Unique Gems
Tired of giving your players a cache of non-descript diamonds, plain amethysts, and simple sapphires?
Here are some new and unique gems to spice up your treasure horde, offer new plot ideas, and make your players go hmmmm...
Blood Onyx This onyx, with ruby red veins flowing through it, can be found deep in the ground. Underground dwellers usually use these for religious statues. The chunk of onyx is worth more than its shaped statue.
Blush Diamond Slightly pink and peach, this diamond is highly sought after by royal and common suitors for engagement and marriage jewelry settings. The largest blush diamond found has only been 3 carats.
Cinnamon Zircon Sprinkled with dark brown red spots, the color flaws in this gem are its appeal to collectors. A regular jeweler will offer little, but a true collector will pay handsomely.
Ian's Cobbled Agate Ian Tomosion founded this stone speckled with rainbow colors on his farm. An anomaly, this agate has not been found anywhere else in the lands. Ian had the large stone cut to allow hundreds of agates to be sold to jewelers and collectors.
Dragon's Tear A naturally tear-shaped black opal that flashes like fire and lava within its depths. Typical found near volcanoes, they are covered in ash and basalt.
Fire and Ice Ruby Harsh red speckled with glittering clear facets gives this gem its name. Ironically, these rubies are found in deep sea trenches and are difficult to mine.
Hammerhead Hematite Shaped like a smooth edged tooth, this metal ore is found in mountains near the ocean. Legend says that the hammerhead sharks were once humanoid and left behind the remnants of their once-civilized life.
Hate Pearl A black pearl the size of a fist, these are pried from vicious 6 foot wide Pain Oysters. Many divers have lost their lives seeking these pearls.
Heaven's Gate This gem is a darker turquoise that is coveted by priests and zealots due to its gold speckles that can sometimes create the image of a gate. Many priests have been buried with a pouch of these gems and the church will pay a good price.
Gypsy Glass Eye This milky white crystal has copper flecks embedded in it and it sought after by elder gypsies. Not really used as a glass eye, the gypsies treat these with the same care and typically use them for internal bartering for major trade and negotiations.
Imperial Doll This star ruby received its strange name due to the emperor buying and collecting all available gems of this sort. Instead of the white rays that adorn the ruby, the rays are a bright yellow almost gold-toned. The emperor used these rubies for his four daughters and adorned their toys and dolls with them. The emperor's subjects will pay top gold for them.
Lion's Jaw An oddly flat sapphire that after polished and cut, the light reflecting upon will give the illusion of a lion's mouth opening. Due to the strange shape of this gem, few jewelers will purchase it. Followers of lion based deities will actively search for these uncommon gems.
Maiden's Jade A unique mix of white and black jade, this is highly sought after by high born families as a good luck charm for their daughter's promise of marriage. The piece of jade is kept under the daughter's pillow at night. Once the jade disappears, it is believed that the daughter now has good luck. Many superstitious families are still unaware that they have dishonest servants.
Mermaid's Coral A dark blue warty branch that looks like mermaids hair underwater. Occasionally can be found washed up on remote shores or on a collector's mantle. It is rarely cut and polished and is tend to be left in its natural state.
Moonbloom This is a pure white spinel is shaped like a rose bloom but are very tiny. Rumor has it that they are not natural and are the result of a local wizard gardening with magic.
Mossy Mushroom These emeralds are found in the swamplands and peek out from the trees like mushrooms. It is rumored that the local ogre tribe toss these from their caves thus sprinkling the area like mushrooms.
Percy's Pride King Percimus Caledona XXII was the last royal of the Caledona family and was beheaded for his frivolous attitude towards his people and his obsession with a flawless heart-shaped diamond. He carried this diamond with him until his execution. The diamond is also known as Percy's Block signifying that the diamond was the catalyst for his head on a chopping block.
Queen's Crown An uncut emerald, this gem is jaggedly shaped like a tiara. Though not wearable by itself, some collectors have had the gem placed into a crown setting and offered them to royalty.
Spiderweb Lapis A very dark blue, almost black, this lapis has bright white veins that are shaped like a spiderweb. The rare and pricier lapis has the spiderweb's center.
Tornado's Eye A large amber with pure white swirling inside gives the name to this gem. These gems are typically mined near the ancient Wytewood Trees of Faith.
Veiled Quartz A light smoky quartz, this highly unique gem appears to have multiple layers nesting inside. Curious parties who break the quartz to figure it out will discover it's only an illusion and trick of the light.
Winter Sapphire As blue as the sky, this gem is mined in a frozen wasteland. Due to its lightness, a non-professional will think it's a blue diamond.
Silverrock-This mineral is easy to shape and glitters in sunlight or under water. It is several times more common then silver.
Amberglow-not a rock but a sap from a grove of trees within the Sorcery Springs Geyser Basin, access to which is tightly controled by the rangers. It soaks up sunlight by day and glows brightly at night, and can be made into amulets and the like to appear magical.
25). Abyssal Pearls
These brilliant pearls are near-transparent, appearing more like spherical diamonds then classic pearls. Not from the underworld, they are found only in oysters retrived from the deepest waters - oceanic trenches. And woe to the jeweler that mistakes these for true gemstones and attempts to cut it, for the pearl is under immense strain - imparted from its decades growing under miles of water. Should its surface be cut, it will shatter with explosive force, causing significant injury to any nearby.
The Rattling Gem
It was the most unworthy of crystals, that claimed the biggest prize and the title of Master Jeweller last year. Possessing the hardness of a true gem, it is too ugly: a thin layer of the fine material is wrapped around a chunk of ore. Most craftsmen ignore it, or use strips of it to set into cheapest jewelry for peasants. Miners keep some as oddities.
But a few of them have more layers. A crafty student has studied them in deepest detail. He drilled a tiny hole into the crystal, and washed it out with an acidic solution, dissolving the ugly stone. It took him weeks. And then he made the ultimate gift for king's little baby: a rattle of natural crystal, translucent and beautiful, one stone in another sparkling in ever new ways.
Last years, there was only one. This year, you can bet there will be a few more.
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? Responses (13)
Very original! Me´sa likes! 4/5!
/David
Nicely done - I like the plot snippets scattered about. Think I'll have to add to this as time allows...
How practical! Great sub, Stephie. I'll make sure to add some myself.
A really nice little collection you have here! I hope this gets to 30.
Me too. I hope to add more later.
Terrifically nifty idea! Go Stephie Go!
What they said. :D
Details like this are always good. They bring things alive.
While nice to see someone finally put up something of this nature I am beside myself in wondering why its HoH material. Yes its a good idea to have a list such as this out there for all to read and use, but at least two game systems I have already has a list such as this, and they added possibly magical properties reputedly that the gems possess.
Again, a great idea and I think it will do wonders as a Strolen group effort but I've seen it before done with a much grander scale and much more detail. However, I noticed some of the gems were in fact unique and that gets a better than dull vote by me. Good work, but lets expand some.
I dont normally hand out very many gems to my players, but I do love all attempts at making RP rewards more interesting.
Very nice collection, Stephie. When a plain ol' diamond/ruby/emerald/sapphire just won't do...
Great for inspirational gem-surfing! I'm going to have to add a few
4.0/5
30! 30! 30!
Will also have to come up with something, the olde imagination permitting.
Very original sub, and it makes giving out rewards more than just 'you find a small pouch of opals'..