental Dispel (417) (5 min) |
| a wispy blue core | 9,000 | 9,000 | Spell knowledge | Flaming Aura (1706) (5 min) |
| an iridescent glowing core | Alchemy ingredient | Rodyn potion, extremely rare |
Background
The following background is taken from A Survey of Notable Magical and Anti-Magical Phenomena within Solhaven, Vornavis and Surrounding Lands.
Plinite is a substance created by compressing the raw elemental energies of an elemental into a single stone. It can be used as an amplifier and catalyst of great power for many elemental magics. It is of local significance because it was both first created here in the summer of 5109 and because at least one sample remains in the region. The process to create Plinite was developed by a burghal gnome by the name of Jegrato Plin. The papers containing the process were confiscated upon the gnome's daughter's death and taken by the former provost of Solhaven, Paidreg Venquinor. With these plans, a large sample was created and frequently employed by Venquinor in the following months to combat the incursions of water elementals. Most of Venquinor's stone was destroyed after the working of the magics to restore the town following its destruction. My recommendation is that the sample in the hands of Darbo Phoop be confiscated by the Hall, as this substance is far too volatile and powerful to be left in common hands. (See Appendix F for what is known of the formulas needed to create Plinite. It should be noted that the full process was lost with the original Venquinor's death.)