1. (idea) A means or method of predicting future events.
  2. (thing) A ball made of crystal which is used by fortune tellers to "open the mind's eye" to "receive information" about the client.
In NetHack, a crystal ball is very heavy to carry around and not particularly useful. Its principal value is the humorous messages it produces if you attempt to use it while hallucinating. Crystal balls are generated with 1 to 5 charges; they can be recharged to six charges with a scroll of charging.

If the ball is not cursed, using it allows you to search for an object or symbol, with the chance of success equal to your Intelligence / 20. If it fails, you suffer effects as if the ball were cursed.

A cursed crystal ball will do nothing, blind you, cause you to hallucinate, confuse you, or explode in your face. A potion of object detection or a cursed scroll of gold detection is a much safer way to find stuff.

The Society for Creative Anachronisms is about many things. It’s about fighting, it’s about cooking, it’s about flirting, but most of all it’s about fighting. But it’s also about dancing. For many people, dancing is the best part of the SCA, and it’s the reason they drive all over the country wearing fancy clothing. And of the dancing events, Crystal Ball is the best.

Held early in November every year in the barony of Shattered Crystal, just outside of St. Louis, Crystal Ball is about dancing, dancing, and more dancing. It starts early in the morning with dance classes, continues through the afternoon with more dance classes, and finishes up in the evening with a ball that lasts from 8pm until people can no longer dance. This usually occurs about 5 minutes before the people who own the building kick us out.

Crystal Ball features many different styles of dances; dances for couples, dances for the whole family, and dances that are certain to cause death or severe maiming.

If you are interested in the SCA or just love dancing, Crystal Ball is a great way to spend a weekend. You learn something new, meet someone new, and discover that you can, in fact, continue dancing even after your feet launch an armed revolt and demand you stop. And if you do go, look for me. I’ll be the large, semi-coordinated guy stepping on your toes.

Crystal Ball is the sixth album from the rock and roll group Styx. The album was the first featuring band member Tommy Shaw who played guitar, sang vocals, and did some songwriting. After the album Crystal Ball was released in 1976 the group began a touring career that has gone on nearly non-stop for 26 years.

The album Crystal Ball spent 18 weeks on the Billboard charts and achieved gold record status based on sales. The album only spawned one Top 40 single which was Mademoiselle.

The song Crystal Ball (despite not being a top 40 hit) is usually regarded as the best song on the whole album and is the only song that still garners airplay on today's classic rock radio stations.


Album Track Listing:

Crystal Ball
1976
A&M Records

Track Listing:

  1. Put Me On
  2. Mademoiselle
  3. Jennifer
  4. Crystal Ball
  5. Shooz
  6. This Old Man
  7. Clair de Lune/Ballerina


The chorus to the song, Crystal Ball:

Crystal ball, there's so many things I need to know
Crystal ball, there's so many things I've gotta know
Crystal ball, won't you tell me please before I go
Crystal ball

--written by Tommy Shaw
--performed by Styx

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.