Crystalle
| Climate/Terrain: | Plane of Mineral |
|---|---|
| Frequency: | Unique |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle: | Any |
| Diet: | Positive energy |
| Intelligence: | Genius |
| Treasure: | Nil (Q,T,U,V,X) |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| No. Appearing: | 1 |
| Armor Class: | -4 (variable) |
| Movement: | 18, Fl 24 (B) |
| Hit Dice: | 12 (96 hp) |
| THAC0: | 9 |
| No. of Attacks: | 2 |
| Damage/Attack: | 3d8+8/3d8+8 |
| Special Attacks: | High-damage attacks, spells |
| Special Defenses: | +4 or better weapon to hit, elemental abilities, flight, spells |
| Magic Resistance: | 95% |
| Size: | L (22' tall) |
| Morale: | Fearless (19) |
| XP Value: | 16,000 |
Crystalle is the self-proclaimed ruler of the plane of Mineral and the prince of all quasielementals inhabiting this realm. Manifesting as a great crystalline giant, he is one of the largest known quasi-elementals. A powerful overlord, Crystalle has set himself upon a gem-laden throne made of the rarest minerals, from which he attempts to command the masses of lesser quasielementals.
Wielding a great scepter composed of rare gemstones, many never seen before on the Prime Material plane, Crystalle sits in his throne hall and watches over his realm. Countless shards and trilling crysmals act as his eyes and ears, reporting extraplanar intrusions to their liege. Also serving Crystalle are hundreds of spined shards, his soldiers and instruments of punishment.
Combat: Crystalle has all the spellcasting powers of a 14th-level wizard, with the resources to use any spell of up to seventh level given in the AD&D rules. He can also cast prismatic sphere once per day at will if in bright light equal to a continual light spell or brighter. His scepter, which functions only for him, acts as a staff of the magi and a rod of absorption at the same time, having effectively unlimited charges.
Two notable features about Crystalle make him stand above the other quasielementals of this plane. The first is a high intelligence and cunning that make Crystalle a formidable opponent. Many lesser quasi-elementals seeking to overthrow him were cunningly lured to the dangerous fringe area that lies between the plane of Mineral and the Positive Material plane. Here they were defeated by Crystalle and were hurled into the energy plane, forever destroyed.
The second feature of interest is a veritable cloud of ioun stones present around Crystalle at all times. Crystalle is never encountered without at least 20 functional stones (none of them burned-out gray stones). These powerful gems amplify his abilities, granting powers that no other quasi-elemental possesses. Some of these gems were given to Crystalle as tribute by lesser creatures seeking to gain favor. Others are selectively gathered by Crystalle's minions as part of his grand design. Rumors abound that Crystalle has a private domain lying deep within the heart of the Mineral plane that contains thousands of free-floating stones.
Habitat/Society: The realm of Crystalle is intended to include the whole quasi-elemental plane of Mineral, but his actual reach is not quite that vast. He is well regarded by most inhabitants of this plane, and even earth elementals will generally leave him alone or pay him grudging respect.
Crystalle is solely concerned with protecting his domain from intruders and in acquiring more personal power. He hopes to eventually become a demigod and be able to gain worshipers among his subjects. His palace is already said (by the very few mortals who have lived to see it) to be of astounding magnificence, built of a thousand types of gems and precious stones, but also guarded by several hundred quasi-elementals. Unrecorded creatures may lurk within to further add to Crystalle's security.
Ecology: Crystalle acts to keep the Mineral plane rich with mineral wealth, though he is not averse to gifting a worthy supplicant with ioun stones or trading some gems for a valuable item. He will not do this often, however.
Crystalle also has special areas located along the Positive Material border, where his minions watch over specially selected ioun stone nodules. These are private "incubators," some of which have been here for eons, constantly gaining power. The stones resulting from this exposure have unique and tremendous powers, though they are usually short lived, usable only 1d4 times before shattering. The powers of these special gems are limited only by the DM's imagination, keeping game balance in mind.
The Unique Ioun Stones Table shows a few of the unique ioun stones that Crystalle may use. Because of the enormous energy they contain, each stone has a limited number of charges. Once all the stone's charges have been used up, the stone becomes burned out and gray.
| Unique Ioun Stones Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| Color | Shape | Effect |
| Indigo blue | Trapezohedron | Fossilizer: generates a fossilization pulse (Manual of the Planes, elemental plane of Earth)[1] with a 30' radius, affecting all living beings within this area; save vs. petrification at -4 to avoid effects; 1d4 + 2 charges |
| Frosty white | Octahedron | Wish stone: contains 1-4 wishes (as per the ninth-level wizard spell) |
| Blood red | Orthorhomboid | Transmuter: changes nonliving minerals to energy (totally disrupts one rocky or crystalline 10' X 10' X 10 target per usage); 1d8 + 2 charges |
| Black | Pyritohedron | Energy drainer: drains all magical energy from one item, or one level/hit die of life energy from one victim; save vs. spells (if living) or save vs. disintegration (if nonliving) to avoid effects; 60 range; 2d4 charges |
| Brilliant green | Bipyramidal | Energy pulser: infuses the target with energy, causing 1d8 hp damage per round for 1-10 rounds; all metals within 20 of the target are heated as per the druidic spell heat metal; 2d6 charges |
| Clear | Interconnected spheres | Insubstantializer: user becomes ghostlike, immune to any physical or magical attacks for a duration of one turn; 1d6 + 1 charges |
Archivist's footnotes
- Manual of the Planes is a 1st Edition rulebook, however the fossilization process described in the Manual of the Planes is functionally identical to petrification except that equippment, armor, weapons, etc. are not affected, and there is a 20% chance that a fossil has been converted into precious minerals during the fossilization process (precious minerals chance is only on the plane of Mineral)