Summoning 12 of the Dew Gem Terrarium

Lore: The discipline known as Summoning 12 is perhaps the most gentle and symbiotic branch of the binding arts practiced in Saṃsāra. Its followers, who often call themselves Environmental Stewards or Geodancers, operate on the core belief that the health of the natural world is a reflection of its spiritual harmony. They do not seek to command powerful entities, but rather to enter into cooperative agreements with the countless minor nature spirits that act as the caretakers of the world’s ecosystems. To a practitioner of Summoning 12, a polluted river is not just an environmental problem, but a symptom of a wounded and crying spirit. Their engineering is one of healing, purification, and encouraging growth in concert with nature, not in spite of it.

The Dew-Gem Terrarium is the first tool and symbol of this order, given to every acolyte. It is a portable, self-contained ecosystem that houses a single, minor, and benign “dew-spirit.” These are simple elementals of pure water, whose entire existence is tied to the hydrological cycle. They are the spirits of morning dew, of clean rain, of water filtered through deep earth. They are not powerful or conversational, but they possess a perfect, innate understanding of environmental purity. The terrarium allows its user to consult with this spirit, using it as a living instrument to diagnose the health of the surrounding environment and, in small ways, to restore its balance.

Description: The item is a beautiful, hand-sized terrarium, often shaped as a glass dodecahedron or a perfect sphere, no larger than a grapefruit. The flawless glass panels are held together by a delicate, filigreed framework of polished copper that has been treated to resist tarnishing. Inside this sealed vessel is a miniature, living world: a bed of lush, emerald-green moss covers the bottom, from which rises a single, perfectly smooth, grey river stone. A single, vibrant green leaf, which never withers or decays, rests upon the stone.

At the very center of the terrarium, clinging to the tip of the leaf, is the item’s focal point and its bound spirit: the Dew-Gem. This appears to be a single, large, perfectly spherical and perpetually-sustained drop of the purest water imaginable. It gleams and refracts light like a flawless diamond. The entire terrarium is always cool to the touch, and the exterior of the glass often has a thin, pleasant layer of condensation, even in the driest climates. The air immediately surrounding it smells clean, fresh, and alive, like a forest after a gentle rain.

Detailed Stats

Tier: 1
Intellect: +1
Aura: +1

Passive Magic

Purity Sense: The Dew-Gem, as a spirit of pure water, is intrinsically sensitive to the quality of water in its vicinity. When the user is near a source of clean, potable water, the gem at the center of the terrarium glows with a bright, inner luminescence. Conversely, when near stagnant, polluted, or poisoned water, the gem becomes cloudy, dull, and seems to shrink in on itself. This allows the user to instantly assess the health of a water source from a safe distance.
Soil Reading: The living moss within the terrarium is symbiotically linked to the bound spirit and is sensitive to the vitality of the earth. When the user places the base of the terrarium on the ground, the moss will react over the course of a few seconds. If the soil is fertile and rich in nutrients, the moss will flush with a deep, vibrant green. If the ground is barren, depleted, or salted, the moss will turn a pale, sickly yellow, providing a clear and immediate indication of its ability to support life.

Activable Magic

The Dew’s Kiss: The terrarium has a small, cleverly hidden stopper made of copper and cork. The user may unstopper it and pour up to a canteen’s worth of water into the vessel. The water will be absorbed into the moss and then purified by the dew-spirit, a process visible as the central gem briefly clouding over and then clearing to a brilliant shine. After one minute, the user can pour out the now perfectly clean, pure, and safe-to-drink water. This process can be performed up to three times before the spirit must rest for a full day to restore its purifying energies.
Seed’s Blessing: Once per day, the user can unstopper the terrarium and carefully place a single, normal seed (of any plant) onto the moss inside. After leaving the seed within the sealed, harmonious environment for one hour, the dew-spirit will have imparted a blessing of vitality upon it. When this seed is planted, it is imbued with unnatural resilience. It is guaranteed to sprout, even in less-than-ideal soil, and the resulting plant will grow with enhanced vigor, being more resistant to drought, disease, and blight.

Specific Slot: Tool Slot / Belt Slot

Tags: Summoning, Tool Slot, Common, Tier 1, Magic, Utility, Engineering, Environmental, Nature, Water, Purification, Intellect, Spirit, Bound, Druidic, Life, Diagnosis, Non-Combat, Aura, Geomancy

The Dew-Gem Terrarium, a product of the gentle and symbiotic magic of Summoning 12, is a tool sought not by warriors or urban engineers, but by those whose lives are intrinsically tied to the health of the natural world. Its commerce flows through the channels of agriculture, exploration, and naturalism, and it is found in places where the wilderness meets civilization.

The Stewards’ Greenhouse or Commune

The most direct way to acquire a Dew-Gem Terrarium is from the practitioners of Summoning 12 themselves. They do not operate shops, but rather maintain communes, experimental farms, or great greenhouses that are marvels of environmental engineering. These might be secluded, lush valleys, hydroponic towers in the heart of a city, or even thriving ecosystems within magically-sealed underwater domes. These places are centers of learning and natural harmony.

