So we have four types of gems: 100gp, 500gp, 1000gp, and 5000gp gems. But are we really supposed to believe that a few isolated settlements separated by expanses full of hideous monsters have a standardized system for dealing with the value of gemstones? Although the PHB doesn't explicitly say, I am assuming that Streetwise is the skill used for appraising and haggling. Are there explicit rules somewhere for determining how much you can sell a gemstore for in a given city?
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Rules for selling gems?
- Thread starter blalien
- Start date
Yes. The gems sell for 100gp, 500gp, 1000gp and 5000gp respectively. If they didn't then they wouldn't be 100gp... etc. gems.
If it helps, picture the 5000GP gem as the size of a basketball and worth enough to buy half the planet, but you're getting totally jacked and only getting 5000GP.
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Flipguarder
First Post
I don't really know what you want but yes we are supposed to believe that.
Nytmare
David Jose
Perhaps the house rule you are looking for is:
Gems range in value from a few dozen to several thousand gold pieces.
Instead of having to roll on a bunch of charts, keeping a running list of how much each gem is worth / how much each PC thinks that the gem is worth / how much each NPC is willing to pay for each gem, and having to work through a 5+ step program of offers and counter offers every time the players want to convert a gem into loose change, you instead assume that over the course of a player character's lifetime, the gems that they deal with will average out into roughly 100, 500, 1000, or 5000 gold denominations.
Down with accounting!
Gems range in value from a few dozen to several thousand gold pieces.
Instead of having to roll on a bunch of charts, keeping a running list of how much each gem is worth / how much each PC thinks that the gem is worth / how much each NPC is willing to pay for each gem, and having to work through a 5+ step program of offers and counter offers every time the players want to convert a gem into loose change, you instead assume that over the course of a player character's lifetime, the gems that they deal with will average out into roughly 100, 500, 1000, or 5000 gold denominations.
Down with accounting!
eriktheguy
First Post
YesandNo
The new rules for gems are probably better, and definitely simpler. Most characters want to sell the art/gem treasure they find and be done with it. Also, forcing them to make a check they aren't trained in to get the most out of the treasure is no fun.
If the characters want to role-play to haggle, I support GM in his decision. I don't suggest building a system though. For example, I would avoid 'you sell the gem for (base value +/- some % based on skill check). The system can get out of hand when the players start to buy/sell gems for obscene profits, or at higher levels get too much gold from each treasury. It's essentially giving your party a static buff to treasure each level for taking a skill, and doesn't serve to enhance the game. Time spent bartering in the market can be interesting, for character/plot building, but for the most part gems sell at base value, done.
If on the other hand, a character remembers and NPC in town who really likes pearls or knows that the dwarves in the nearby mountain covet rubies, it's your job to reward them. Play out an encounter with the NPC(s) involved, you could incorporate skill checks, role-playing, experience points and adventure hooks here.
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If you want to make up rules for haggling, you can, or...you can go another route and do something like:
"Searching the chest, you find a large blue stone, which seems to glow with an inner beauty, but a feeling of woeful sadness seeps into your heart as you look upon it."
Might be more interesting to set up an adventure than just have a bunch of dice rolled.
"Searching the chest, you find a large blue stone, which seems to glow with an inner beauty, but a feeling of woeful sadness seeps into your heart as you look upon it."
Might be more interesting to set up an adventure than just have a bunch of dice rolled.
Nail
First Post
....but some people just love to roll dice!
If you try to build a "haggling system", you've got some hurdles:
- The game is balanced with certain loot values in mind. Depending on your system, you might end up giving the PCs too much gold, or too little.
- PCs skill checks go up each level....why would the merchant checks also go up? If you set a fixed DC, the PCs will eventually be able to blow that DC away.
- Haggling takes time => Game time. Do you want to spend precious game time haggling over the price of gems each session? Really? *Every* time the PCs get gems?
- Some players really don't like haggling. Are you going to penalize them for not having the same kind of fun-quotient the DM has? Before you invest time & energy in this, poll your players.
- A haggling system isn't any more believable than the gold peice system too, if you think about it. Why should the gold peices you find in the dragon's hoard be the same size and weight as those in current circulation, etc.
See, I don't want gems to be functionally identical to gold pieces. It seems like, "You kill the dragon. You find one million gold pieces," is too mundane. "You kill the dragon. You find one million gold pieces worth of gems and art. You may sell them to the local jeweler at your convenience," isn't much of a step up. On the other hand, "You find a sapphire that makes you yearn for your days living beside the ocean. You find a ruby that contains a fiery rage, etc." is just flavor clutter. I'm trying to find a way to stress that gems and art are different from gold, without overburdening the players. The best I've got so far was giving each nation a different currency, so the players need to hold on to their gems (or melt down their gold pieces) when they travel to different countries. I would like to impose some sort of mechanical difference as well.
What I might do is require one skill challenge for their entire bulk of gems. I'll also try eriktheguy's idea and have different cultures favor different gems.
What I might do is require one skill challenge for their entire bulk of gems. I'll also try eriktheguy's idea and have different cultures favor different gems.
