How do you handle gems as a GM?

[aco175]

I had a player last night asking a NPC if they could be paid in black pearls worth 500gp for a job, He just got 6th level spells and wanted to take circle of death, but it costs a 500gp black pearl to cast and he was not sure if he should take it. I think he is taking it now that they are being paid 4 of these gems.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I do '50gp onyx & 2x 75gp opals' over "3x gems totaling 200gp" because my games tend to allow for crafting. Red gems for fire items, blue water, tiger eye for vision/animal items, etc. I also give the "sale" price of gems by default so they can properly value them as a currency. Between people of a certain economic tier, a handful of gems is far easier to manage over chests of coins.

I do make low level (tier 1) characters make skill checks to appraise but by tier 2 they should be pretty good at guessing the values. Of course, I also think casters are a key driver of gem values (at least pearls, rubies, diamonds) so "appraisal" is often "how many of these rubies would be required to cast Forbiddance?"

 

[R_J_K75]

I think Volos Guide to All Things Magic gave gems a good purpose beyond just a monetary value.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I go with the second method, but additionally add brief descriptions or even photos if I'm playing online. Because not everyone knows what chrysoprase looks like.

 

[aco175]

I go with the second method, but additionally add brief descriptions or even photos if I'm playing online. Because not everyone knows what chrysoprase looks like.

Good thing Google does, I sure as heck did not. But I see I can get this lot for $12.00

 

[cbwjm]

I'm pretty sure that I only mention gem type if it is something that can be used for a spell. So I might say that you find 3 gems worth 50gp and a diamond worth 500gp. If I don't mention anything and someone says "I need ruby dust, are any of them rubies" then I might say yes, 2 of the 3 50gp gems are rubies (or all of them, I tend to be fairly easy with this stuff).