One cannot simply purchase a terrarium here. The item is typically bestowed upon a student who has learned the basic principles of the order, or gifted to a visitor who has demonstrated a genuine respect for the natural world. A transaction is more likely to be a trade of a non-monetary nature. The Stewards might ask an avatar to bring them seeds of a rare plant from a distant island, to help clear a polluted stream, or to pledge to use the terrarium’s blessing to bring life to a barren patch of land. A monetary exchange would be framed as a humble donation for the upkeep of the commune’s gardens or seed banks.

Cost: A donation of 9 Copper coins. More often, a trade of rare seeds, or a promise of service to the environment.

Herbalist & Alchemist Suppliers

In the market towns that border untamed jungles or in the agricultural hubs of verdant island nations, one can find shops that cater to herbalists, alchemists, and healers. These stores are filled with the scents of drying herbs, rare earths, and simmering potions. They sell everything from potent medicinal plants to the components needed for creating powerful elixirs.

The proprietor of such a shop would understand the immense value of the Dew-Gem Terrarium. They would likely have a standing arrangement with the Summoning 12 order, trading valuable alchemical reagents or finished potions for a small supply of the terrariums. The item would be displayed as a high-end tool for the serious practitioner, essential for finding the pure water needed for delicate potions and for testing the quality of soil before planting a rare and expensive magical herb. The sale would be informative, with the seller explaining its uses with professional respect.

Cost: 2 Silver coins. This is a standard retail price for a specialized tool that ensures the quality of other, more expensive alchemical and herbal ingredients.

The Itinerant Naturalist

Traveling the trade routes of Saṃsāra are individuals who make their living on the frontier of nature and civilization. These are wandering naturalists, explorers mapping new ecosystems, or traders who specialize in goods for homesteaders and colonists. They might travel in a cart laden with saplings and seed bags or pilot a small skiff between new settlements.

Such a trader would view the Dew-Gems they carry as one of their most valuable, if subtle, wares. They would sell them at market stalls in frontier towns or directly to colonists building a new life. The sales pitch would be one of practical storytelling: how a terrarium helped a village determine its well water was safe after a magical blight, or how its seed-blessing ability allowed a family to grow crops on difficult land. The price would be negotiable, often dependent on the seller’s assessment of the buyer’s need and character. A desperate homesteader might be given a better price than a wealthy explorer.

Cost: The starting price would be around 2 Silver and 5 Copper, but through friendly haggling or a demonstration of genuine need, it could likely be acquired for 1 Silver and 5 Copper.

The Frontier Trading Post

In the furthest-flung outposts and newest settlements, the trading post is the center of all commerce. It is a practical, no-nonsense establishment that sells everything a colonist might need to survive: axes, rope, iron cook-pots, sacks of grain, and simple leather goods. Magic items are rare here, and those that are stocked are always valued for their practical utility.

A trading post owner might acquire a Dew-Gem Terrarium from a traveling merchant or take it in trade from a settler who was moving back to the city. The owner would likely not understand its spiritual origins or full capabilities. They would see it as a “Self-Cleaning Canteen” or a “Farmer’s Luck Charm.” It would be sold based on its most obvious functions. The transaction would be quick and simple, with the terrarium likely sitting on a dusty shelf between a bag of nails and a set of mundane gardening tools.

Cost: 1 Silver coin. For a knowledgeable avatar, this would be a significant bargain, as the trading post owner would price it as a high-quality but ultimately mundane survival tool, unaware of its true magical value.

The Dew-Gem Terrarium is a tool of life, healing, and harmony. Its use in situations of conflict is never direct, but its ability to diagnose, purify, and nurture the environment can be a potent form of defense and a surprisingly effective, if unconventional, form of offense. Its power lies in using the fundamental principles of life to overcome the forces of decay, deception, and despair.

In a Grimy Urban Alleyway

This environment is the antithesis of the terrarium’s nature—a place of pollution, decay, and desperation.

Defense: Hiding from a patrol of the city guard, the party is cornered, exhausted, and out of clean water. The only source is a grimy cistern collecting runoff from the industrial rooftops. As a companion moves to drink, the avatar holds their terrarium near the water’s surface. The gem within, normally brilliant, instantly becomes a dull, cloudy grey. The Purity Sense passive has warned them that the water is thick with heavy metals and chemical pollutants. Knowing they can’t risk moving, the avatar uses Dew’s Kiss. They unstopper the terrarium, scoop up the foul water, and let the spirit within do its work. A minute later, they pour out a stream of perfectly pure, life-giving water, providing just enough sustenance to keep their party hidden and healthy until the patrol moves on.

Offense: The avatar seeks to liberate a downtrodden slum from the influence of a petty tyrant who controls the food supply. This tyrant’s power comes from the despair of the people. The avatar finds the slum’s tiny, blighted community garden, where the soil is little more than dust. Using Soil Reading, they find one small patch where the terrarium’s moss shows a flicker of pale green—a tiny spark of potential life. They take a simple seed—for a fast-growing, bright-red flowering vine—and place it within the terrarium for an hour. Imbued with the Seed’s Blessing, they plant this super-seed in the one viable spot. It sprouts overnight and grows with unnatural speed and vibrancy, a shocking explosion of color in the grey slum. This single act of defiant, vibrant life becomes a symbol of hope, chipping away at the tyrant’s foundation of despair far more effectively than any weapon could.

