Minor Philosophers Stone Destruction Question


Rules Questions


I'm noticing the philosophers stone, as an artifact, has a very cool destruction method.

philosophers stone

Now, the destruction method is listed as "grind it in the heel of a titans boot for a week".

Or we could just use a hammer and let the quicksilver go bad, leaving a useless metalish walnut shell shaped thing behind?

Why the awesome destruction method if my half-orc can literally crush it in his bare hand and let it flow down a river never to be seen again?

Does the shell make more quicksilver after a time?


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Because when you're dealing with an artifact there's no guarantee someone won't swoop in, pounce on the awesome magic item, and take it. Lots of nasty things live in or can enter rivers, like aboleths.


Still feels like having to protect it for 24 hours in a personal base after breaking it open is easier than carrying it to wherever a titan happens to be, and hoping he will let you put this (probably uncomfortable) rock in his shoe, and hoping nothing will kill him for a full week while he walks around on it. There's so much possibility for that going wrong, compared to "I put it in an iron pot, smash it with a hammer, put the lid on it and cast hightened arcane lock for my highest available spell level, then wrap it in iron chains and repeat the lock, and cast invisibility and non detection on the whole thing in the corner of the room. They have 24 hours to break in, defeat us all, find the box, break it open, and use the stuff."

Add a contingent teleport to a plane with no metal or healing spells (shadow plane, perhaps?) And this thing destroys itself without a titan ever knowing it existed.

It just feels odd to have a specific method to destroy it, when it is easily enough consumed in the use of the item, even if it never actually gets used.


Because it's still an artifact. All artifacts have a unique method of destruction. Might as well ask why the sky is blue (which does have an answer too).

Also, note it doesn't say that it must be ground in the boot as your OP says... it says it must be placed. So if it's actually used then at the end of the 24 hours it's essentially destroyed. But, if for some reason you don't want to use it and want to keep anyone else from doing so then put it in the boot of a titan.

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