Philosopher's Stone: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
According to legend, the
And in settings where [[Alchemy Is Magic]], it usually turns Alchemy [[Up to Eleven
Note that this cost is largely only in fiction: in most alchemical modes of thought, the Philosopher's Stone was a metaphor for
It's less that you are unwilling to use it, and more that you don't feel the ''need'' to use it. It should also be noted that some sources claim that the immortality was a result of the process required to forge the stone, rather than being a property of the stone itself -- [[Bragging Rights Reward|by the time you're able to make the philosopher's stone, you no longer need it.]]
If you're looking for the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' book or film, see the entry below in ''Literature'', or go [[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone|here]].
{{examples|Examples of the Philosopher's Stone in media:}}▼
▲{{examples|Examples of the Philosopher's Stone in media:}}
== [[Anime]]
* ''[[Slayers]]'' featured a version of the Philosopher's Stone, though one with not much in common with the original myth. This Philosopher's Stone had the property of amplifying magic a hundredfold. It ended up being swallowed by the Dark Lord Shabranigdu and presumably destroyed. There is no know way to produce a new one, as the Stone was a unique legendary artifact. Lina claims it was a piece chipped off the staff that supports the world; it's true origin is revealed in the final light novel to be {{spoiler|a piece broken off the black Demon Blood talisman}}.
* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', the Philosopher's Stone has the power to violate the law of equivalent exchange in alchemy, but it comes at a terrible price: [[Powered by a Forsaken Child|the stone is composed of human souls]]. It is even worse in the [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|2003 anime adaptation]], where thousands of souls are required to create a single stone.
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* The Soft Stone in ''[[Karakuri Circus]]'' is used to created Aqua Vitae, "Water of Life", which is used in the creation of Shiroganes.
* It was shown as an OOPArt artifact in ''[[Spriggan]]'' when Yu Ominae and Yoshino Somei team up to take down Koga-trained ninjas deployed to secure it during the former's field trip.
* In their attempts to make a Philosopher's Stone, the alchemists of [[Busou Renkin]] made the kakugane, which, while not granting immortality, do give a [[Healing Factor]]. The Black Kakugane gets even closer, {{spoiler|in that it can be used as a transplant heart, at the cost of acting as a [[Psycho Serum]].}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[The Flash|Flash]] villain Doctor Alchemy has the Philosphers' Stone, and uses its powerful ablilty to transmute any element to commit crimes. Yup he uses something '''that can turn anything to pure gold'' to rob banks. On the bright side, he hasn't collapsed the DC Universe's gold market.
* The [[Fantastic Four]] villain Diablo, a centuries-old alchemist once used the stone to increase his alchemical powers. His goal of world domination makes a bit more sense then just trying to get rich.
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* In several ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fics, it turns out that the Philosopher's Stone is a lie of one sort or another (as in ''Harry Potter and the Elder Sect'', where Nicholas Flamel is a ''[[Bewitched]]'' warlock and a con man who loves jerking the wand-wizards around), or only works for the wizard who made it.
* In ''[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8581093/1/One-Hundred-and-Sixty-Nine One Hundred and Sixty Nine]'', a ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fic by "Mrs. J's Soup"/"Soupy_George", Hermione [[Achievements in Ignorance|unknowingly replicates almost the entire process of creating a philosopher's stone]] while making a time turner capable of sending her twenty years into the past, a feat which astounds Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel when they analyze her work. Flamel speculates that the power of the Stone is the only thing that kept her alive during the time travel, which otherwise should have proved fatal.
== [[Literature]] ==
* Appears, naturally enough, in
* Used In ''[[The Alchemist]]''. After all, it's the title character's Personal Legend.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In the [[Deadlands]] Weird West game, there is a modification to the [[Mad Scientist]] template that allows you to make an Alchemist
* In ''[[Pathfinder]]'', the Philosopher's Stone is a minor artifact. It takes the form of a small bit of black rock which can be broken open to find a small bit of quicksilver. This quicksilver can be used to turn large amounts of iron into silver or lead into gold, and can also be mixed with a cure potion to bring someone back to life with none of the usual level drain being resurrected causes. At 20th level, the alchemist base class can choose the Philosopher's Stone from one of several "grand discoveries" they can make, allowing them to make one ''per month''.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]]'', it is revealed that the Wise One is a Philosopher's Stone. Apparently, in this world, Philospher's Stones are [[Deus Ex Homine|extremely powerful and intelligent beings forged through Alchemy]].
* In ''Castlevania: Lament of Innocence'', there is brief mention of Alchemists' quest for the Philosopher's Stone leading them to create the Black Stone and Crimson Stone, both of which are less helpful to humans and extremely useful to vampires (one casts eternal night on the surrounding area, the other allows one to gain power from stealing the souls of others, but turns the user into a vampire). This is presumably intended to explain Dracula's mad h4x, as {{spoiler|the game turns out to be a Dracula origin story}}.
* [[Valkyrie Profile]] the Philosopher's Stone takes the form of the [[Great Big Book of Everything]]. It allows the sorcerer Lezard Valeth to look up and know just about any bit of lost information and in the end allows him to survive Ragnarok.
* In ''[[League of Legends]]'' it's a low level item that increases health and mana regeneration and earns gold.
== [[Web Original]] ==
* The defunct adoptables website
* [[The Spiffing Brit]] specializes in finding the functional equivalent of the Philosopher's Stone in any video game with an economy. One of his favorite kinds of exploit is the "infinite money cheat", where an unusual set of player set-up decisions at game start and/or an unexpected chain of actions during play results in far more money than the developers ever expected anyone to make. Spiff is also noted for discovering such exploits involving ''real money'' during ill-conceived promotions on sites like [[Microsoft]], [[Steam]], [[Twitch]] and [[Amazon.com]].
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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