Real-Life Weirdness

[Anaraxes]

A unidentified beige ooze bubbles up out of the ground, spreading onto a highway in Detroit. Initial suspicion immediately falls on a nearby refinery (naturally), but the foam isn't a product of that operation. EPA officials have so far been unable to determine the composition of the mystery substance.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...es-authorities

They slimed us. That's great! Actual physical contact!

But with what? Grey goo from the nearby nanite lab? The alien meteorite back in the woods, pulsing green, is affecting the local wildlife (and little Billy)? The underground cultists have tapped the dimensional barrier and are calling forth Things Even Detroit Was Not Meant to Know? Case Zero of a plague that will have the survivors wishing it were something simple, like zombies?

[tanksoldier]

The Laundery of the Gods has sprung a leak....

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by tanksoldier

The Laundery of the Gods has sprung a leak....

Charles Stross was just relaying the simple truth all along.

[Flyndaran]

I guess this means we must now beware the spin cycle.

[William]

Scientists may have found evidence of a lifeform that eats gemstones -- specifically, a bacterium or fungus that can metabolize garnet.

Note that garnet is basically the #2 or #3 gem in hardness, right behind diamond, maybe sapphire depending, so these little buggers are chowing down on some real tooth-cracking energy sources -- and weirdly, they're probably metabolizing the iron (garnet is deep red due to iron content) in some kind of chemosynthetic process.

"Gem rot" was not a problem your mage expected to have, eh? Sorry about the jewel-eating fungus infestation.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by William

"Gem rot" was not a problem your mage expected to have, eh?

New Powerstone quirk -- plague carrier. Any gem that comes within 6' of the Powerstone gets infected, and rots away at a rate of $100 per day. Other Powerstones that come within 6' do not rot, but themselves become carriers.

(Option: other Powerstones themselves rot, making the mage especially unpopular with his peers. Throw in another option to give the gems a HT save, and you can make Powerstones become carriers on a crit fail on their save.)

No one remembers why mages traditionally all take a vow of poverty, owning no more than their horse can carry.

[William]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

New Powerstone quirk -- plague carrier. Any gem that comes within 6' of the Powerstone gets infected, and rots away at a rate of $100 per day. Other Powerstones that come within 6' do not rot, but themselves become carriers.

(Option: other Powerstones themselves rot, making the mage especially unpopular with his peers. Throw in another option to give the gems a HT save, and you can make Powerstones become carriers on a crit fail on their save.)

Noice. And just think, the original Powerstone enchanter probably had dozens of the things on the racks in his workspace...

Tracking down Patient Zero in a gem plague like this sounds like a job for a fantasy version of the CDC or the WHO.

[Flyndaran]

This looks like a job for the non-magical expert of magical dangers. The mundane detective.
I've always wanted ideas for how a non-mage could help mages.

[tanksoldier]

Originally Posted by William

or the WHO.

Magus Jaeger, I’m Roger Daltrey. I’m here to inspect your Stones....

[Flyndaran]

Rolling PowerStones gather no bacteria.