Q is for Quest Stones

Here's another entry in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge--will we make it to the end of the alphabet before the month runs out? Does anyone care? Today's offering is presented in its entirety under the Open Gaming License. If you chose to reproduce it, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to Steve
Miller and NUELOW Games.

Quest Stones (By Steve Miller)
The fist-sized, basalt stones are engraved with the marks of the sorcerers and wizards who originally created them. Commonly used in the ancient Kingdom of Lodareno, they would be given to messengers and hirelings dispatched for specific missions. So long as the minion stayed on task, he would receive magical aid, but if he strayed from his assigned purpose, a dire curse would fall upon him. Once the assigned task is successfully completed, the stone loses all magic.
   Caches of these stones are occasionally recovered by explorers and tomb robbers venturing into the crypts of Lodareno. Modern arcane researchers have yet to uncover the means by which the stones were created, so each discovered cache becomes a highly sought commodity for government and criminal organizations alike who want to insure extra dedication and loyalty among operatives.

OGL d20 System Stats
The magic of a quest stone takes effect when a character accepts it as part of an agreement to perform a task for a superior or an employer in exchange for payment or other reward. So long as the character works toward his assigned goal, he enjoys a +1 bonus to all skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.
   If the character spends more than a day on activities not related to his assigned duty, he loses the previously described bonus and is subject to a -2 penalty to all skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws. Once the character returns to his assigned task, the penalties are lifted, but he must remain focused for another full day before the bonus is restored.
   Discarding the stone does not lift its effect upon the character; only the completion of the task, formal release from it by the person who assigned it, or a dispel magic cast at a 24th level effectiveness can do that.