Gemstones and Art Objects

10 gp gemstones

CR 0–4: 26% of hoards, 2d6

• Azurite · 10 gp

  opaque mottled deep blue

  A soft copper mineral of deep blue, often grown together with green malachite; ground down, it was an old painter’s blue.

• Banded agate · 10 gp

  translucent striped brown, blue, white, or red

  Chalcedony laid down in bands of colour, cut into beads, seals and bowls.

• Blue quartz · 10 gp

  transparent pale blue

  Ordinary quartz clouded by tiny mineral needles that scatter a soft blue haze.

• Eye agate · 10 gp

  translucent circles of gray, white, brown, blue, or green

  An agate whose bands close into rings like an eye; worn as a charm against the evil eye.

• Hematite · 10 gp

  opaque gray-black

  Heavy iron ore that polishes to a dark silver mirror and leaves a blood-red streak when scraped.

• Lapis lazuli · 10 gp

  opaque light and dark blue with yellow flecks

  A blue rock flecked with golden pyrite; ground and washed, it becomes ultramarine paint.

• Malachite · 10 gp

  opaque striated light and dark green

  A copper mineral striped in light and dark green, soft enough to carve into boxes and amulets.

• Moss agate · 10 gp

  translucent pink or yellow-white with mossy gray or green markings

  Milky chalcedony threaded with green mineral growths that look like moss trapped in ice.

• Obsidian · 10 gp

  opaque black

  Volcanic glass that breaks to an edge sharper than steel; knapped into blades and polished into scrying mirrors.

• Rhodochrosite · 10 gp

  opaque light pink

  A soft rose-pink stone, often banded pink and white, that scratches easily.

• Tiger eye · 10 gp

  translucent brown with golden center

  Quartz full of fine fibres, so a band of golden light slides across it as it turns.

• Turquoise · 10 gp

  opaque light blue-green

  An opaque sky-to-sea blue stone, often veined with the dark rock it formed in; fades if left in sun and oil.

50 gp gemstones

CR 0–4: 34% of hoards, 2d6 · CR 5–10: 24% of hoards, 3d6

• Bloodstone · 50 gp

  opaque dark gray with red flecks

  Dark green jasper spotted with red, the spots long told as drops of blood.

• Carnelian · 50 gp

  opaque orange to red-brown

  Orange-red chalcedony, the classic signet stone because sealing wax does not stick to it.

• Chalcedony · 50 gp

  opaque white

  Quartz grown in crystals too small to see, with a waxy shine; agate, onyx and carnelian are all chalcedony.

• Chrysoprase · 50 gp

  translucent green

  Apple-green chalcedony coloured by nickel, the most valued of its family.

• Citrine · 50 gp

  transparent pale yellow-brown

  Yellow to amber quartz, much of it amethyst that was heated deep underground.

• Jasper · 50 gp

  opaque blue, black, or brown

  Opaque, grainy quartz in earth colours, often patterned like a landscape.

• Moonstone · 50 gp

  translucent white with pale blue glow

  A feldspar with a pale blue sheen that floats over the surface as the stone moves.

• Onyx · 50 gp

  opaque bands of black and white, or pure black or white

  Chalcedony in straight parallel bands, carved into cameos with one layer raised on another. A Create Undead caster needs a black onyx worth 150 gp per corpse, so one of these is not enough.

• Quartz · 50 gp

  transparent white, smoky gray, or yellow

  The commonest gem crystal; clear rock crystal is ground into lenses and crystal balls.

• Sardonyx · 50 gp

  opaque bands of red and white

  Onyx with bands of red-brown sard, the traditional stone for carved cameos.

• Star rose quartz · 50 gp

  translucent rosy stone with white star-shaped center

  Pink quartz that shows a six-rayed star of light under a single candle.

• Zircon · 50 gp

  transparent pale blue-green

  A bright, fiery crystal; clear zircon is the stone most often passed off as diamond.

100 gp gemstones

CR 5–10: 25% of hoards, 3d6

• Amber · 100 gp

  transparent watery gold to rich gold

  Fossil tree resin, light and warm in the hand, sometimes with an insect caught inside.

• Amethyst · 100 gp

  transparent deep purple

  Purple quartz; its name means “not drunk”, and it was set in cups to keep the drinker sober.

• Chrysoberyl · 100 gp

  transparent yellow-green to pale green

  A hard yellow-green gem; some show a single line of light called a cat’s eye.

• Coral · 100 gp

  opaque crimson

  The skeleton of sea creatures, polished into beads; deep red coral is the prize.

• Garnet · 100 gp

  transparent red, brown-green, or violet

  A hard, glassy gem, usually deep red; old texts call it carbuncle and say it glows in the dark.

• Jade · 100 gp

  translucent light green, deep green, or white

  A very tough stone carved into tools, seals and charms. Magic Mouth needs jade dust worth 10 gp, so one gem covers ten castings.

• Jet · 100 gp

  opaque deep black

  Fossilised wood, black and light, polished for mourning jewellery; it warms to the touch, unlike glass.

• Pearl · 100 gp

  opaque lustrous white, yellow, or pink

  Grown inside a mussel or oyster, the only gem made by a living creature. A 100 gp pearl is the component of Identify, and it is not used up.

• Spinel · 100 gp

  transparent red, red-brown, or deep green

  A hard red crystal; several famous crown “rubies” turned out to be spinels.

• Tourmaline · 100 gp

  transparent pale green, blue, brown, or red

  A long crystal that can change colour from one end to the other, pink at one end and green at the other.

500 gp gemstones

CR 11–16: 22% of hoards, 3d6

• Alexandrite · 500 gp

  transparent dark green

  A chrysoberyl that looks green by daylight and turns red by candle or lamp light.