On a Ship’s Deck During a Storm

Lost at sea, survival is the only conflict that matters. Defense is sustenance, and offense is overcoming the immediate peril.

Defense: A rogue wave crashes over the deck, smashing supplies and contaminating the ship’s main freshwater cask with a deluge of seawater. The crew is now on a countdown to dehydration. The avatar uses the terrarium’s Purity Sense to confirm the water is now unpotable. Methodically, three times a day, the avatar uses Dew’s Kiss to purify three canteens of water. It is not enough for comfort, but it is enough for the core crew to survive. The terrarium becomes the single most important defensive tool on the ship, single-handedly defending the crew against the slow, inexorable threat of thirst.

Offense: The ship is becalmed in a region of the ocean known as the “Weeping Wastes,” a magically stagnant and oppressive area that saps the will of the crew. The ship’s morale is dangerously low. The avatar’s “attack” is against this crushing despair. They gather the crew and perform a small ritual. They use Dew’s Kiss to purify a bowl of the stagnant seawater, turning it brilliantly clear. Then, they take a blessed seed of a hardy, salt-resistant flower and plant it in a small pot of earth they had on board. This simple act—creating pure water and nurturing life in a place where both seem impossible—serves as a powerful counter-narrative to the sea’s oppressive influence, a focused offensive maneuver against the environment’s psychological assault that renews the crew’s hope.

In a Monster-Infested Cave

Deep underground, the environment is alien and hostile. Purity and poison are often one and the same, and the rules of the surface world do not apply.

Defense: The party discovers a glistening underground spring, the first water they’ve seen in days. Before anyone can drink, the avatar holds the terrarium near it. The Purity Sense gem does not turn cloudy, but it shifts to a strange, unsettlingly vibrant color. The water is “pure” by the spirit’s standard, but pure what? The avatar realizes the water is saturated with a bizarre, magical mineral unique to this ecosystem—the very thing that gives the local monsters their strange powers and mutations. By avoiding this “pure” water, they defend the party from a transformation or sickness that would have surely doomed them.

Offense: The party is being hunted through the caves by a pack of hulking, troll-like creatures that regenerate in the damp darkness but whose flesh sizzles at the touch of direct sunlight. The avatar uses Seed’s Blessing on a seed for a specific type of phosphorescent moss they have collected. They find a large, damp chamber ahead of the trolls’ path and plant the blessed seed. Growing with supernatural speed, the moss spreads rapidly across the cavern walls, soon filling the entire space with a bright, clean, sun-like glow. When the trolls enter the chamber, the intense, pure light sears their flesh, turning their own regenerative environment into a painful trap and forcing them to retreat.

At a Formal Social Gathering

At a gathering of nobles and investors, the weapons are words, reputation, and demonstrations of power.

Defense: An avatar, a known environmentalist, is publicly challenged by a wealthy industrialist. The industrialist offers them a goblet of “purified” water from his factory’s new, “miraculous” filtration system and asks for their endorsement. As the goblet is presented, the avatar, holding their terrarium discreetly, sees the Dew-Gem remain dull and cloudy. The Purity Sense has revealed the lie. The avatar politely declines, stating, “My own constitution is too sensitive for anything but the purest natural water, my lord. I would not wish to offend your generosity by falling ill.” They have sidestepped the trap, defended their integrity, and subtly cast doubt on the industrialist without making a direct accusation.

Offense: The same industrialist is giving a grand presentation to potential investors, showing off the schematics for a new mining operation that he claims will not harm the local farmland. At a critical moment, the avatar steps forward, asking for permission to perform a simple demonstration. They present two soil samples: one from the pristine farmland, and one from the area around the magnate’s last mining operation. They place the Dew-Gem Terrarium on the first sample, and the moss inside glows a vibrant green. They then move it to the second sample, and the moss instantly turns a sickly, pale yellow. This simple, visual, and undeniable proof of the magnate’s destructive legacy is a devastating public “attack” on his credibility, shattering the investors’ confidence far more effectively than any shouted argument.

Perception of Activation:

The Dew-Gem Terrarium’s two active abilities are distinct processes—one of immediate filtration, the other of slow nurturing. Their perceptions reflect these different functions.

Activation: The Dew’s Kiss (Water Purification)

This is a one-minute process where the user introduces impure water into the terrarium to be cleansed by the bound spirit.

Sight

User’s Perspective: As you pour the tainted water into the vessel, you see the brilliant Dew-Gem at its center instantly turn murky and dull, as if it has absorbed all the pollution into itself. For the next minute, the gem pulses with a soft, milky-white light. With each pulse, the cloudiness within the gem visibly lessens, until it finally returns to a state of perfect, radiant clarity, seeming even brighter than before. The water you pour out is noticeably pure and clean.
Observer’s Perspective: The effect is clear and unambiguous. An observer watches you pour dirty, foul-looking water into the small terrarium. They can see the central droplet grow dark, then pulse with a soft, internal light for a minute. When you pour the water back out, it is crystal clear. The transformation is undeniable and appears miraculous.
Positives: The visual evidence of the purification is dramatic and convincing. It can inspire hope in allies or serve as irrefutable proof of the water’s purity (or prior impurity).
Negatives: The process is not instantaneous, taking a full minute during which you are occupied. Its overtly magical nature makes it impossible to use stealthily if anyone is watching.

