Soul Gem Magic

Amber Soul magic is a divisive form of magic. Capable of capturing an imprint of a person, those exposed to it disagree on the morality of doing so. Some maintain that capturing a soul upon death preserves the soul forever, granting the subject an afterlife and saving them from oblivion. Others claim that manipulating the souls damages the most eternal part of a person, and view taking the imprints as slavery, grave desecration, and black magic. And then there are those who don't care who right or wrong the power is, but only how useful.

Creating Soul Stones

The substance that enables this magic is referred to as 'soul glass' or 'soul amber'. Its made from glass infused with the sap of a small garden herb referred to as the 'soul sap'. For best results, a round piece about the size of a marble should be used. Making these objects, referred to as soul stones or soul gems, is tricky, and done by professionals -- but lots can be made at once, and the materials aren't expensive -- its the souls that are the limiting factor.

Putting a soul into a soul stone is referred to as 'sealing' it. Sealing a soul involves drawing a circle around the soul and drawing the appropriate symbols. Souls not contained by circles at the moment of death usually dissipate and cannot be recovered. Sometimes other obstacles can contain a soul in an area, but recovering such a soul is a job for experts. A simple circle will contain a soul -- as defined by lines created with the intent to be lines, drawn by a sentient being, and mostly round. Once the soul is both free of the body and contained in the circle, 1 minute of work and a symbol drawing check can move it into the soul stone. A failure by less than 5 leaves the soul intact but does not put it in the soul gem and gives a  -2 to anyone who attempts to manipulate the soul until its either left the circle or is in the soul gem. a failure by 5 for more permanently damages the soul or allows it to leave the circle and dissipate (GM's option, or roll 50/50).

Speaking to the Soul

Contacting the soul inside the stone to speak with it directly requires an elaborate setup: lines drawn on the ground a yard on either side of the stone, perfect control and manipulation of light via mirrors, and a basin of calm water. Setting all this up takes 5 minutes and a successful roll vs symbol drawing OR an IQ/E skill that is used for just this ritual. At the end of the 5 minutes, the soul and the user can communicate with each other mentally, speaking to each other, and bringing up memories. This is disrupted only if the setup allowing communication is disrupted. The soul in the stone is under no particular compulsion to be talkative, helpful, or even honest, but most are quite talkative -- even more so than when they were alive. The souls inside the stone have a poor memory of things since they were dead -- at most an academic appreciation of what's happened. Some of their memory is stored with the person they speak to: They seem to remember things discussed with a specific person when talking with that person.

Channeling The Soul's Skill

Soul stones can be bound to tools by being set into a tool and inscribed with the proper lines and curves (symbol drawing). Such a tool allows a user to access the skills of the soul inside of it (including languages), when the tool is in contact with the skin of a user. Doing so can cause the personality, memories, and emotions of the soul to override the users, and even to override the user's own skills! While the term 'tool' is used, any item with the gem built into it can be used -- including jewellery. Conversation with the soul via the tool is not possible: it requires the elaborate setup mentioned above. Most tools are too bulky and interfere with the setup, but jewellery such as rings and necklaces do not -- though those have their own problems.

The user of a soul stone accomplishes the appropriate tasks at the original user's skill. The user's base attributes can affect the roll: add or subtract 1 for every 2 full levels of DX the user's differs from the soul in the stone. Use the same principle for fine manual DX. Bonus or penalties to senses from the user's traits apply fully -- if the soul in the stone is familiar with the sense. Using the other soul's skills is easy -- almost automatic. Its keeping your sense of self that's hard.

