Then came Chaos, a being who claimed to be both the beginning and the end of all life on Krynn, including the gods themselves. According to stories told by bards all across Ansalon, only by facing Chaos in the Abyss itself were the combined forces of the Knights of Takhisis, Knights of Solamnia, and the good and evil dragons able to defeat Chaos. However, in addition to the death of virtually every being who went to face Chaos, victory was won at the price that the gods had to leave Krynn to its fate, ushering in the Age of Mortals.
Chaos left many marks upon Ansalon. Some speculate the farthest reaching of these was the new sorcerous magic Palin Majere and others discovered in the decades after the Summer of Chaos, although there is no proof of this. Chaos�s most spectacular creation in this time, however, undoubtedly is the Valley of Crystal.
No one can say for sure why Chaos did the things he did, but one tale told is that after Chaos had caused all the Lords of Doom to erupt as they had never erupted before, he decided to reflect their hellish glare into the heavenly domain of Paladine himself. To accomplish this, he created the Valley of Crystal, a dazzling collection of crystals, the like of which Ansalon had never seen before. For as long as the volcanoes erupted, the tale says, a beam of red light reflected from the valley into the heavens.
Although someone who never actually saw the Valley of Crystal and who has no sense of geography concocted this story�the valley is hundreds of miles from Lords of Doom and the lava floes they produced during the Summer of Chaos�the story has become quite popular.
The fact remains that no one knows why the Valley of Crystal was created or what purpose it serves, if any. That is perhaps no surprise�how can any being truly fathom the mind of a being that appears to be Chaos incarnate?
The Valley of Crystal lies within the territory claimed by the ogre nation of Bl�de. Within recent years, the ogres started collecting the crystals here, and that harvest is gradually becoming a fixture of the nation�s economy. The ogres trade most of the crystals to Bl�de�s Dark Knight neighbors in exchange for weapons and armor.
Moreover, several units of Dark Knights garrison in southern Bl�de, where they keep a watch over the domain of Sable the Black. Unlike many other dragon overlords, Sable has no interest in forming alliances with the Dark Knights. Her curious interest in magical experiments and the creation of new and bizarre life forms concerns the Dark Knight leadership; they feel it beneficial for all involved parties to accept payment from Chieftain Donnag, the current warlord of the tribes of Bl�de, in order to strengthen their southern borders.
The ogres have not established any permanent camps near the valley�water is too scarce in the region for that. Furthermore, the Zhakar dwarves, whose kingdom borders on the Valley of Crystal, have access to an exit that leads from their hidden underground kingdom into the valley. Dwarven war bands typically swarm and kill any ambitious ogres arrogant enough to try establishing a permanent outpost.
The dazzling reflections of sunlight off the thousands of crystals make it so impossible to see that it is difficult to enter the valley during the day. Humans, ogres, and other beings who don�t have sensitive vision can move carefully through the valley, so long as they make an effort to shield their eyes somewhat with, for example, veils; even then, they must squint against the painful brightness. Elves, goblins, dwarves, and others whose eyes are highly sensitive to light risk permanent blindness should they enter the valley during the day; the glare is so sharp and their eyes so sensitive that it may even burn through closed eyelids.
Heroes who come to the valley to collect crystals can accumulate 10-100 for each hour each individual spends searching. The leaders of Neraka and Sanction are collecting the crystals and will pay 100-1000 steel pieces per crystal. In both cases, however, they are only willing to pay such high prices if the heroes assure them the crystals were not touched by living, bare hands during collection�otherwise, they only pay 10-100 per crystal. Neither the Dark Knights nor the agents of Hogan Bight, the lord of Sanction, will explain why they want to know if the crystals have been touched. However, they will use magic to verify the truthfulness of the heroes and the crystals for sale.
When carried by a person with the ability to use mystic magic, certain crystals can boost his or her spellcasting ability by a significant margin. Roughly 1 in 100 crystals has this ability. (The Narrator should draw from the Fate deck or roll 1d10 to determine if a crystal harvested by a hero is thus enchanted. If the result of 1 comes up twice in a row, the crystal is magically charged.) It is impossible to tell a magically charged crystal from the others until the hero actually uses it�and it can only be used if a character is carrying it on his person and attempts to cast a spell after he or she feels completely drained of his or her own magical abilities.
SAGA� game rules: The charged crystals of the valley each provide from 10-100 additional spell points. Once a charged crystal touches the bare skin of a hero or character, it automatically attunes to him or her; no other person can ever gain the benefit of the spell points stored within them. (Even if a being has no capacity for using mysticism, the crystal still attunes to him or her�no one else will ever gain the benefit after it touches living skin.)
A person with mystical abilities who carries a charged crystal can draw upon the extra spell points once the reservoir of magical energies within him or her as been expended. The crystal must be touching bare skin in order to be effective. The spell points are expended as per normal rules, but they never recharge. If the hero keeps drawing spell points from the crystal, it eventually becomes nonmagical. (The Narrator should secretly keep track of how many spell points are in a crystal.)
D&D� rules: The charged crystals hold 1-10+5 spell levels each, only usable for the casting of priest spells. Once a charged crystal touches the bare skin of a hero or character, it automatically attunes to him or her; no other person can ever gain the benefit of the spell levels stored within them. (Even if a being has no capacity for using priestly magic, the crystal still attunes to him or her as described above.)
If a being with the ability to use priestly magic carries a charged crystal on his person, he or she can recast spells of his or her choice, using the crystal to do so. The crystal must be touching bare skin in order to be effective. If the bearer of the crystal tries to cast a spell even after he or she has expended all spells prayed for that day, the spell is drawn from the crystal. When stored spell levels are expended, they do not regenerate. If the hero keeps drawing spells from the crystal, it eventually becomes nonmagical. (The Dungeon Master should secretly keep track of how many spell levels a crystal contains.)