Sound

User’s Perspective: While holding the terrarium during purification, you hear a gentle, effervescent fizzing sound from within the glass. It is a pleasant and clean sound, like a mineral salt dissolving in pure water.
Observer’s Perspective: If standing very close in a quiet setting, an observer might also hear the faint, pleasant fizzing sound. From any distance, the process is silent.
Positives: The gentle sound is a reassuring confirmation that the process is working.
Negatives: It is too quiet to be a useful auditory signal to anyone not standing right next to you.

Touch

User’s Perspective: When the impure water enters, the terrarium’s surface immediately feels colder than its usual cool temperature, as if it is drawing in heat to power the filtration. As the spirit works, you feel a slight, high-frequency vibration. Once the process is complete, the vibration ceases and the glass returns to its normal, pleasant coolness.
Observer’s Perspective: Nothing is perceived through touch.
Positives: The distinct temperature change and vibration provide you with clear, non-visual feedback on the status of the purification process.
Negatives: The tactile sensations are entirely personal to you.

Smell & Taste

User’s Perspective: Any foul odor from the original water is completely gone. When you pour out the purified water, it releases a powerful, clean scent of petrichor and fresh ozone. The water itself tastes exceptionally clean, crisp, and revitalizing.
Observer’s Perspective: An observer will notice the strong, pleasant scent of rain when the purified water is poured out. If they drink it, they will share in the perception of its pure taste.
Positives: Provides a delicious and refreshing result, confirming the water’s safety and quality in a very direct way.
Negatives: None.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions

User’s Perspective (Empathic Sense): You can feel the dew-spirit’s state. It feels a sense of “disgust” or “strain” as it absorbs the impurities. This is followed by a feeling of determined “effort” during the pulsing, and finally a sense of “relief” and “satisfaction” once its task is complete and its vessel is clean again.
Observer’s Perspective (Magical Sense): A magically aware observer would perceive the “sick,” chaotic aura of the polluted water being drawn into the terrarium. They would then see the terrarium itself flare with gentle but persistent Transmutation magic, as the spirit systematically breaks down and neutralizes the contaminants on a magical level.
Positives: You gain a deep, empathic connection to the spirit’s well-being. The magic’s nature is clearly benign and constructive to magical senses.
Negatives: A magical observer will know you possess a powerful purification artifact.

Activation: Seed’s Blessing

This is a slow, one-hour process where a single seed is placed inside the terrarium to be imbued with vitality.

Sight

User’s Perspective: After you place the seed inside, you watch as the Dew-Gem detaches from its leaf, drifts over, and gently envelops the seed within its watery body. For the next hour, the seed remains suspended inside the glowing droplet. The gem emits a slow, deep, pulsing light that shifts between soft green and gentle white, like a sleeping heart. Once the hour is over, the gem carefully deposits the seed, which now has a faint, pearlescent sheen, back onto the moss and returns to its leaf.
Observer’s Perspective: An observer who watches the beginning of the process will see the water droplet move and envelop the seed. If they check on the terrarium during the next hour, they will see that it is emitting a slow, gentle, pulsing green light.
Positives: The visual effect is beautiful, serene, and clearly indicates a slow, nurturing process is underway.
Negatives: The process is extremely slow, making it a dedicated, out-of-combat activity. The continuous, gentle glow could attract attention if left uncovered in the dark.

Sound

User’s Perspective: If you hold the terrarium very close to your ear while the blessing is active, you can hear a single, slow, deep sound, like a soft heartbeat, that perfectly matches the pulsing of the light.
Observer’s Perspective: The process is completely silent to an observer.
Positives: The quiet, rhythmic sound is meditative and reassuring to you.
Negatives: There is no auditory cue for others.

Touch

User’s Perspective: If you hold the terrarium during the blessing, it feels pleasantly warm and you can feel a slow, steady, life-like pulse vibrating through the glass in time with the light and sound.
Observer’s Perspective: Nothing is perceived through touch.
Positives: The tactile feedback feels vital and organic, reinforcing the feeling that you are nurturing a new life.
Negatives: None.

Smell & Taste

User’s Perspective & Observer’s Perspective: There are no perceptions via these senses during this process.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions

User’s Perspective (Empathic Sense): You feel a sense of immense patience and gentle, focused nurturing coming from the dew-spirit. It is not an effort of strain, but one of love and encouragement, like it is “singing” a quiet growing-song to the seed’s dormant spirit.
Observer’s Perspective (Magical Sense): A magically aware observer would perceive a constant, low-level aura of life-magic emanating from the terrarium. The magic is not flashy or powerful, but incredibly persistent and constructive. They would recognize it as a form of druidic or nature-focused enchantment being slowly and carefully imbued into an object.
Positives: The process is gentle and spiritually calming for you. Its magical nature is clearly constructive and life-affirming.
Negatives: The hour-long duration of the magical aura makes it very easy for a persistent magical observer to notice and study the effect.

An Environmentalist’s Guide to Containing a Dew-Spirit

The creation of a Dew-Gem Terrarium is an act of delicate artifice and gentle persuasion. It is a process that blends the skills of a jeweler, a glassworker, and a naturalist with the rare and symbiotic magic of Summoning 12. The goal is not to build a prison, but to craft a perfect, miniature world so inviting that a spirit of pure water will choose to call it home.

