Raw Materials and Gems

[Zenchi]

I've never been satisfied with gems being only a certain set monetary amount. Sure some DM's would rather not go to the trouble, however I'm one who would. Currently I'm going through history books attempting to find values for different size and quality gems during different time periods so as to attribute different values for different karat sizes and modifiers for the range in quality, color and various other aspects that relate to the value of a Gem.

I'm also looking into the average values of raw materials and in a similiar nature making a table by purity of said materials.

That being said does anyone know of any previous work done in this field and/or helpful sources they could point me to.

 

[Greenfield]

It's only in relatively modern times that any standardization of gems has been attempted. Price would depend on the size, the cut, the quality (and in some cases the clarity), the color, etc.

Purity in stones like diamonds has long been established. A gem "of the first water", for example, was one that would become effectively invisible if placed in pure water. But the brightness would be a factor, and that's a function of the cut: Not just the shape chosen, but how well centered any flaws are. Flaws can in fact increase the brightness of a stone.

Also remember that "gems" in D&D include not just crystaline stones but also what we'd now call "semi-precious" stones as well. Tiger Eye, Hawk Eye, Garnet, just about anything that looked pretty.

As for other raw materials or "trade goods": Their prices have fluctuated seasonally, and based on current supply and demand pretty much forever. That's why, to this day, there's a futures market in pork bellies.

 

[Zenchi]

I should have gone into greater detail. I have familiarized myself with the nuances precious and semi-precious stones and have a list of over a hundred different types, including but not limited to the different colored sapphires (pink, gray, yellow, violet, etc..).

Basically I'm creating a table with every possible material, with every possible modification, for example in the Yukon Gold Rush, gold was so abundant but supplies were so limited miners would hand over entire pounds of gold for a single simple meal. There's also different kinds of gold. Because it is soft gold is often mixed with other materials so it doesn't get mushed into thin plate.

I'm looking for help because I've spent about a dozen hours working on it and have only the frame work and some chunks filled in. I'm open to suggestions and any odd modification that you think I may have missed. Eventually I'll have a decently filled out copy that I'll upload and share for any DM's that would like an increased realism.

 

[xigbar]

The problem with creating this kind of thing, in my opinion, is as follows; I'm not sure how much detail you put into "modifications" but all prices of all merchandise are not just subject to it's own supply and demand, but the supply and demand of other (usually) related merchandise. If, for example, gem A becomes low on supply, and gem B is very similar, demand for gem B increases. That's basic economics, and I'm sure you already know this, but this can extend to ALL related products. Thus, you might need a separate table for each gems relation to how many other gems could replace in the market, and the degree to which it could do so.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

The problem with creating this kind of thing, in my opinion, is as follows; I'm not sure how much detail you put into "modifications" but all prices of all merchandise are not just subject to it's own supply and demand, but the supply and demand of other (usually) related merchandise. If, for example, gem A becomes low on supply, and gem B is very similar, demand for gem B increases. That's basic economics, and I'm sure you already know this, but this can extend to ALL related products. Thus, you might need a separate table for each gems relation to how many other gems could replace in the market, and the degree to which it could do so.

While this mechanic of supply and demand is accurate, the reality is it applies to ALL objects that could be bought or sold, and therefore affects the prices of everything in D&D. Despite this being true, we still ahve price tables for every single item, because having a baseline is valuable for us and players and DM's to then know how to make adjustments, and to know that X is generally worth more than Y, but less than Z, given all things are equal.
Just because prices flux, doesn't mean this table won't be awesome!

 

[Zenchi]

Thanks Rumbletiger, I can only assume that the DM that uses these tables will in turn keep record of what is low in demand and therefore apply it to other items accordingly, as with economics there's no true way to predict such changes.

I'm also looking for non-historical examples, if you know of someone that has a chart of basic metals and how much they cost in a market it would be great to know. More info the better.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Another thing to remember is that until fairly recently, we didn't distinguish between different gemstone types by anything but color. Tourmalines, diopsides and many other stones are "modern" discoveries because we simply didn't have the tests to distinguish them. Until those tests were devised, all clear, green gemstones were emeralds; all red gemstones were rubies, etc. It's only in the modern era that the Black Prince's Ruby was revealed to be a spinel.

 

[Zenchi]

I'm looking for data not historical opinion. And on a general note yes, not all types were known, however an expert gem cutter could differentiate many types based on many factors such as hardness (1822, Mohs hardness, or 300 BC, On Stones a much more archaic but effective method). Or Lattice (1842, Bravais lattices). Yes this is during the Imperial time period, but we have magic to assist you anyways, I mean how do you think Platinum exist without magic. It wasn't until 1748 that we actually knew what the stuff was and not till 1786 that serious research was done on it. You would need a seriously experienced alchemist paid by the state to produce any amount of it.

 

[Vespucci]

A problem: The conventions of pulp gaming include the assumption that times used to be better than they are now. Today's magic is a shadow of yesterday's art, there are vast troves of riches lost to man, etc, etc. While some campaigns don't quite fit into that model, earth's history has no comparable catastrophe. (Even the fall of the Roman Empire has nothing on the retreat of the Elves, fall of the Netherese, etc.)

So, what does the real-world data matter? Just make some stuff up!

 

[anest1s]

A problem: The conventions of pulp gaming include the assumption that times used to be better than they are now. Today's magic is a shadow of yesterday's art, there are vast troves of riches lost to man, etc, etc. While some campaigns don't quite fit into that model, earth's history has no comparable catastrophe. (Even the fall of the Roman Empire has nothing on the retreat of the Elves, fall of the Netherese, etc.)

So, what does the real-world data matter? Just make some stuff up!

I wanted to make realistic prices for gems too. So, I made up new kinds of gems.