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I was thinking about this today, what are ioun stones? Just random rocks or a specific type of rock that comes in a range of shapes and colours? Is an Emerald ellipsoid an actual emerald, a random rock from the ground that you shape to a specfic shape and colour, an "ioun" stone you find that changes its form in response to certain enchantments or if your house ruling an "ioun" stone that just has natural magics?
I know that Ioun is a goddess in the D&D setting, and the wonderous items are named after her. I'm guessing they just ported over the name when Pathfinder was created. I know that in PF2, they altered the name.
As for what they are exactly, I've always thought that they're made of gemstones or semi-precious stones that can hold magical energies and grant magical enhancements to whoever floats them above their head or has them set into a Wayfinder.
In my mind, a powerful mage (AKA one who has the correct spells and Craft Wonderous Item) crafts them by choosing the correct stone that holds the magic they wish to implant into it the best, then cuts the stone into the proper shape to allow that magic to flow into the person using the ioun stone. Some will crack during this process due to a mishap or due to damage to the stones after creation. Others will be made from flawed stones, thus causing the magical effects to be less potent than a perfect stone.
That's just how I put it all together in my own head/my gaming table.
I know that Ioun is a goddess in the D&D setting, and the wonderous items are named after her.Not quite.
Like so many other things in D&D, it's taken from the Dying Earth stories of Jack Vance, where they were valuable stones that mages collected, but what they actually did was left rather vague. Gygax, IIRC, gave them the function they have today.
Later D&D settings would occasionally invent their own backstory for them, such as the wizard Congenio Ioun inventing them in the Forgotten Realms. Ioun as a goddess is a 4e invention, I believe.
Ah! I stand corrected.
I've always pictured them as just floating crystals in the shape and material described in the name. I imagine they're regular (if unusually large and pure) gems that are enchanted through some indeterminate process.
I was thinking about this today, what are ioun stones? Just random rocks or a specific type of rock that comes in a range of shapes and colours? Is an Emerald ellipsoid an actual emerald, a random rock from the ground that you shape to a specfic shape and colour, an "ioun" stone you find that changes its form in response to certain enchantments or if your house ruling an "ioun" stone that just has natural magics?
In the Core Rulebook (via Pathfinder Wiki) Ioun stones are specifically gemstones charged with magic. I assume that shaping them and the charging-them-with-magic part are part of the Craft Wondrous Item feat's process. Of course, that's the Golarion answer. A homebrew campaign's answer could be different.