Materials Needed:

Lead Crystal Panes: Twelve perfectly cut, flawless hexagonal panes of lead crystal glass, each treated for magical clarity.
Annealed Copper Wire: Several spools of fine, pure copper wire, which has been annealed to be soft and pliable for filigree work.
Veridian Heart-Moss: A living handful of a rare moss that only grows in areas of immense natural vitality, such as the base of an ancient, lightning-struck tree or a sun-dappled forest clearing.
The River-Eye Stone: A single, perfectly smooth, grey stone, worn into its shape by centuries of flow in a magically pure, high-altitude stream.
The Ever-Leaf: A single, unblemished leaf taken from the “Ever-Branch Tree,” a rare species of tree that never sheds its leaves and is immune to seasonal change.
The Lure Water: A small, sealed vial containing water of absolute purity. The most effective lures are water collected from the heart of a millennium-old glacier or condensed directly from the clouds at the highest peak of a mountain during a thunderstorm.

Tools Required:

Jeweler’s & Glassworker’s Kit: This includes fine-nosed pliers for bending the copper filigree, a high-temperature soldering iron with silver solder, and a glass cutter for making fine adjustments to the crystal panes.
Portable Binding Matrix: A specialized set of interlocking plates designed for the gentle containment of minor, non-hostile nature spirits.
A Place of Power: The final binding ritual cannot be performed in a sterile workshop. It must be conducted in a location of pristine natural health and power, such as a hidden grotto behind a waterfall, the center of an ancient stone circle, or a sun-dappled forest clearing far from any civilization. The location itself is a critical component of the ritual.

Skill Requirements:

Master Artisan (Glass & Metal): The construction of the dodecahedron vessel is incredibly delicate. The copper filigree must be both beautiful and structurally sound, and the crystal panes must be soldered into a perfect, hermetic seal. This requires the skill of a master jeweler or glassworker.
Herbalism & Naturalism (Adept): The crafter must have the knowledge to identify and handle the living components—the moss, stone, and leaf—without damaging their innate magical properties.
Summoning 12 (Adept): The crafter must be proficient in the unique, gentle rituals of the Summoning 12 discipline. This involves song-like chants and a focus on invitation and symbiosis, not domination and control.
Purity of Intent: This is a crucial, non-technical skill. The practitioner’s heart must be free of greed or malice. A dew-spirit is a being of pure life and will recoil from a summons issued by one with a dissonant, destructive aura.

Crafting Steps:

Forging the Framework: The first step is a test of pure artistry. The crafter painstakingly bends and solders the fine copper wire into a beautiful and intricate filigreed framework that will form the edges of the dodecahedron vessel. This framework must be both delicate in appearance and strong enough to hold the crystal panes securely.
Glazing the Vessel: The crafter carefully sets eleven of the twelve crystal panes into the copper frame, using the soldering iron to create a perfect, airtight seal at every edge. An immense level of precision is required. One final pane is left open, creating an entryway into the terrarium’s interior.
Cultivating the Inner World: Through the final opening, the artisan carefully places the living components. The Veridian Heart-Moss is laid down as a lush carpet. The River-Eye stone is placed in a pleasing, central position. Finally, the Ever-Leaf is gently rested upon the stone. This process is an act of creation in miniature, arranging the elements into a landscape of perfect harmony and balance.
The Gentle Invitation: The crafter takes the nearly completed terrarium to their chosen Place of Natural Power. They assemble the Binding Matrix and place the open terrarium at its center. They then unseal the vial of Lure Water and pour its contents reverently onto the moss inside. The hyper-pure water activates the latent magic in the living components. The crafter then begins the summoning ritual, which is not a harsh command but a gentle, melodic song. The song praises the beauty of clean water, the resilience of life, and the peace of a balanced ecosystem. This song, amplified by the natural power of the location, carries on the wind as an open invitation.
The Binding of Wills: Eventually, a wild dew-spirit—a shimmering, hovering droplet of light—will be drawn to the overwhelming purity and harmony of the terrarium. It will enter the matrix and, seeing the perfect habitat created for it, will willingly enter the vessel to reside there. The moment the spirit settles onto the Ever-Leaf and manifests as the gleaming Dew-Gem, the artisan must act. They quickly but gently set the final crystal pane in place and, with practiced hands, apply the final silver solder, creating a perfect, permanent seal. The pact is sealed not by force, but by mutual agreement. The spirit has found its perfect home; the artisan has found their willing partner. The terrarium is now a living, magical whole.

Lay of the Ashen Duchy

And it is known from the words of the elders, which were themselves taken from cracked tablets, that in the Age of Steam there was a Duke, and his name was Alaric. The Duke was a man of great industry, and his factories were like iron mountains that breathed black smoke into the sky. The work of these factories made him rich beyond the dreams of other men, but the black bile from their bellies flowed into the rivers, and the rivers became poison. The farmlands drank the poison water and turned to ash, and the people of the duchy grew sick in their bodies and in their spirits.

The Duke saw this, and his heart was hard, for he loved his wealth more than his people. Yet he commanded his court sorcerers, men of great and fiery power, to fix the land. They cast loud spells upon the fields, commanding the ash to be fertile. They shouted Words of Power at the black rivers, commanding them to be clean. But the land was dead, and a command cannot make a dead thing live. Their magic was a loud noise with no meaning, and the blight remained.

