Starseed
A legendary relic, suited to base a campaign around, with the power of Creation crystallized in a single milky seed...
The Starseed, if legend is to be believed, is a relic that was created by the First, the originator, the entity that crafted all existence from the endless void. Perhaps there is only one Starseed; perhaps each plane or universe has a Starseed that was the genesis point of it. No one, save perhaps the First, can ever know.
What is known is that the Starseed has no special powers that can be readily tapped by mortals; rather, it has two very simple, very specific powers that are the source of the name.
In appearance, the Starseed looks like nothing quite so much as a simple seed of milky-white crystal, seemingly polished into the shape it holds rather than carved. It is incredibly hard and strong, and even universal solvents are incapable of damaging it. It weighs perhaps five pounds, and is a little larger than a human heart.
Magical Properties:
The first of the Starseed's powers is that, when exposed to the raw emptiness of the void between worlds, it germinates, sprouting an entire new plane around itself. While this seems like a wonderful thing, there is a problem - for several thousand years after this, the new plane is in a state similar to the Big Bang: intensely, insanely hot, expanding at speeds that defy conventional reasoning, and completely hostile to life. Even elves would be hard-pressed to find a way to use this power, but it does serve as a way to be rid of the artifact.
The second power is much more useful to mortals, in some ways. When buried deep within a world, preferably in the very heart of the world, the Starseed will renew the lifeforce and existence of the world. For a world teetering on the brink of destruction after an apocalypse of some sort, the Starseed can be salvation. Similarly, if the world is under assault by some force seeking to destroy it, the Starseed's power will completely restore the world.
This is not without drawbacks - the renewal is near-total. Cities will be ruined asforests erupt beneath them, mines will cave in as the Starseed's power renews the veins of metals and minerals that run through them, and the oceans will surge into great frothing torrents as pollution is erased and life restored. In the end, the Starseed may destroy many lives in the process of ensuring the continuation of life itself.
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? Responses (10)
I like it - especially it's small and unassuming appearance. 'Oh look, we've found a hard rock.' You could imagine it sitting unnoticed on a museum shelf or something. There are so many ways you could base a campaign round it, ranging from just general mythic background to setting a campaign on a world in which the starseed has just been buried.
Another potential use: presumably if you put it inside an ancient star it would rejuvenate it just as it would a planet, thus giving it new billions of years of life. An ancient race whose home planet's star is dying could be searching the universe for the Starseed in order to do this.
True enough. By world, I /had/ meant the entire thing - the world's star, the world's internal heat, the air, water, minerals, essential living things, etc.
And really, some of the most potent things are the most unassuming. I try to keep that true with what I do. ;)
I like it as well. It has great power, but not the kind that you would readily use or would unbalance a world. It is a great mcguffin for a campaign to be centered about.
An aside: Should we have a category or click box for campaign starter items? Or maybe we should make a list somewhere of them.
Interesting...
I'm not a big fan of 'campaign-centric' items like this, but it is fairly good...
3/5.
Wonderful ... I've always wanted to play God :D not as a PC, you know but, ... you get the idea ;)
I certainly grant 5/5, two thumbs up, and will write a starseed-themed poem if Kassil wishes so (just mail me :)
My current campaign is taking place in an old world on the brink of an apocalypse, and I first wanted the solution to be an escape like Raymond E. Feist's 'golden bridge', but this sure can be an alternative...
Wow - that's great. A truly unique item that's universe-forming powerful yet perfectly balanced. A beautiful mythology as well - simple in its power. Overall, a wonderfully epic and creative item that can fit into any mythology - or create a few of its own. Cheers!
Only Voted!
How would the universe happen to contain more than one of these?
Its an amazing item, with the singularly most powerful effect of any item I have seen - the ability to birth a universe is pretty top-tier. Not sure what you would do for an encore, apart from some machine that could rapidly initiate the Big Crunch :)