What does a soul stone look like?

[supercalisto]

I know this sounds a silly question but what does a soul stone look like.

I was thinking of adding some to my Colette’s base, but then I realized I'm not totally sure what they look like other then crystal.

Are they smooth or sharp & jagged?

Large or small?

What colour are they?

I imagine them blue or green and shape and jagged, varying in size from the size about a base ball to a basket ball size.

[Ratty]

smooth, White generally, though the most famous one is a brilliant green. There was also an amber on in a story with Colette. Sizewize they are quite small, the Gorgon Tear is in a jewelery setting, and they are often seen in pouches with multiples in.

[supercalisto]

Intresting maybe I'll do a pouch spilling over

[Korrosion]

Maybe the size of a silver dollar but spherical or oval in shape instead of flat?

[Dracomax]

I just want to point out that what we are talking about here are almost certainly what you would call refined or cut soulstones. Given that they are being mined, most likely they come out of said mines either as broken, jagged rocklike chunks which have to be cut, or as dust.

Honestly, for some of the outsiders, like Levi or the gremlins, a jagged uncut soulstone, maybe coming out of more ordinary rock would seem appropriate. They have to rely on what they can steal or procure, which might mean stealing from the rubble being carted out of the mines.

Unless told otherwise by one of the writers, I'm gonna beleive that It's certainly possible for much larger than average soulstones to be mined there, just as it is possible to pull an egg, or larger sized diamond out of a mine. it would be exceedingly rare, almost impossible to conceal, and probably have some hidden flaws, though. Also, never underestimate the people willing to cut a gem up for 3-5 smaller gems that would be easier to move.

WHich makes me wonder if soulstone dust gathered in sufficient quantities would have the same qualities as a soulstone. I could see some of the masters carrying around a small, glowing vial filleded with the dust.

[supercalisto]

That would work I've got some tiny crystals about this size for a miniture that I could use. Not smooth but nearly

---------- Post added at 12:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 PM ----------

True true some jagged ones would look good on a soulstone miners base

[nerdelemental]

Although they are mined, they are not cut. They're pulled out of the ground as smooth surfaced things. Almost all would be white. As Ratty pointed out, there are some exceptions, but it's not been revealed in the fluff as to what they are or what makes them different.

[Dracomax]

Based on that...If they are pulled out perfectly polished gem quality stones, then they cannot be natural. which would make it less mining and more...archeology?

Yes, I am well aware of how silly it is that I can perfectly well accept Etherial beings which posses and power up magic using Magic hunters, Blind bada$$ swordswomen, undead raised to fight redneck gremlins, and stemapunk sorcerers, but balk at being able to mine Gemstones without needing to cut them. Still, that's where the line of believability seems to be for me.

Edited August 28, 2012 by Dracomax

[nerdelemental]

They're not gems.

They're not naturally occurring stone veins. They do not appear on the periodic table.

And, in our real world, there are many examples of stones that are not jagged that are buried that are all totally natural. If you lived near any region where glaciation bulldozed, buried, and/or dropped mineral deposits you'd know exactly what I'm talking about.

But, essentially, they're not entirely without some magical properties. I mean - duh.

How about a compromise: they're smooth edged?

[Dracomax]

First: Very few (none, I beleive)gemstones occur in the periodic table. They are combinations of atoms in a crystaline matrix. To say that soulstones are not Gemstones is intriguing in itself. Either their atomic structure does not form crystal latices,, or they are not made of atoms--which would make them something wholly alien to our world.

Nor am I trying to say that it is impossible for smooth surfaced gemlike objects to be mined--just that for them to be embedded in rock in such a way as to be minable without shattering, fracturing, or becoming powder in large numbers is indicative to me, at least, that these are not natural occurences, but most likely the remnants of some disaster or previous civilization(much like digging objects out of Pompey,

Also, the way that they have been described as almost wholy uniform in color, lustre, luminescence and size tends to reinforce the idea that these things were manufactured, rather than naturally occuring, albeit through the application of unnatural causes. Take quartz as an example. it's very rare that 2 pieces of quartz are much more than superficially identical to each other on a visual scale, even if their molecular structure is nearly identical. And there are dozens of variations of quartz, each determined by other materials which found their way into the structure during the crystalization. If they were naturally occuring stones, they would vary both in size and color. Even if they were unnaturally occuring (caused by the forces of which destroyed old Malifaux) the very act of their formation would have caused them to vary in color due to contaminants in the formation. Some would also be much less or much less potent, depending on how pure" the soulstone was. If, however, they are the result of some magitech, the uniform appearance makes sens--they were massproduced. Which in turn would raise even more questions, like "why are they in stone" and "is there a stash of them, or a factory for their manufacture somewhere?"

That being said, I'm certainly not trying to imply you are wrong. I assume you have the word from on high. I'm just saying that I find it very difficult to reconcile the uniformity, and apparent perfection of shape of Soulstones with suspension of disbelief, If we assume that they were not, in fact, the remnants of an earlier culture--which in turn led to the statement that it becomes not mining but archeology.

[harbinger]

What if they "arrived" similar to a meteor type event and then eventually interred thru a glacier like event. Would that be mining or archeology?

[nerdelemental]

First: Very few (none, I beleive)gemstones occur in the periodic table. They are combinations of atoms in a crystaline matrix. To say that soulstones are not Gemstones is intriguing in itself. Either their atomic structure does not form crystal latices,, or they are not made of atoms--which would make them something wholly alien to our world.

Well, I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek with the periodic table ref. I'm no geologist and only peripherally care about crystal structures, but did stay at a Holiday Inn last week so that should make me an expert. [i'm still just kidding if that reference is lost on anyone. Just kidding. I kid.]

It was to say: THESE rocks aren't normal. But, some things I take for granted are not taken for granted by everyone. These actually somehow suck out and store a person's soul for crying out loud. That, at least to me, should be enough to suspend everyone's notions that they are totally normal rocks. Where did they come from? How are they there? Why are they there? How do they work? I'm not saying.

That being said, I'm certainly not trying to imply you are wrong. I assume you have the word from on high. I'm just saying that I find it very difficult to reconcile the uniformity, and apparent perfection of shape of Soulstones with suspension of disbelief, If we assume that they were not, in fact, the remnants of an earlier culture--which in turn led to the statement that it becomes not mining but archeology.

The word doesn't go much higher (I write the stuff), but, to be totally frank, I don't think many of us at this level of setting development have ever cared nearly as much as I think you do about these things. I'm not being snarky, really. You just seem to care about the nature of these rocks more than we ever did (it's my observation not criticism).

Whether it is LITERALLY mining or archaeology, the miners call it mining. If you said to one of them: "Hey, you're now part of the Archaeology and Steamfitter's Union," I doubt they'd take you too seriously. Ramos may understand the nuances of the words and the nature of the stuff they're digging out of the ground. He still refers to it as mining. And he's kinda smart, so I'm taking his word for it.

[Adran]

It seems that you've been viewing them as Gems. Prehaps thinking of them as pearls* might be easier.

I've no idea if that is anywhere near the truth, and am also worried about viewing the eath as a giant clam, but it could be the case.

And its always nice to look hard into the writers answers and try and come up with what they are actually saying. So thank you Nerdelemental for talking (no matter how cryptic).

(*or terror tot eggs. Well they have to come from somewhere...)

[DeleteAccount]

This is how it looks like.

(50 dork points to those that get the reference)

[emig]

I think in one of the rule books the Colette’s puppet is playing whit them .So thats what i think they look like