Then there came to the Ashen Duchy a woman named Elara. She was not a sorcerer, nor a warrior. She was a Steward of the Way of Summoning 12. She carried no staff of power, only a small glass globe, and inside this globe was a single green leaf, a grey stone, and a drop of water that shone like a star. This was the Dew-Gem Terrarium.

The Duke Alaric and his court looked at her, and they laughed. “My great mages with their fire and fury have failed to heal my land,” the Duke said. “What can you do, a quiet woman with a child’s toy?”

Elara did not answer the Duke. She went to his people. She walked to a village where the people were sick from drinking from the communal well. She held her glass globe over the well water, and the star-bright gem within it turned a dull and ugly grey, like a dead fish’s eye. The people saw and understood their water was poison. Elara then took a single cup of the foul water and, using the Dew's Kiss as it is called, she let her terrarium drink it. The gem inside pulsed with a soft light, and when she poured the water back into the cup, it was clear as a summer sky. She gave it to a sick child to drink, and the color returned to the child’s cheeks.

She walked the ashen fields. She placed her terrarium upon the dead ground, and the green moss inside turned a sickly yellow. The land, she showed the people, could not support life. But she did not despair. She walked for days, up the river, toward its source. Far from the Duke’s factories, she found a small, hidden spring that trickled from the rocks, a spring the poison had not yet touched. Here, her terrarium’s gem shone with a brilliant, happy light. She told the people where to find this last clean water, so they would not have to drink the Duke’s poison any longer.

Then, Elara did her great work. She had the people bring her the last of their seeds, the small, sad-looking seeds they had saved in hope of a future planting. One by one, for many days and nights, she placed each seed within her terrarium. She performed the Seed's Blessing, and the spirit within the gem sang a quiet song of growth to each seed. She gave the blessed seeds back to the farmers. Then, using her terrarium’s moss to read the soil, she helped them find the few small patches in the fields where the land was not entirely dead, where a faint memory of life still lingered.

The blessed seeds were planted in this meager earth. And a miracle occurred. They sprouted. They grew with a strength that was not of the soil, but of the blessing upon them. Small patches of green appeared in the endless grey of the Ashen Duchy. It was not a great harvest, but it was food. It was clean food, grown with clean water. The people grew strong again. Their hope, which had turned to ash like the fields, began to grow again, a green and stubborn shoot. They no longer needed the Duke’s poisoned rations, and so his power over them began to wither.

The Duke saw this. He saw the green returning to his dead lands by a power he could not command. He saw his people’s strength returning without his help. His ambition was great, but his fear was greater. He summoned Elara to his iron hall. She stood before him, a quiet woman with a glass globe. He did not shout. He asked. She taught him the ways of harmony, of filtration, of cleaning the water before it was returned to the river. She taught him that the land was not a slave to be commanded, but a partner to be respected. The work was slow, but the duchy, over many years, was healed. Elara was remembered not as a warrior who defeated a duke, but as the Verdant Queen who taught a land how to live again.

The Moral of the Story: You cannot command a thing to be healthy. True power is not the strength to break the world to your will, but the wisdom to heal its wounds so that it may flourish on its own.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Terrarium of Clean Earth

A small, sealed glass dodecahedron containing a single, perfect water droplet on a perpetually green leaf. The item was found in the possession of a missing Miskatonic University botanist who was studying abnormal fungal growths near Arkham. The terrarium seems to react to its environment, the health of its miniature ecosystem reflecting the health of the world outside. It provides a small measure of purity in a world that is often deeply tainted.

Game Mechanics:

Purity Sense: The gem-like droplet within the terrarium becomes cloudy and dull, and the moss withers, when in the presence of water or soil that has been supernaturally tainted (e.g., by the Colour Out of Space, the waters of R’lyeh, etc.). This grants the Investigator one Bonus Die on any Science (Botany) or Natural World roll made to analyze the nature of the blight.
Purify Tainted Water: Once per day, the user may pour up to a pint of water into the terrarium. After one minute of gentle bubbling, the water is rendered pure of all mundane poisons and diseases. Its effect on supernatural contaminants is up to the Keeper, but it may reduce their potency.
Seed of Defiance: By placing a single seed within the terrarium for one hour, it becomes imbued with a strange vitality. If this seed is planted in a blighted or tainted area, it will sprout into a pale but strangely healthy plant. Consuming this plant may have unpredictable effects, but it may offer temporary protection (e.g., a Bonus Die on a CON roll) against the specific taint of the area in which it was grown.

Blades in the Dark

The Weeping-Stone Ward [Fine, Arcane, Natural]

A small, sealed terrarium containing a single, perfect dewdrop that is said to be the solidified tear of a forgotten earth-spirit. It is a rare item in soot-stained Duskvol, prized by Leeches, Cultists, and Whispers who understand that even in a city of ghosts, the principles of life and purity still hold power.

