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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jfdlsjfd" data-source="post: 9510093" data-attributes="member: 42856">So your take is that since there is enough demand for ruby dust for spellcasting purpose, the valuation of ruby dust, which mechanically can't be more than a big ruby crushed to dust, since then people will arbitrate in favor of taing a hammer and shattering the gem, is at the same level, so a 50 gp ruby produces 50 gp's worth of ruby dust. Basically, your gameworld hypothesis is therefore that the demand for ruby dust is similar to the demand for big rubies. If the demand for dust was higher, it would drive ruby prices up and rubies would disappear, siphoned off for spellcasting over the (usually huge) lifetime of fantasy civilizations, and if the demand was lower, there would be a mark-up for big rubies. So, when you say that crushing a 50 gp ruby creates 50 gp of ruby dust, and 3 adventures later, you introduce a huge invaluable ruby as a McGuffin, the players will naturally be "hey, why is it more valuable exactly? I've 10 regular rubies'worth of ruby dust in my inventory, and it's probably more than can be extracted by crushing your mother-of-all-rubies..."D&D rulebooks aren't an economic simulator, but the price assumptions are having economic effects within the world and it can't be ignored anymore than in game, the PCs know that a long rest will cure all their wounds and live according to this situation (I can afford to be badly wounded today if we have three days to do X, because I know I'll be fully operational tommorow, whereas if it took me 3 month of bedrest to recover as it would if I were a regular peasant, I'd behave much more cautiously). The heroes in-universe, being possibily superhuman smart, wil notice easily economic strangeness and opportunities and act upon them, much like they do with any other rule. We have heroes that jump from a balcony on a horseback, because they know they can, instead of saying "it will severely injure the horse, so it's a very bad plan", while they wouldn't if playing CoC which is supposed to be set in our universe. Same with getting to the upper level by jumping from one falling rock to another, Legolas-style.</blockquote>

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