• Aquamarine · 500 gp

  transparent pale blue-green

  Sea-blue beryl, emerald’s cousin, often found as large crystals without a flaw.

• Black pearl · 500 gp

  opaque pure black

  A dark pearl from black-lipped oysters, rare enough to be traded one at a time.

• Blue spinel · 500 gp

  transparent deep blue

  Deep blue spinel, much rarer than the red.

• Peridot · 500 gp

  transparent rich olive green

  Olive-green olivine, one of the few gems found in a single colour; it also falls to earth in meteorites.

• Topaz · 500 gp

  transparent golden yellow

  A hard golden crystal; for centuries any yellow stone was sold as topaz.

1,000 gp gemstones

CR 11–16: 25% of hoards, 3d6 · CR 17+: 25% of hoards, 3d6

• Black opal · 1,000 gp

  translucent dark green with black mottling and golden flecks

  Opal with a dark body that makes its flashes of colour blaze; the most valued opal.

• Blue sapphire · 1,000 gp

  transparent blue-white to medium blue

  Blue corundum, second only to diamond in hardness.

• Emerald · 1,000 gp

  transparent deep bright green

  Green beryl, almost never without inclusions; jewellers call them its garden.

• Fire opal · 1,000 gp

  translucent fiery red

  Clear orange-red opal, sometimes without any play of colour at all.

• Opal · 1,000 gp

  translucent pale blue with green and golden mottling

  Silica that holds water, with colours that shift as it moves; it can crack if it dries out.

• Star ruby · 1,000 gp

  translucent ruby with white star-shaped center

  A ruby with needle-like inclusions that form a six-rayed star when it is cut as a dome.

• Star sapphire · 1,000 gp

  translucent blue sapphire with white star-shaped center

  A sapphire that shows a six-rayed star when it is cut as a dome.

• Yellow sapphire · 1,000 gp

  transparent fiery yellow or yellow green

  Yellow corundum, as hard as any blue sapphire.

5,000 gp gemstones

CR 17+: 24% of hoards, 1d8

• Black sapphire · 5,000 gp

  translucent lustrous black with glowing highlights

  Dark corundum with a metallic shine, the rarest sapphire on the table.

• Diamond · 5,000 gp

  transparent blue-white, canary, pink, brown, or blue

  Pure carbon and the hardest natural stone; only diamond cuts diamond. Diamonds are the costliest spell components: 300 gp for Revivify, 500 gp for Raise Dead, 1,000 gp for Resurrection, all used up by the spell.

• Jacinth · 5,000 gp

  transparent fiery orange

  A fiery orange stone, the old name for orange zircon.

• Ruby · 5,000 gp

  transparent clear red to deep crimson

  Red corundum, long called the king of gems. Ruby dust is used up by Continual Flame (50 gp) and Forbiddance (1,000 gp).

25 gp art objects

CR 0–4: 34% of hoards, 2d4 · CR 5–10: 30% of hoards, 2d4

Household luxuries: small silverware, carved bone, a good handkerchief. A bandit or a minor noble’s servant could own one.

• Silver ewer
• Carved bone statuette
• Small gold bracelet
• Cloth-of-gold vestments
• Black velvet mask stitched with silver thread
• Copper chalice with silver filigree
• Pair of engraved bone dice
• Small mirror set in a painted wooden frame
• Embroidered silk handkerchief
• Gold locket with a painted portrait inside

250 gp art objects

CR 5–10: 17% of hoards, 2d4 · CR 11–16: 26% of hoards, 2d4

Pieces a merchant or a knight would show off: gold jewellery, fine textiles, a crown of bronze.

• Gold ring set with bloodstones
• Carved ivory statuette
• Large gold bracelet
• Silver necklace with a gemstone pendant
• Bronze crown
• Silk robe with gold embroidery
• Large well-made tapestry
• Brass mug with jade inlay
• Box of turquoise animal figurines
• Gold bird cage with electrum filigree

750 gp art objects

CR 11–16: 24% of hoards, 2d4

Workshop masterpieces of gold and silver set with gems, the kind kept in a noble house or a temple treasury.

• Silver chalice set with moonstones
• Silver-plated steel longsword with jet set in hilt
• Carved harp of exotic wood with ivory inlay and zircon gems
• Small gold idol
• Gold dragon comb set with red garnets as eyes
• Bottle stopper cork embossed with gold leaf and set with amethysts
• Ceremonial electrum dagger with a black pearl in the pommel
• Silver and gold brooch
• Obsidian statuette with gold fittings and inlay
• Painted gold war mask

2,500 gp art objects

CR 17+: 25% of hoards, 1d10

Heirlooms of royal houses: jewelled platinum, old master paintings, gold set with sapphires and opals.

• Fine gold chain set with a fire opal
• Old masterpiece painting
• Embroidered silk and velvet mantle set with numerous moonstones
• Platinum bracelet set with a sapphire
• Embroidered glove set with jewel chips
• Jeweled anklet
• Gold music box
• Gold circlet set with four aquamarines
• Eye patch with a mock eye set in blue sapphire and moonstone
• A necklace string of small pink pearls

7,500 gp art objects

CR 17+: 24% of hoards, 1d4

Treasures of kingdoms and dragons: jewelled crowns, gold statuettes set with rubies, a child’s sarcophagus of painted gold.

• Jeweled gold crown
• Jeweled platinum ring
• Small gold statuette set with rubies
• Gold cup set with emeralds
• Gold jewelry box with platinum filigree
• Painted gold child's sarcophagus
• Jade game board with solid gold playing pieces
• Bejeweled ivory drinking horn with gold filigree