Game Mechanics:

When you Survey a location, you can use the terrarium to read the spiritual resonance of the place. You can ask the GM, “What is the most corrupting influence here?” or “Is there anything wholesome or natural hidden nearby?”
When a crew member is suffering from the effects of a poison or disease (a level 2 harm), you can use the terrarium to create a purifying poultice. This allows you to Tinker with the remedy and treat the harm without requiring a full downtime action.
You can undertake a Long-Term Project to “Cultivate a Hidden Sanctuary” (e.g., a rooftop garden, a secret grotto). When you work on this project, using the terrarium to bless the soil and seeds, you may mark an additional tick on the project clock.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Terrarium of the Verdant Soul Wondrous item, uncommon

This small, sealed glass terrarium contains a miniature, self-sustaining ecosystem. At its center, a single drop of water, the Dew-Gem, gleams with a gentle inner light. The terrarium is a boon to rangers, druids, and any who travel through blighted or unknown lands.

The terrarium has 4 charges and regains 1d4 expended charges daily at dawn.

Environmental Diagnosis. While holding the terrarium, you can use an action to learn if any water within 30 feet of you is poisoned or diseased, and if any land within 30 feet of you is considered desecrated or barren by magical means.
Dew’s Kiss (1 Charge). As an action, you can touch the terrarium to a container of water and cast the Purify Food and Drink spell.
Seed’s Blessing (2 Charges). As an action, you can touch the terrarium to a single non-magical seed. If planted, the seed sprouts in one day and grows to maturity in half the normal time. Any food harvested from the plant provides twice the normal amount of nourishment.

Knave (2nd Edition)

The Gardener’s Gem (1 inventory slot)

A small glass sphere containing a bit of moss, a stone, a leaf, and a single, perfect drop of water. The droplet clouds near bad water, and the moss turns yellow on bad soil.

Three times per day, you can use it to make one ration’s worth of water safe to drink. This process takes one turn (10 minutes).
Once per day, you can place a seed inside for one hour. When planted, this blessed seed will sprout in any soil and grow twice as fast as a normal plant.
If you consume a plant grown from a blessed seed, you are cured of any mundane diseases.

Fate Core System

The Terrarium of Pure Beginnings

This item is an Extra that provides a core Aspect for the item and several Stunts the character can utilize.

Aspect: Even Here, Life Can Flourish

This Aspect can be invoked for a bonus on rolls to overcome environmental hazards like blight or poison, to encourage natural growth, or to inspire hope in a desperate situation. The GM can compel this Aspect by having the terrarium react negatively to a powerful, corrupting influence, revealing the user’s presence or forcing them to address a hidden danger.

Stunts:

Sense Taint: Because I carry the Terrarium of Pure Beginnings, I don’t need to roll to see if a source of water or plot of land is naturally fertile and pure. The GM will simply tell me if it is poisoned, diseased, or barren.
The Cleansing Dew: Because I carry the Terrarium of Pure Beginnings, once per session, I can use it to purify enough food and drink for my entire group. This automatically removes any one mundane poison, disease, or spoilage-related situational Aspect from the provisions.
A Seed of Hope: Because I carry the Terrarium of Pure Beginnings, once per game, I can plant a single blessed seed in a location. I can then declare a story detail that a new source of life has taken root there, creating a new, positive location Aspect (like The Only Green Thing in the Wastes or A Symbol of Defiance) with one free invocation for my allies to use.

Numenera & Cypher System

Bio-Purifier Module

This artifact is a sealed, grapefruit-sized sphere of a glass-like synth. Inside, a colony of semi-sentient nanites (which appear as a gleaming drop of water on a perpetually-living leaf) maintain a perfect miniature ecosystem. It is a piece of terraforming or survival technology from a prior world.

Level: 4
Form: A sealed glass sphere containing a nanite-driven ecosystem.
Effect: The module’s passive sensors grant the user an intuitive understanding of environmental health. Any task involving identifying poisons, diseases, or soil quality is eased. The user can also activate one of two specific functions:
1. Purification Cycle: The user can introduce up to a liter of liquid or a handful of soil into the module’s intake port. After one minute, the nanites neutralize any mundane toxins, poisons, and diseases. This function does not require a depletion roll.
2. Genetic Blessing: The user can place a single seed into the module’s chamber for one hour. The nanites will optimize the seed’s genetics for rapid growth and hardiness. A plant grown from this seed matures in one-tenth the normal time and is immune to mundane diseases and blights. Activating this function requires a depletion roll.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check only when using the Genetic Blessing function).

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

The Verdant Warden’s Terrarium Item 2 Uncommon Divination Transmutation Magical Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L

This small, sealed glass dodecahedron contains a miniature, magically sustained ecosystem. The gleaming water droplet at its center is a minor water elemental bound to the vessel. The terrarium is a powerful tool for those who tend to the natural world.

