Ioun
Ioun Stones
Lore
Ioun - Ioun stones can grant an additional (maximum?) level, which makes these visible artifacts a source of conflict. They are simply referred to as "Ioun".
- They are old artifacts left behind by the Ancients.
- They are all made of a green glass-like stone called Laen, but do have a variety of shapes.
- There is a bit of a 'Highlander' vibe among the powerful individuals who have Ioun that add +1 level to an existing class.
- Some known Ioun properties:
- Some Ioun are charged. As their charges deplete or if they suffer damage, their appearance degrades. When the last charge is expended the Ioun disintegrates into powder.
- The Ioun powder itself is sometimes used as a currency and has magical applications.
- Some grant enhancement bonuses to ability scores and skill rolls.
From Wikipedia
Ioun stones (pronounced EYE-oon[25]) are based on similar artifacts from Jack Vance's Dying Earth series.[26] When functioning, they float in a circular pattern around their bearer's head, and grant various benefits based on their color and shape Two stones of the same type will repel each other, and when drained of power, a stone becomes a dull grey, but still possesses the characteristic floating. While useless to a mage, burned out stones can still yield a single psionic power point to a psionic character in 3rd and 3.5 editions. In the original Jack Vance stories Ioun stones are highly prized by arch-magicians, and are acquired from a race known as the archveults, who mine them from remnants of dead stars (in his book Rhialto the Marvellous). In 2E Dungeons & Dragons it had been conjectured in Dragon magazine that Ioun stones instead come from the Positive Material Plane. Dragon #174 featured an article that included many dozens of new types of ioun stone,[27] as well as an article about an elemental lord who hoards ioun stones on his home plane of radiance.[28] Under 3.0/3.5 editions of the rules they are instead manufactured by spellcasters in the same manner as other magical items.
