Luspeel

Luspeel was the Realms name for a hardstone known as magnetite or lodestone.

Description
Luspeel was naturally magnetic and was occasionally used in the floors of temples to subtly encourage piety—a kneeling worshiper felt his or her weapons and armor being gently stuck to the floor.

Powers
Lodestones held no magic but possessed a natural property to attract lightning, especially if mined from a particularly potent vein. This property made luspeel generally useful in the manufacture of magical items and affixing enchantments. They were especially necessary for tempering swords that were intended to be bound with multiple enchantments.

The lightning-attracting property of this mundane stone made it invaluable in countering certain types of spells. One such spell was Obold's brightness. When a lodestone was tossed in the spell's area of effect, the lightning sparks became focused on the stone, quickly draining brightness of its energy. This tool was used by Halruaan Jordaini.

Price
A typical price for large quantities of this hardstone was three gold pieces per.

Spell Components

 * Chevic's tracer required lodestone shaped into a cube in order to cast.
 * Some versions of the spell mending could be cast by using two lodestones.
 * Reverse gravity required a single lodestone to cast.
 * Storm's swordfire required a lump of lodestone the size of its caster's mouth to be cast.
 * Swordward required a bit of lodestone as one of its material components.
 * Web of lightning required four lodestones to cast.

Trivia

 * The pieces of the Magical Chessmen of Ultham-Urre were carved from this stone so they would gently be attracted to a steel chessboard.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Magehound