Gems
There are ten gems in the world, from humble smokestone to diamond. A gem either lies loose
(*, in its own colour) or is set in an item: a ring, an
amulet, a weapon’s pommel, or a helm’s
studs. Either way, every gem has a kind, a size, and a cut, and its worth comes from all
three.
The gems
The worth given below is what a small gem of fair cut fetches. That is the plain size and cut, which a gem’s name leaves out: “a ruby”. How often each gem is found is its share of the gems that loot turns up.
| Gem | Colour | Worth (plain) | Found among gems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond | #e8f4ff | 400 gold | 1.9% |
| Emerald | #2ea05a | 300 gold | 4.7% |
| Ruby | #d3213b | 300 gold | 4.7% |
| Sapphire | #2f5bd3 | 280 gold | 4.7% |
| Topaz | #f0a830 | 120 gold | 9.3% |
| Heliodor | #e8d44d | 110 gold | 9.3% |
| Amethyst | #9b59d0 | 80 gold | 9.3% |
| Zircon | #5fc7d9 | 70 gold | 18.7% |
| Garnet | #8e1f2f | 60 gold | 18.7% |
| Smokestone | #8a7f73 | 30 gold | 18.7% |
Size and cut
A gem’s worth is its kind’s worth times its size’s factor times its cut’s factor. A large ruby of fine cut is worth 300 × 15 × 1.6 = 7200 gold. An uncut tiny garnet is worth 60 × 0.3 × 0.25, about 5.
A gem’s name gives its size and cut unless they are the plain ones: “a ruby”, “a medium amethyst”, “a large fine emerald”, “an uncut tiny garnet” (an uncut gem says so first). Looking at a gem (its letter in your pack) always gives both: “Gem: tiny garnet, uncut”. A loose gem weighs what its size says.
| Size | Worth | Weight | Found at depth 1 | Found at depth 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny | ×0.3 | 1 g | 44.4% | 32% |
| Small (plain) | ×1 | 1 g | 33.3% | 29.6% |
| Medium | ×4 | 2 g | 16.7% | 23.2% |
| Large | ×15 | 3 g | 4.4% | 8.8% |
| Huge | ×50 | 4 g | 1.1% | 6.4% |
Uncut gems are rough stones, drawn duller than cut ones. They are the most common find. The deeper you go, the larger and finer the gems get. The columns in the table above and the one below show how often each size and cut is found on a dungeon’s first level and on its eighth.
| Cut | Worth | Found at depth 1 | Found at depth 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncut (never set in an item) | ×0.25 | 45% | 33.3% |
| Crude | ×0.6 | 25% | 23.7% |
| Fair (plain) | ×1 | 18% | 18.5% |
| Fine | ×1.6 | 8% | 11.1% |
| Exquisite | ×2.5 | 3% | 7.4% |
| Flawless | ×4 | 1% | 5.9% |
Gems of the same kind, size, and cut lie together in one stack (“3 rubies”). Any difference makes another stack.
Cutting
One trained in Jewelcraft can cut a loose gem, or cut it again to a finer cut. A good cut keeps the stone’s size; a poor one, a failure, and every re-cut cost a size, and a natural 2 shatters the stone. See Gem cutting for the cuts, what a large uncut ruby can become, and the odds. A cut gem can then be set in an item that has a place for one (see Setting a gem).
Finding gems
Gems are rare. Now and then a find is a loose gem instead of an item. That can be one of the pieces of loot on a level’s floor, a vault’s reward (but not one that is sure to be magic), or what a creature drops when it dies. Dungeons also hide gems in their vaults and secret rooms.
Items set with a gem
Some items are found set with a gem. Rings and amulets often are, and weapons, shields, and helms sometimes. The gem is a part of the item (see Materials), so you see it at once, whether the item is identified or not. The item’s name shows it: “a gold and ruby ring”, “an emerald-pommelled long sword”, “a garnet-studded iron helm”, “a topaz-tipped quarterstaff”.
On a magic item, the prefix goes before the gem and the suffix after: “a Sharp emerald-pommelled long sword of the Bear”. A rare item keeps its own name, and what it is made of follows: “Grim Bite, an emerald-pommelled long sword”. Looking at the item gives the gem’s size and cut: “Pommel: small emerald, fine cut”.
A gem adds its worth to its item. It does nothing else yet. A ring set with a gem is drawn in the gem’s colour. Uncut gems are never set in an item.
| Items | Set with a gem | How often | For example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melee weapons | as its pommel | 6% | an emerald-pommelled maul |
| Missile weapons | as its inlay | 4% | an emerald-inlaid sling |
| Shields | as its inlay | 6% | an emerald-inlaid tower shield |
| Helmets | as its studs | 6% | an emerald-studded great helm |
| Rings | as its setting, in its gem’s colour | 35% | a gold and emerald ring |
| Amulets | as its setting | 30% | a gold and emerald amulet |
These are set with a gem as their inlay instead: clubs, glaives, halberds, javelins, spears, tridents.
These are set with a gem as their tip instead: ironwood staves, quarterstaves.
Selling gems
General stores buy gems (see Shops), but no shop sells them. A store pays its share of the gem’s worth, which depends on its kind, size, and cut. For a gem lying on its floor, it asks that much more.
See also: Gem cutting, Making jewellery, and Materials.