The user of a soul stone must make a Mental Strength (Soul Stones) or a will roll to keep track of who he is. This roll is made any-time the soul tries to do something the user would not, any time the user wants to do something the soul would be quite reluctant to do, any time the user needs to use information the soul would not have while alive, and at the end of using the skill. If the user attempts to stop or force an action, or to use information and skills the soul does not have, and fails by 4 or less, the user may choose to either stop using the skill or to let the soul have its way. If the failure is by 5 or more, the option is chosen by the GM or randomly determined. If a user tries to stop using a skill and fails, he will continue to think like the soul. He may try again after 1 minute or after 10% of the time the object was used, which ever is greater. Appropriate stimuli will also allow an attempt to stop using the gem, and if the tool is put down the effect immediately ends. This is one reason why tools are more commonly enchanted than, say, rings -- people naturally put them down when they are done.
Many modifiers apply:

• -1 for two levels of will (not mental strength) the soul in the stone has
• +1 if the stone has been used for under a minute.
• -1 for the first hour of use. Short breaks of a minute or so should not reduce the total amount of time for this calculation.
• -1 for each doubling  (-2 for two hours, -3 for four, -5 for sixteen)
• +1 if the user accepts a -1 penalty to the skill being used (apply only once)
• -2 if the situation is familiar to the soul but unfamiliar to the user. (in a castle the user never saw but the soul lived in)
• +2 if the situation is familiar to the user but unfamiliar to the soul.
• +1 if the soul is well known to the user (either through long use of the stone or by actually knowing the person)
• -1 if the skill(s) used are not possessed by the user
• -1 if the skill(s) are high end mental skills, such as math, navigation, and other cerebral activities.
• -2 if the skill is deals with social interaction or otherwise requires assuming the soul's personality.
• -2 if a language is used. this does not stack with penalties for skills being highly mental or relating to social interaction.
• The GM may assign additional modifiers: this is particularly appropriate when dealing with conflicts over what to do. The soul of an ancient warrior with blood lust will want to deliver killing blows, while the user with charitable may wish for him not to. For traits without self control rolls, +1 or -1 per five points is roughly appropriate, while self control rolls can give bonus for each level they have: +1 for 15, +2 for 12, and so forth. GM's should remember to take unhelpful traits into account as well: the classic is workaholic bestowing a penalty for someone who uses the gem in their daily work and is about to quit.

Characters

Mental Strength (Soul Stones) is a separate speciality of mental strength with no default between the it and the standard version. Will can be used in its place. This will be a common skill among those who use the items but don't know how to make them. They just know that great grandpa's in the sword, ready to help when needed.
Symbol Drawing (Soul Stones) is useful for collecting dead souls. Those who have it are likely to also possess some theology and religious ritual -- they are collecting the souls of the dead, after all. While its called symbol drawing, soul stone symbol drawing tends to feature geometric circles and lines directing the soul rather than runes. Its used for collecting the soul,
Many skills are used in the production of the soul stones, but they are fairly mundane: Gardening to grow the soul sap plant, a speciality of Professional Skill (glass blowing) to make the stones from the sap and glass, and jeweller to put the soul in a tool, ring, or necklace (though symbol drawing is needed to complete the process).

This magic is considered to be balanced against itself. If its only in the hands of a few it is very powerful and possibly unbalancing. If the ability or knowledge to use this power is rare, the GM should either charge a hefty unusual background (25 CP is a suggested baseline) or require individual gems to be bought as allies.

In the Campaign

This magic is not a flashy, but deeply effects a society. It provides a link to their past. For those who believe it as the only hope of an afterlife, it effects who they live their life and particularly how they fight. For those who don't believe it as their afterlife, or their only possibility, consider how they justify using the magic -- or if they have a 'better him than me' attitude about it. This magic was designed to be incorporated as a way of giving a setting depth -- though they can make a fascinating way for a player who is alone in using this magic to progress.

Prices aren't placed on the soul gems because the gems are specific people. The price of a slave is probably appropriate appropriate, but be sure to account for sentimental value and the fact that you have to have a person using the gem: you buy a mind, not a good pair of hands. Also remember the gem is better controlled than a slave, and doesn't require food.

There are darker aspects of this art. Rumors abound of evil men who trap the souls of the living, Eat the souls of both the living and dead to strengthen themselves, insert themselves into the body of another, and even walk the earth as raw spirits in the nigh.