Passive: You gain a +1 item bonus to Nature checks to identify plants and to Survival checks to Subsist.
Activate [one-action] (manipulate)
- Frequency three times per day
- Effect You touch the terrarium to up to 1 gallon of liquid. The terrarium casts a 1st-level purify food and drink spell on that liquid.
Activate [one-hour] (concentrate, exploration)
- Frequency once per day
- Effect You place a single non-magical seed within the terrarium. For one hour, the terrarium nurtures the seed. If the seed is planted within the next 8 hours, it grows into a mature, mundane plant in just 10 minutes. Any food harvested from this plant is exceptionally nourishing and provides the benefits of a full day’s rations for up to four creatures.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE)

The Survivor’s Terrarium

A small glass globe containing a vibrant green moss and a single, perfect drop of water that gleams with inner light. In the harsh wilds or blighted lands, this small item can be the difference between life and death. Requirements: Novice, Spirit d8+

Benefits:

Purity Sense: The wearer automatically knows if a source of water is poisoned or if a patch of land is supernaturally barren or cursed. No roll is required.
The Dew’s Kiss: Three times per day, as an action, the wearer can use the terrarium to instantly purify up to one gallon of water, making it safe to drink. This can be used to grant an ally a roll to overcome a lingering poison they have already ingested.
Seed of Life: Once per day, the wearer can bless a seed by placing it in the terrarium for one hour. A plant grown from this seed provides enough nourishing food for a single person for a day and grows to maturity in one hour. Using this ability provides a +2 bonus to any Survival rolls made to find sustenance for the group for the next 24 hours.

Shadowrun, Sixth World

Gaeatronics ‘Veridian’ Bio-Monitor

This device appears to be a high-end decorative terrarium, but it is actually a sophisticated and rare type of Spirit Focus, housing a Force 2 spirit of water. It is used by eco-shamans and corporate biologists to analyze and counteract the rampant pollution of the Sixth World.

Type: Spirit Focus (Sustaining)
Force: 2
Activation: Bonded (10 Karma)
Availability: 10R
Cost: ¥10,000

Game Mechanics:

Environmental Attunement: The focus grants the user an intuitive link to the surrounding ecosystem. The user gains 1 Edge on any test to analyze environmental health, detect pollutants, or identify natural substances using skills like Outdoors or Biotechnology.
Spirit-Bound Purification: Once per day, the user can command the bound spirit to use its Purification power on a volume of liquid equal to (Force x 1) liters. This removes all mundane toxins and pollutants and makes the liquid safe to consume.
Accelerated Growth: The user can command the spirit to bless a single seed. This requires a Summoning + Charisma [Force] test. If successful, the seed, when planted, grows into a mature, healthy plant in a fraction of the normal time (typically within 24 hours). The plant is also unusually resilient to the effects of pollution.

Starfinder

Xenobotanist’s Genesis Terrarium Level 2; Price 750 credits Slot held (1 hand); Bulk L Type hybrid item

This sealed glass sphere contains a miniature, self-sustaining ecosystem driven by a bio-magical core. It is a vital tool for xenobotanists, terraforming crews, and starship crews on long voyages, used to analyze alien environments and cultivate viable life.

As a swift action while holding the terrarium, you can determine if a 15-foot square of terrain or a single source of water contains any non-magical poisons, diseases, or dangerous levels of radiation.
Once per day as a standard action, you can use the terrarium to cast purify food and drink.
Once per week, you can place a single mundane seed within the terrarium’s nutrient chamber for 24 hours. A plant grown from this seed matures in one-quarter the normal time and yields twice the normal amount of food, making it invaluable for establishing a sustainable food source in a new environment.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

SuSAG ‘Bio-Sphere’ Environmental Analyzer

A sophisticated piece of high-tech equipment from SuSAG (Survey & Settlement Assistance Group), the Bio-Sphere is a self-contained laboratory for field analysis of alien ecosystems. The “dew-gem” is a colony of advanced diagnostic and purification nanites suspended in a nutrient gel.

Tech Level (TL): 12
Cost: Cr 50,000
Effect:
- Passive Analysis: The device’s external sensors constantly monitor the local environment. It grants the user DM+2 to any Science (biology, botany) or Survival check made to assess environmental conditions or find safe food and water.
- Nanite Purification: The device can process up to 4 liters of water per day through its internal nanite filter, rendering it completely free of all biological, chemical, and radiological contaminants up to TL 12.
- Genetic Optimization: The device contains a small chamber for genetic modification. A seed placed inside for one hour will have its genome analyzed and optimized for the local environment. A plant grown from this seed gains DM+2 to any checks made to resist the effects of disease, drought, or other environmental stressors.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

The Tear of Isha

This is not a crafted item, but a holy relic of the Elven goddess of life and healing. It is a small, seamless sphere of glass-like crystal that grew naturally in the heart of Athel Loren. Inside, a single, perfect drop of water—said to be a tear of the goddess herself—sustains a single, perfect leaf. It is a symbol of life’s resilience in a world beset by death and decay.

Qualities: Magical, Holy, Blessed
Encumbrance: 0

Game Mechanics:

Sense Corruption: The leaf within the sphere wilts and the tear darkens in the presence of significant warp-taint. The wearer automatically knows if a person, place, or object is suffering from Corruption, and gains a +20 bonus to Intuition Tests to notice sickness or blight in the natural world.
The Purest Water: Once per day, the wearer can use the terrarium to cast the Purify Water prayer with an automatic 4 SL, as if they were a Priest of Shallya, the human goddess of mercy and healing.
A Seed of Hope: Once per week, the wearer may bless a single seed by placing it within the Tear’s aura for a full night. When this seed is planted, it will grow into a small, pure sapling over the course of a single day, regardless of how corrupt or barren the soil is. This sapling creates a small zone of purity around it with a radius of 2 yards. Daemons and Undead creatures who enter this zone suffer 1 Wound at the start of each of their turns, which ignores Toughness Bonus and Armour Points.